Arvid Helmer Johanson (3 February 1929 – 6 November 2013) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician for the Labour Party. He served five full terms in the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

, was Norway's second

Minister of Petroleum and Energy The Minister of Energy () is a councilor of state and chief of the Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The current minister is Terje Aasland. The ministry is responsible for the government's energy policy, including management of Norwa ...

from 1980 to 1981, and outside politics he spent most of his career in the newspaper ''

Halden Arbeiderblad ''Halden Arbeiderblad'' is a Norwegian language local newspaper published in Halden, Norway. History and profile ''Halden Arbeiderblad'' was established in 1929 as a Norwegian Labour Party, Labour Party newspaper, but later became non-partisan. ...

''.

Early life and career

He was born in

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a List of cities in Norway, town and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, R ...

as a son of Arvid Martin Johanson (1896–1981) and housewife Karla Niemi (1899–1932). He started his career as a journalist in ''

'' in 1947, and remained there for a year. In 1949 he worked in '' Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad''. He returned to ''Halden Arbeiderblad'', and remained there for the rest of his career. He underwent studies at the Norwegian Journalist Academy from 1942 to 1953 and at Fircroft College from 1954 to 1955. He was a board member of the county chapter of the

Norwegian Press Association The Norwegian Press Association (; NP) is a Norwegian association for organizations and companies of the news media. History The Norwegian Press Association was established in 1910 for people with journalism as their main profession. its member ...

from 1954 to 1955.

National politics

Johanson became involved in politics as leader of the local workers' youth organization in 1949. He was elected as a member of Halden

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

from 1959 to 1963. He chaired the Labour Party branch in Halden from 1956 to 1958 and 1962 to 1963, and the county chapter in Østfold from 1962 to 1974. From 1969 to 1974 he was a member of the central committee of the Labour Party. He served as a member of the

from

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

during the terms 1958–1961, 1965–1969, 1969–1973, 1973–1977 and 1977–1981, and as a deputy member during the terms 1954–1957 and 1961–1965. From 1964 to 1965 he served as a regular representative, following the death of Henry Jacobsen. Towards the end of his fifth full term in Parliament, Johanson was appointed as

. He was the second to hold this position, replacing Bjartmar Gjerde. Gjerde had asked

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Odvar Nordli Odvar Nordli (; 3 November 1926 – 9 January 2018) was a Norway, Norwegian politician from the Det norske Arbeiderparti, Labour Party. He was the prime minister of Norway from 1976 to 1981 during the Cold War. Before serving as prime minister, No ...

that his resignation be allowed because of high pressure in the job, with incidents like the

Alta controversy The Alta conflict or Alta controversy was a series of protests in Norway in the late 1970s and early 1980s against the construction of a hydroelectric power plant on the Alta River in Finnmark, Northern Norway. Timeline *Inhabitants of the vil ...

and the Alexander Kielland rig disaster. Johanson lost his position when the centre-right Willoch's First Cabinet took over 1981. While Johanson was a government minister, his seat in Parliament was taken by Jan Eilert Bjørnstad.

Later career

After leaving national politics, Johanson returned to ''Halden Arbeiderblad''. He was promoted to editor-in-chief in 1982, and served until 1993. He chaired the county chapter of the

Association of Norwegian Editors The Association of Norwegian Editors (, NR) is a Norwegian interest group for editors and middle managers in the news media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These inc ...

from 1987 to 1990. He also wrote several books, particularly on local history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johanson, Arvid Helmer 1929 births 2013 deaths Alumni of Fircroft College Politicians from Halden Norwegian newspaper editors Labour Party (Norway) politicians Østfold politicians Ministers of energy of Norway Members of the Storting 1977–1981 Members of the Storting 1973–1977 Members of the Storting 1969–1973 Members of the Storting 1965–1969 Members of the Storting 1961–1965 Members of the Storting 1958–1961