(12 December 1912 – 19 July 1990) was a Norwegian newspaper editor, author and politician for the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

. He served as Chairman of the

Norwegian Nobel Committee The Norwegian Nobel Committee () selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will. Five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament. ...

from 1982 to 1990.

Early life and career

He grew up at

Børsa Børsa is the administrative centre of Skaun Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village lies along the shore of the Gaulosen, an arm off the vast Trondheimsfjorden. It is about west of the village of Buvika, along the European route ...

in Søndre Trondhjem county, Norway. He was the son of Julius Aarvik (1890–1961) and Louise Lie (1889–1973). After attending a

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

in 1933, he was hired as a secretary in the Norwegian Lutheran Mission Society (''Det norske lutherske Indremisjonsselskap''). From 1940 to 1946 he was the mission secretary in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

. He worked as a journalist in Trondheim for '' Dagsavisa'' from 1947 to 1950, before advancing to be editor-in-chief of that local Christian newspaper. In 1955, he left to work full-time as editor-in-chief of '' Folkets Framtid''. He subsequently moved to

Grorud Grorud is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. The borough contains the Ammerud, Grorud, Kalbakken, Rødtvet, Nordtvet and Romsås areas. To the north of the borough is the forest of Lillomarka. The borough is the smallest in Oslo, with ...

, where he sat on the congregational council (1962–1966).

Political career

Aarvik served was a member of the

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 ...

Strinda Municipality Strinda is a former municipality in the old Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed the eastern part of what is now Trondheim Municipality south and east of ...

during the term 1951–1955. He was elected as a deputy representative to 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 ...

from

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

in 1957, and became a full representative in 1961. He chaired the Standing Committee on Social Affairs during his first term. He was not re-elected in 1965, but gained his seat back again in both 1969 and 1973. In 1965, having recently lost his Parliament seat, Aarvik was appointed as the Minister of Social Affairs in the centre-right Borten's Cabinet. He held the position until Prime Minister Borten's Cabinet fell in 1971. The most important accomplishment during his time was the 1967 passing of the general benefits act (). He was also a capacity on foreign policy. Unlike the majority in his party he supported Norwegian EEC membership in 1972. Meanwhile Aarvik was appointed to the Borten cabinet, he did not meet in parliamentary session and then-deputy

Kåre Kristiansen Kåre Gulbrand Kristiansen (11 March 1920 – 3 December 2005) was a Norwegian politician who was the leader of the Christian Democratic Party from 1975 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1983, and Minister of Petroleum and Energy from 1983 to 1986. ...

filled his seat. After returning to Parliament, Aarvik served as a member of the

Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an upright (orthostatic) position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the sa ...

from 1971 to 1977 and was President of the Lagting from 1972 to 1973. He lived in

Bærum Municipality Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). The administr ...

for some time, being elected from the constituency

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

in 1973. As a pensioner he moved to Nøtterøy Municipality. From 1977 to 1981, he spent the final years of his professional career working in Norwegian Church Aid. He was also chairman of the board of Blue Cross, Norwegian branch, from 1960 to 1962. He was vice chairman of the

from 1975 to 1982, and chairman from 1982 to 1990. He was a deputy board member of Folketrygdfondet from 1972 to 1983 and chaired the corporate council of

Statoil Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. In th ...

from 1973 to 1984.

Selected works

*''Er kristendommen fallit?'' (1941) *''Løftet av stormen'' (1942) *''Vi gjemmer oss på bedehuset'' (1954) *''Dumme troll og menn til kjerringer'' (1956) *''Kvinnen fra Samaria'' (1973) *''Vraket sølv: Kongen Saul'' (1975) *''Syn på saker'' (1982) *''Smil i alvor. Fragmenter av et liv'' (1985)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aarvik, Egil 1912 births 1990 deaths People from Skaun Norwegian newspaper editors Sør-Trøndelag politicians Politicians from Oslo Bærum politicians Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Social affairs ministers of Norway Chairpersons of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Norwegian Lutherans 20th-century Norwegian non-fiction writers 20th-century Norwegian writers Members of the Storting 1973–1977 Members of the Storting 1969–1973 Members of the Storting 1961–1965