(3 April 1913 – 20 January 2005) was a
Norwegian politician from the
Centre Party and the
prime minister of Norway
The prime minister of Norway (, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet of Norway, Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government departme ...
from 1965 to 1971. Per Borten is credited for leading the modernization of what was then named Bondepartiet (the
Agrarian Party) into today's Centre Party. He was an active opponent of Norway joining the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
.
Early life
Borten was born in
Flå Municipality (in the present-day
Melhus Municipality
Melhus is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Melhus (village), village o ...
) in
Sør-Trøndelag
Sør-Trøndelag (; ) was a Counties of Norway, county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag () county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. ...
county, and was educated
Agriculturist
An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the Agricultural science, science, practice, and management of Farming, agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, ...
from the
Norwegian College of Agriculture in 1939. He started his political career serving as mayor of his home municipally, Flå, from 1945 to 1955. He was elected to the
Norwegian parliament in 1949 and stayed there until his retirement in 1977. Borten was President of the
Odelsting
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 ...
1961–1965 and 1973–1977.
Political career
He was appointed president of the
Odelsting
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 ...
, acted as the parliamentary leader for his party and served as its chairman from 1955 to 1967. As
Prime Minister of Norway
The prime minister of Norway (, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet of Norway, Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government departme ...
from 1965, he headed a four-party centre-right coalition government, until 17 March 1971, when the government dissolved itself. He resigned as Prime Minister when it became known that he had shown confidential information about Norway in the negotiations concerning
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
membership, with amongst others,
Arne Haugestad, then leader of the People's Movement against Norwegian membership of the EEC.
Borten's time as
Prime Minister of Norway
The prime minister of Norway (, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet of Norway, Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government departme ...
saw the enactment of a range of progressive reforms. Earnings-related pensions were introduced in 1966,
while under a June 1969 law the Housing Bank offered loans for improving old dwellings. The Special Supplement to National Insurance Benefits Law of June 1969 established a special supplement for those not entitled to supplementary pensions, and the Law on Compensation Supplement to National Insurance Benefits of December 1969 introduced a supplement to compensate for the introduction of a value-added tax system. The Basic Schooling Law of June 1969 introduced
9-year comprehensive schooling, while under another law passed that same year, family allowances were extended to the first child under the age of 16, while single-parent families were provided with one extra allowance in addition to the number of children.
Later life
After his retirement from politics, Borten continued to speak out on issues such as
nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament is the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons. Its end state can also be a nuclear-weapons-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated. The term ''denuclearization'' is also used to describe the pro ...
, clandestine surveillance, and the controversy on Norway's relationship to the European Union. He served on the boards of several public banking organizations. He earned a reputation for being an engaging and somewhat contrarian figure in the Norwegian political landscape.
His down-to-earth nature had been strongly underlined in 1969, when newspaper ''
Dagbladet
() is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally it was considered the main liberal newspaper of Norway, with a ...
'' interviewed him at his farm while he was prime minister. He did the interview wearing nothing but a pair of shoes, a hat and
trunks, only days before
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
was invited to the same farm on a state visit to Norway. The picture of Borten in his underwear went around the world, and the British newspaper ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' printed the picture over two pages with the headline: ''Now the Norwegian Prime Minister is ready to receive the Queen''.
Another popular story was when Borten's Defence Minister,
Otto Grieg Tidemand, invited him and others to a private dinner. After eating, Tidemand surprised his guests with the finest vintage
brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...
. Without blinking Borten responded by pouring the brandy into his coffee, making himself ''
karsk''.
Borten died at
St. Olav's Hospital in
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
at the age of 91. He was buried at
Flå Church in
Melhus Municipality
Melhus is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Melhus (village), village o ...
. His wife Magnhild died on 2 June 2006, aged 84.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borten, Per
1913 births
2005 deaths
People from Melhus
Prime ministers of Norway
Centre Party (Norway) politicians
Norwegian College of Agriculture alumni
Mayors of places in Sør-Trøndelag
Norwegian Lutherans
20th-century Lutherans
Members of the Storting 1973–1977
Members of the Storting 1969–1973
Members of the Storting 1965–1969
Members of the Storting 1961–1965
Members of the Storting 1958–1961
Members of the Storting 1954–1957
Members of the Storting 1950–1953