Lars Tokstad Sem Platou (2 July 1920 – 30 May 2003) was a Norwegian

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and politician for the Conservative Party. He served three terms in the

Norwegian Parliament 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 ...

, was the deputy leader of his party from 1972 to 1978. After his political career he became

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

Vinmonopolet Vinmonopolet (), symbolized by Ⓥ and colloquially shortened to Polet, is a government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer and the only company allowed to sell beverages containing an alcohol content higher than 4.75% in Norway. As the arm of the ...

Personal life

He was born 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 ...

as a son of Fridthjof Fredrik Sem Platou (1894–1965) and Johanne Marie Tokstad (1898–1980). He was a grandnephew of Gabriel Andreas Stoud Platou, Waldemar Stoud Platou and Christian Emil Stoud Platou, and a first cousin once removed of

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding white woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand * House of Karen, a historic ...

Ragnar Ragnar ( ) is a masculine Germanic given name, composed of the Old Norse elements ''ragin-'' "counsel" and ''hari-'' "army". Origin and variations The Proto-Germanic forms of the compounds are "ragina" (counsel) and "harjaz" or "hariz" (army). ...

and Frithjof Stoud Platou.

Career

He enrolled as a student at the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology ( Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was ...

in 1939, and graduated as

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

in electronics in 1946. From 1945 to 1946 he worked as an assistant in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

at the Institute of Technology. He was employed as an

in the

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

-based company Elektrobygg from 1948 to 1975, also maintained a farm in

Veldre Byflaten or Veldre is a village in Ringsaker Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about northwest of the town of Brumunddal. Veldre Church is located on the west side of the village. The village has a population (202 ...

from 1941 to 1982. As a farmer, he was the regional leader of the

Norwegian Agrarian Association The Norwegian Agrarian Association () is the largest Norwegian interest organization for farmers. It functions both as a labour union and as a trade union. It negotiates with the Norwegian Farmers and Smallholders Union and the Norwegian Minis ...

from 1956 to 1958. He was also involved in local politics in

Ringsaker Municipality Ringsaker () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Br ...

as a

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 ...

member from 1951 to 1967; during the last two terms he was a member of the executive committee. From 1963 to 1967 he was a member of

Hedmark Hedmark () was a Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

. He chaired the Conservative Party chapter in Hedmark county from 1950 to 1960, and was also a member of its national board from 1950 to 1965. In 1965 he became a member of its central committee. He served as second deputy leader of the party from 1970 to 1972, and deputy leader from 1972 to 1978. He was elected to the

from

in 1965, and was re-elected on two occasions. He had previously served in the position of deputy representative during the terms 1954–1957 and 1958–1961. During his first parliamentary term, he was a member of the Standing Committee on Local Government. In his next two terms, he was a member of the Standing Committee on Finance (chairing it from 1969 to 1973) and a deputy member of the Enlarged Committee on Foreign Affairs. Outside of representative government, Platou was involved in the administration of

from 1950, finally serving as

from 1981 to 1987. He was also board chairman of the newspaper ''

Hamar Stiftstidende ''Hamar Stiftstidende'' is a former Norwegian daily newspaper, published in Hamar, Norway from 1847 to 1971. Its original name was ''Hamar Budstikke'', later ''Hamar Budstikke og Stiftstidende'', then ''Hamar Stiftstidende''. In 1872 editor Olaus ...

'' 1952 to 1968, Kreditkassen from 1978 to 1990,

Skibladner PS ''Skibladner'' is the world's oldest paddle steamer in timetabled service, and the only paddle steamer operating in Norway, sailing on lake Mjøsa. ''Skibladner'' is a side-wheel paddle steamer, and her maiden voyage was on 2 August 1856. ...

from 1974 to 1982 and

Raufoss Ammunisjonsfabrikker Raufoss Ammunisjonsfabrikker was a Norwegian company based at Raufoss, established in 1896 as ''Rødfoss Patronfabrik''. Initially the company manufactured ammunition, and later also other products, such as aluminium parts to the automotive indust ...

from 1985 to 1988. He was a deputy board member of the

Norwegian State Housing Bank The Norwegian State Housing Bank () is a Norwegian Government agency responsible for the housing politics in Norway. The main tool for the bank is mortgages in newly constructed houses. About half of all houses after World War II in Norway have b ...

from 1966 to 1970. Platou was decorated with the

Defence Medal 1940–1945 The Defence Medal 1940–1945 () is the award rewarded to those military and civilian personnel who participated in the fight against the German invasion and occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The Defence Medal 1940–1945 can be award ...

and the

HM The King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold. He died in 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platou, Lars 1920 births 2003 deaths Politicians from Stavanger Hedmark politicians Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian electrical engineers Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni Norwegian farmers

Lars Lars is a common male name in Scandinavian countries. Origin ''Lars'' means "from the city of Laurentum". Lars is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum" or "crowned with laurel", and is therefore related to the name ...

Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Members of the Storting 1973–1977 Members of the Storting 1969–1973 Members of the Storting 1965–1969