Knut Frydenlund (31 March 1927 – 26 February 1987) was a Norwegian diplomat and politician for the Labour Party who served as foreign minister from 1973 to 1981 and again from 1986 to 1987. Frydenlund was born in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

and began his diplomatic career in the 1950s, initially serving at the Norwegian embassy in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, and served in various diplomatic positions during the 1950s and the 1960s. In 1969, he was elected to parliament as a member of the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party (; , A or Ap; ), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party (, DNA), is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Norway, political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centre-left of the political spectru ...

, and he became foreign minister in the Labour government in 1973. While Labour was out of power from 1981 to 1986, he was replaced as foreign minister by Svenn Thorkild Stray, but returned to the office in May 1986. In February 1987, following his return from a

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...

meeting in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Frydenlund collapsed at

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 ...

Fornebu Airport Oslo Airport, Fornebu was the primary international airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at ...

due to a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

and died soon afterward at Ullevaal Hospital in Oslo.

References

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, "Norway's Foreign Minister Dies", February 26, 1987. {{DEFAULTSORT:Frydenlund, Knut 1927 births 1987 deaths Politicians from Drammen Norwegian diplomats Ministers of foreign affairs of Norway Labour Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting 1985–1989 Members of the Storting 1981–1985 Members of the Storting 1977–1981 Members of the Storting 1973–1977 Members of the Storting 1969–1973