Per Andreas Hildhe Kleppe (13 April 1923 – 10 March 2021) was a Norwegian economist and politician for the Labour Party. He was the

Minister of Trade and Shipping The minister of trade and shipping () was a councilor of state and chief of the Norway's Ministry of Trade and Shipping. The position was created on 6 December 1947 when the position of minister of trade and industry was split into a portfolio ...

in 1971–1972 during the

first cabinet Bratteli Bratteli's First Cabinet governed Norway between 17 March 1971 and 18 October 1972. The Labour Party cabinet was led by Trygve Bratteli. Bratteli governed his second cabinet between 1973 and 1976. On 8 May 1972 there was a cabinet reshuffle ...

, and later the

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 1973 to 1979 during the

second cabinet Bratteli Bratteli's Second Cabinet governed Norway between 16 October 1973 and 15 January 1976. The Labour Party cabinet was led by Trygve Bratteli Trygve Martin Bratteli (11 January 1910 – 20 November 1984) was a Norwegian newspaper editor, a p ...

and the

cabinet Nordli Nordli's Cabinet governed Norway between 15 January 1976 and 4 February 1981. The Labour Party cabinet was led by Odvar Nordli Odvar Nordli (; 3 November 1926 – 9 January 2018) was a Norway, Norwegian politician from the Det norske Arbeiderpa ...

. In 1979 he was replaced by Ulf Sand, but Kleppe returned in 1980 to head the Secretariat for Long-Term Planning (until 1981). He served as General Secretary of the

European Free Trade Association The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. ...

(EFTA) from 1981 to 1988.

Personal life

Kleppe was born in

Kristiania 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, an ...

(now Oslo) in April 1923, a son of lawyer Knut Sigurd Kleppe and Nathalie Mathilde Andersen; the family moved to

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

when he was six years old. In 1951 he married editor Margaretha Eva Malmros Ström.

Political career

Deputy member of the Storting and State Secretary

As an elected politician Kleppe served in the position of deputy representative to 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 ...

from

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 ...

during the term 1954–1957. On the local level he was a deputy member of

city council from 1951 to 1955. Kleppe 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.oecon. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree in 1956. He was appointed State Secretary in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

from 1957 to 1962. From 1962 Kleppe was assigned full time secretary of Den finanspolitiske komité, and from 1963 to 1967 he was subdirector at EFTA in Geneva, and from 1967 to 1971 he headed Arbeiderbevegelsens utredningskontor ("The

Labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

's Research Office").

Minister of Trade and Shipping 1971–1972 and negotiations on EEC membership

Kleppe was the Minister of Trade and Shipping in the

from 17 March 1971 to 18 October 1972. From 24 September 1971 he was also assigned the inaugural position of Minister of Nordic Cooperation, responsible for coordinating cooperation between the Nordic countries. As Minister of trade Kleppe was given the task to finish the negotiations of Norwegian membership of the

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 ...

(EEC). However, membership was turned down by the

1972 Norwegian European Communities membership referendum A referendum on joining the European Community was held in Norway on 25 September 1972. After a long period of heated debate, the "no" side won with 53.5% of the vote. Prime Minister Trygve Bratteli, who had championed a "yes" vote, resigned as ...

on 25 September 1972, and the Bratteli cabinet resigned. After this, from 1972 to 1973, Kleppe returned to his manager position at the Arbeiderbevegelsens utredningskontor.

Minister of Finance 1973–1979 and the "Kleppe package" against the financial crisis

Kleppe was appointed by Prime Minister Bratteli as Minister of Finance from 16 October 1973, in the

. This cabinet lasted until 15 January 1976, when the

took over. Kleppe continued as Minister of Finance until 8 October 1979, when there was a reorganisation of the cabinet, and Ulf Sand took over as responsible for the Ministry of Finance. Kleppe served six years as Minister of Finance, and he was the architect behind several important strategic choices of

economic policy ''Economic Policy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press, Oxford Academic on behalf of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Center for Economic Studies (University of Munich), and the Paris Scho ...

. The so-called "", where the State contributed by offering improvements of certain benefits during salary negotiations between employer and employee organisations, came to be a central element to minimize

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

. In order to inhibit the threatening increase of unemployment, the government introduced several supportive measures and economic guarantees to the industry, in particular to

maritime transport Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it pr ...

and

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

Head of the Secretariat for Long-Term Planning 1980–1981

From 1 January 1980 Kleppe was assigned the inaugural leader of the Secretariat for Long-Term Planning, under the cabinet Nordli until 4 February 1981. He continued in this position under

Brundtland's First Cabinet Brundtland's First Cabinet was a minority, Labour Government of Norway. It succeeded the Labour Cabinet Nordli, and sat between 4 February and 14 October 1981. The cabinet was the first in Norwegian history to be led by a woman. It was replaced ...

until 14 October 1981.

General secretary of EFTA 1981–1988

In 1981 Kleppe took over as general secretary of the

, succeeding Swiss . He held this position until 1988, when he was succeeded by Austrian Georg Reisch.

Later years

After he left his position at EFTA in 1988, Kleppe was assigned with the

Fafo Foundation The Fafo Research Foundation, also known as the Fafo Foundation or just Fafo (), is a Norway, Norwegian research foundation and owner of the research institute: The ''Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research.'' The institute conducts social ...

. He also chaired several government commissions in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including the Monetary and Credit Commission (1987–1989), the Employment Commission (1991–1992), and the State Bank Commission (1994–1995). He wrote the books ''Norges vei til Europa'' (1989) and ''Visjonen og hverdagen'' (1990), and finally his memoirs/autobiography, ''Kleppepakke'', which was released in 2003.

Legacy and death

Kleppe was a member of the

Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities The Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities (Norges almenvitenskapelige forskningsråd, NAVF) was one of Norway's five research councils. It was established in 1949. NAVF was responsible for funding basic research in all discipline ...

(a precursor of

Research Council of Norway The Research Council (also the Research Council of Norway; ) is a Norwegian government agency that funds research and innovation projects. On behalf of the Government, the Research Council invests NOK 11,7 billion (2022) annually. The Research ...

). He was decorated with the Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of Christ (1978), the Order of the Yugoslav Flag with Golden Star on Cravat (III rank) (1987), the Grand Cross of the Icelandic

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

(1988), the Grand Cross of the Swedish

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

(1988), and the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Lion of Finland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

(1988). He was decorated Commander with Star 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 1989. Kleppe died on 10 March 2021, aged 97.

Selected works

* * * * * * * Autobiography.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kleppe, Per Andreas 1923 births 2021 deaths Deputy members of the Storting Norwegian state secretaries Ministers of finance of Norway Ministers of trade and shipping of Norway Labour Party (Norway) politicians University of Oslo alumni Norwegian economists Politicians from Oslo Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Recipients of the Order of the Falcon Order of the Polar Star Order of Saint Olav Recipients of the Order of the Lion of Finland