Christen Sveaas (born 18 June 1956) is a Norwegian businessman, investor, art collector and donor. He is the founder and sole owner of Kistefos AS, vice chairman of the board of the Kistefos Museum and chairman of the board of Anders Sveaas Allmennyttige Fond.

Early life

Christen Sveaas was born in Oslo, and was awarded a degree from the University of St. Gallen in 1981. His paternal grandfather is Anders Sveaas (1840–1917), who founded the company Kistefos Træsliberi in 1889. The company was sold by the family to Viul Tresliperi in 1985, against Christen Sveaas' wish.

Investments

Christen Sveaas started his first investment company in 1979, and, from 1982 to 1985, he worked at Grieg Finans before becoming independent. He made a series of successful investments (

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

) in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he bought back 85% of the shares in Kistefos Træsliberi. He also merged several companies into the new investment company Kistefos, where he is the sole owner and chairman of the board. The company Kistefos has investments in dry cargo-

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

, offshore supply vessels,

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

, technology founded investments and

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

. Kistefos Træsliberi has interests in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

(about ), and related industrial activities in addition to various financial investments. Sveaas initiated the Kistefos Museum, the original and fully intact wood pulp mill from 1889, of which he is the main sponsor. Since 1997, the Kistefos-Museum has been developed and now comprises a famous sculpture park. He has also contributed to the Vigeland Museum and the maintenance of Vigeland installation in Frogner Park. Sveaas is a collector of contemporary art and sculptures, and is also a wine connoisseur. At a point in time, he was rumoured to own the largest private wine cellar in the world. Sveaas was also the owner of two star Guide Michelin restaurant

Bagatelle Bagatelle (from the Château de Bagatelle) is a billiards-derived indoor table game, the object of which is to get a number of balls (set at nine in the 19th century) past wooden pins (which act as obstacles) into holes that are guarded by wood ...

in Oslo for about 20 years, which world award-winning Chef Eyvind Hellstrøm left in 2009.

Affiliations

Sveaas has served on several boards,

Orkla Group Orkla ASA is a Norwegian conglomerate operating in Europe, Asia and the US. At present, Orkla operates in the branded consumer goods, aluminium products and financial investment sectors. Orkla ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and its he ...

, Stolt-Nielsen, Tschudi & Eitzen, Vestenfjeldske Bykreditt, SkipsKredittforeningen and privately owned Treschow-Fritzøe. Furthermore, he is the chairman of the board for the Anders Sveaas Almennyttige Fond, a Norwegian charitable foundation founded in 1990, which owns several antique string instruments, among which are two Stradivarius Violins and one Stradivarius Cello. Its focus is to support organisations without relevant public funding, and young promising classical musicians through scholarships and instrument loans. Sveaas is a member of Dean's Council, Executive Committee at Harvard Kennedy School. Sveaas is also a founding member of the Metropolitan Museum International Council in New York and member of Tate International Council in London. Furthermore, he is a global patron of

Art Basel Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel (Switzerland), Miami Beach (US), Hong Kong and Paris. Art Basel provides a platform for galleries to show and sell their work to buyers, an ...

and a member of HSG Advisory Board at the University of St. Gallen.

Honors

Sveaas is a Commander of the Order of Merit in the Republic of Italy and a Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav for his contribution to the Arts.

Political affiliations

Politically, he has supported the Progress Party, and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

ahead of the 2001 Norwegian parliamentary election, 2009 and 2013, and the Conservative Party ahead of the 2007 Norwegian local elections and 2015, and

2009 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 13 and 14 September 2009. Elections in Norway are held on a Monday in September, usually the second or third Monday, as determined by the king. Early voting was possible between 10 August and 11 Sep ...

and 2013.

Personal life

Christen Sveaas is the son of Anders Sveaas jr (Son of Consul Anders Sveaas, founder of AS Kistefos Træsliberi) and Marit Sveaas (née Hansen, granddaughter of Consul Hans Jørginus Hansen from Trondheim), and grew up in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sveaas, Christen 1956 births Living people Businesspeople from Oslo Norwegian expatriates in Switzerland Venture capitalists University of St. Gallen alumni Norwegian art collectors Norwegian restaurateurs Harvard Kennedy School people Norwegian landowners Gay businessmen Norwegian gay men Norwegian LGBTQ businesspeople 21st-century Norwegian LGBTQ people 21st-century Norwegian businesspeople Collectors from Oslo Philanthropists from Oslo