Johan Jørgen Holst (29 November 1937 – 13 January 1994) was a Norwegian politician representing Labour, best known for his involvement with the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

. Holst was Minister of Defence from 1987 to 1989 and from 1990 to April 1993. He then became Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position he held to his death. During his time in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he was heavily involved in the process that led to the Oslo Accords. He suffered a minor

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in December 1993 and was admitted to a hospital. He never fully recovered and died a month later. His wife Marianne Heiberg later said that he had worked himself to death with the peace process. In his memory, the city of Gaza created the Holst Park, an activity center for children of Gaza from 6 to 16. Holst was educated at

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian language, Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

, where he completed his examen artium in 1956. He then completed his mandatory military service at the prestigious Russian language program of the Norwegian Armed Forces. He then studied at

Columbia College of Columbia University Columbia College is the oldest Undergraduate education#United States system, undergraduate college of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the ...

, where he obtained his A.B. in 1960 and where he was honored with its

John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...

Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement shortly after his death—the first time the prize had been given posthumously. Through his marriage Mr. Holst was the uncle of

Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (; born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. Since 2025, he has been the Minister of Finance in the Støre Cabinet. He has previously been the prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO. ...

, the prime minister of Norway throughout central parts of the 2000s. Friends of Israel in the Norwegian Labour Movement (Norwegian: Venner av Israel i Norsk Arbeiderbevegelse), planted a forest to his memory in Israel.

References

External links

Civilian-Based Defense in a New Era
(free download), a short monograph by Holst

1937 births 1994 deaths Labour Party (Norway) politicians Ministers of foreign affairs of Norway Norwegian state secretaries Norwegian political scientists Israeli–Palestinian peace process Columbia College (New York) alumni University of Oslo alumni People educated at Oslo Cathedral School Ministers of defence of Norway 20th-century political scientists {{Norway-politician-stub