Ragnar Karl Viktor Christiansen (28 December 1922 in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, 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 Konner ...

– 17 February 2019) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

politician for the Labour Party.

Early life

He served as a deputy representative to the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) 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 bas ...

during the terms 1950–1953 and 1954–1957. When taking seat as a deputy in Parliament in 1950, at the age of 27 he was the youngest MP in Norway ever. He was later elected to Parliament from

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Har ...

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

, and was re-elected four times to serve five terms. Christiansen held several ministerial portfolios through the years; he was appointed

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

in 1971–1972 during

Bratteli's First Cabinet Bratteli's First Cabinet governed Norway between 17 March 1971 and 18 October 1972. The Labour Party cabinet was led by Trygve Bratteli (11 January 1910 – 20 November 1984) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician with the Norwe ...

and Minister of Transport and Communications in 1976–1978 during

Nordli's Cabinet 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 1927 – 9 January 2018) was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He was the 28th ...

. During the first tenure he was replaced in Parliament by

Egil Solin Ranheim Egil Solin Ranheim (3 September 1923, in Vinje – 29 June 1992) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Buskerud during the terms 1965–1969 and 1969–1 ...

; during the second period he was replaced by Olaf Øen. On the local level he was a member of

Nedre Eiker Nedre Eiker was a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Eiker. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mjøndalen. The old municipality of Eiker was divided into ''Nedre Eiker'' ...

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, rural coun ...

from 1945 to 1959, serving as mayor during the term 1955–1957. From 1955 to 1957 he was also a member of

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. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

. He chaired the local party chapter for several periods, and the county chapter from 1955 to 1956. Outside politics he spent his career in the

Norwegian State Railways Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach se ...

. He started as errand boy in 1940 and left in 1977 as a managing clerk. His career ended with the post of County Governor of Buskerud, which he held from 1979 to 1989.

References

1922 births 2019 deaths Labour Party (Norway) politicians Mayors of places in Buskerud Members of the Storting Ministers of Finance of Norway County governors of Norway Ministers of Transport and Communications of Norway 20th-century Norwegian politicians {{Norway-politician-1920s-stub