Mona Scobie Røkke (3 March 1940 – 13 July 2013) was a Norwegian and politician for the Conservative Party. She was the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 1981 to 1985.

Early life and career

She 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 ...

as a daughter of Randal William Scobie (1904–1979) and Aslaug Høyendahl (1908–1997), both office managers. She finished her secondary education in 1958, and graduated from the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

with the cand.jur. degree in 1963. After seven years as a businesswoman in Drammen and

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 ...

, she was a police superintendent in Drammen from 1971 to 1977. The years 1973 and 1976 were exceptions; she served one year as deputy judge in Kongsberg District Court and one year as a lawyer in Drammen.

Political career

Røkke started her political career in Drammen city council from 1971 to 1979. She chaired Drammen Conservative Women's League from 1974 to 1975, later the county league from 1976 to 1979 and the Conservative Women's League of Norway from 1979 to 1985. From 1976 to 1985 she was also a central board member of the Conservative Party. She ended her partisan tenure as chair of Drammen Conservative Party from 1988 to 1990. She was also deputy chair of the European Movement in Norway from 1986 to 1988. She was elected 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

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

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 was re-elected in

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 ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

. She was a member of the Standing Committee on Justice. From 1981 through 1985 she was a member of Willoch's First Cabinet as

. Her seat in Parliament was in turn filled by Øivin Skappel Fjeldstad, Hallgrim Berg and Odd Kallerud. She then returned to Parliament for her second real term, serving in the Standing Committee on Defence and Standing Committee on Social Affairs until 1989. From 1987 she was also a delegate to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. In October 1987 she was named as the County Governor of Vestfold, a position she assumed in 1989 after her parliamentary career. She served until her professional retirement in 2010. In March 2010 her successor as County Governor was announced as Erling Lae. She chaired the corporate council of

Telenor Telenor ASA ( or ) is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwi ...

(1994–2005), was deputy chair of the Norwegian State Agriculture Bank and ''Landbrukets utviklingsfond'' (1994–1999). She also held a wide array of cultural posts, as deputy chair of the Norwegian Cancer Society (1988–1993) and the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (1989–1997), deputy member 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. ...

(1991–1993) and board member of Kommunale kinematografers landsforbund (1976–1979) and Norsk Film (1992–1998). She led the committee that published the

Norwegian Official Report A Norwegian Official Report (, NOU) is a report published by a panel or committee appointed by the Norwegian government. The Norwegian Parliament may request the government to establish, such a committee. The first NOU was commissioned in 1972, ...

1991:20 on legal protection of developmentally disabled. She was also a member of the committees that published the Norwegian Official Report 1992:1, 1995:26 and 2004:18. She was decorated with the

Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this O ...

in 2000 and as a Commander of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 2005.

Personal life

Mona Røkke was divorced and had two grown-up children and four grandchildren. She was diagnosed with cancer for the first time when she was quite young, and for the second time in 1985, while serving as Minister of Justice. Røkke went on sick leave for about one year before she returned to work as a member of parliament. She told about her experience with cancer and time as minister in the self-biography ''Ingen tid for tårer'' ("No Time for Tears") in 1986. She died in July 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rokke, Mona 1940 births 2013 deaths Politicians from Drammen University of Oslo alumni Norwegian businesspeople 20th-century Norwegian lawyers Conservative Party (Norway) politicians County governors of Norway Recipients of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Norwegian memoirists Deaths from cancer in Norway Women members of the Storting 20th-century Norwegian women politicians Female justice ministers Women government ministers of Norway Norwegian women memoirists Ministers of justice of Norway 20th-century Norwegian women lawyers Members of the Storting 1985–1989 Members of the Storting 1981–1985 Members of the Storting 1977–1981