Finn Kristensen (born 24 July, 1936) is a Norwegian electrician, trade unionist, and politician affiliated with the Labour Party. He served as Minister of Industry in 1981, from 1986 to1988, and from 1992 to 1993. Additionally, he was the

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 1990 to 1992. Kristensen represented

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

as a Member of Parliament from 1969 to 1985. Born in Brevik, he was the son of welder Bjarne Kornelius Kristensen (1912–1946) and cleaner Jenny Therese Eikefjord (1914–1989). kristensen began his basic training as an electrician in 1950, starting an apprenticeship at Dalen Portland Cementfabrikk. After completing his four-year apprenticeship, he spent a year studying strong current at the Oslo School of Elementary Technics. He then worked at sea for a year before returning to Dalen Portland, where he worked from 1958 to 1962.

Political career

He started a political career in the municipal councils of

Eidanger Eidanger is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Porsgrunn Municipality. The administrative centre wa ...

and

Porsgrunn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Porsgrunn (town), city ...

from 1959 to 1971. In 1962 he was hired as an instructor in Arbeidernes Opplysningsforbund, where he remained three years. During the same period he was a supervisory council member in the

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (, LO) is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national unions affiliated to the LO have almo ...

. In 1965 he was hired as a county secretary for Telemark Labour Party. He was also 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 Telemark in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

, and was subsequently elected to four full terms in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

. In 1981 Kristensen served as Minister of Industry in the brief Brundtland's First Cabinet. His parliamentary seat was filled by Dagfinn Øksenholt and Einfrid Halvorsen. When Brundtland's Second Cabinet assumed office in 1986, Kristensen became Minister of Industry and served until the cabinet fell in 1989 (from 1988 the post was called Minister of Trade and Industry). When Brundtland's Second Cabinet assumed office in 1990, Kristensen became

. He also became head of the Ministry of Trade in September 1992, overseeing a merger with the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to create the Ministry of Trade and Energy. Kristensen headed this ministry until October 1993. In between his governmental jobs, Kristensen was the director of T-invest in

Notodden is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Aust-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden. Other population centres include the villages of Bolkesjø, G ...

from 1985 to 1986, then a director in

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 1989 to 1990. From 1994 to 2007 he led his own company, F.K. Bedriftsutvikling. He was also a senior adviser in

ABB ABB Group is a Swedish-Swiss multinational electrical engineering corporation. Incorporated in Switzerland as ABB Ltd., and headquartered in Zurich, it is dual-listed on the Nasdaq Nordic exchange in Stockholm, Sweden, and the SIX Swiss Excha ...

until 1997. Kristensen chaired Telemark Labour Party from 1972 to 1977, and was a national board member of the Labour Party from 1977 to 1981. He was a deputy board member of the

Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority () is a Norwegian government agency under the Ministry of Labour. It is responsible for supervising the implementation of the Working Environment Act, the Annual Holidays Act, the National Holidays Act, ...

from 1974 to 1979 and Næringsøkonomisk institutt in 1980.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kristensen, Finn 1936 births Living people Politicians from Porsgrunn Politicians from Telemark Labour Party (Norway) politicians Government ministers of Norway Ministers of energy of Norway Equinor people Ministers of trade and shipping of Norway Members of the Storting 1981–1985 Members of the Storting 1977–1981 Members of the Storting 1973–1977 Members of the Storting 1969–1973