Astri Sverdrup Rynning (born 19 May 1915 in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

, died 17 November 2006) was a Norwegian judge and politician representing the Conservative Party. She served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

1965–1969; originally elected as a deputy member, she became an MP when

Kåre Willoch Kåre Isaachsen Willoch (; 3 October 1928 – 6 December 2021) was a Norwegian politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Norway from 1981 to 1986 and as leader of the Conservative Party from 1970 to 1974. He previously served as the M ...

was appointed to Cabinet. She was a member of the

Standing Committee on Justice The Standing Committee on Justice ( no, Justiskomiteen) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to judicial system, the probation service, the police, persons performing civilian national service ...

during her term. Rynning obtained the

cand.jur. Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. No ...

in 1940 and worked as an assistant advocate and assistant judge. In 1945, she was employed at the Ministry of Justice, where she became Principal in 1956. She was appointed judge at

Oslo District Court Oslo District Court ( no, Oslo tingrett) is a district court located in Oslo, Norway. This court is based at the Oslo Courthouse in the city of Oslo. The court serves the entire city of Oslo and the court is subordinate to the Borgarting Court o ...

in 1963, and judge at

Eidsivating Court of Appeal The Eidsivating Court of Appeal ( no, Eidsivating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Hamar. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Innlandet and eastern Viken. Thes ...

in 1969. She was appointed to the higher office of

Lawspeaker A lawspeaker or lawman (Swedish: ''lagman'', Old Swedish: ''laghmaþer'' or ''laghman'', Danish: ''lovsigemand'', Norwegian: ''lagmann'', Icelandic: , Faroese: ''løgmaður'', Finnish: ''laamanni'', kl, inatsitinuk) is a unique Scandinavi ...

in 1978 and Principal Lawspeaker in 1980. She retired from the bench in 1985, but occasionally served as a judge until she reached the age of 75 years. She presided over the 1974 trial of the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i agents who were convicted of the Lillehammer murder. In 1985, she presided over the trial of

Arne Treholt Arne Treholt (born 13 December 1942) is a Norwegian-born, Russia-based convicted felon and former KGB agent who was convicted of treason and espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union against Norway during the Cold War and sentenced to 20 years i ...

, who was convicted of spying for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She was chairman of the Norwegian National Women's Council 1959–1968, Chairman of the Norwegian Women's Voluntary Defence Association and the

Norwegian Female Lawyers' Association Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including th ...

1952–1956, and Chairman of the Norvegian Association of Judges 1978–1985. Both her father and her grandfather represented the Conservative Party in the Parliament of Norway.

Honours

*Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav (1984)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rynning, Astri Norwegian women's rights activists 1915 births 2006 deaths Members of the Storting Women members of the Storting Norwegian feminists Norwegian judges Conservative Party (Norway) politicians University of Oslo alumni 20th-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian women politicians