Gro Harlem Brundtland
Gro Harlem Brundtland | |
---|---|
Harald V | |
Preceded by | Jan P. Syse |
Succeeded by | Thorbjørn Jagland |
In office 9 May 1986 – 16 October 1989 | |
Monarch | Olav V |
Preceded by | Kåre Willoch |
Succeeded by | Jan P. Syse |
In office 4 February 1981 – 14 October 1981 | |
Monarch | Olav V |
Preceded by | Odvar Nordli |
Succeeded by | Kåre Willoch |
5th Director-General of the World Health Organization | |
In office 13 May 1998 – 21 July 2003 | |
Secretary-General | Kofi Annan |
Preceded by | Hiroshi Nakajima |
Succeeded by | Lee Jong-wook |
Leader of the Labour Party | |
In office 1981–1992 | |
Preceded by | Reiulf Steen |
Succeeded by | Thorbjørn Jagland |
Minister of the Environment | |
In office 6 September 1974 – 8 October 1979 | |
Prime Minister | Trygve Bratteli Odvar Nordli |
Preceded by | Tor Halvorsen |
Succeeded by | Rolf A. Hansen |
Member of the Norwegian Parliament | |
In office 1 October 1977 – 30 September 1997 | |
Deputy | Sissel Rønbeck Ivar Ødegaard Marit Nybakk Bjørn Tore Godal Rune E. Kristiansen |
Constituency | Oslo |
Personal details | |
Born | Gro Harlem 20 April 1939 Bærum, Akershus, Norway |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse | Arne Olav Brundtland |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | University of Oslo (Cand.Med.) Harvard University (MPH) |
Signature | |
Gro Brundtland (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈɡruː ˈhɑ̀ːlɛm ˈbrʉ̀ntlɑnː]; born Gro Harlem, 20 April 1939) is a Norwegian politician (Arbeiderpartiet),[1] who served three terms as the 29th prime minister of Norway (1981, 1986–1989, and 1990–1996), as the leader of the Labour Party from 1981 to 1992, and as the director-general of the World Health Organization from 1998 to 2003. She is also known for having chaired the Brundtland Commission which presented the Brundtland Report on sustainable development.
Educated as a physician, Brundtland joined the Labour Party and entered the government in 1974 as Minister of the Environment. She became the first female prime minister of Norway[1] on 4 February 1981, but left office on 14 October 1981; she returned as prime minister on 9 May 1986 and served until 16 October 1989. She finally returned for her third term on 3 November 1990. After her surprise resignation as prime minister in 1996, she became an international leader in sustainable development and public health, and served as Director-General of the World Health Organization and as UN Special Envoy on Climate Change from 2007 to 2010.[2] She is also deputy chair of The Elders and a former vice-president of Socialist International.
Brundtland belonged to the moderate wing of her party and supported Norwegian membership in the European Union during the 1994 referendum. As prime minister, Brundtland became widely known as the "mother of the nation".[3] Brundtland received the 1994 Charlemagne Prize, and has received many other awards and recognitions.
Early life
Brundtland was born in Oslo in 1939, the daughter of physician and politician Gudmund Harlem and Inga Margareta Elisabet Brynolf (1918–2005). She has a younger brother, Lars and a younger sister, Hanne.
In 1963, Brundtland graduated with a medical degree, a
From 1966 to 1969, she worked as a physician at the Directorate of Health (Helsedirektoratet), and from 1969 she worked as a doctor in Oslo's public school health service.
Political career
She was
Prime Minister of Norway
Brundtland became Norway's first female
Brundtland served as prime minister for two further, and more durable, terms. The second ministry was from 9 May 1986 until 16 October 1989 and this cabinet became known worldwide for its high proportion of female ministers: nearly half, or eight of the total eighteen ministers, were female. The third ministry was from 3 November 1990 to 25 October 1996.
Brundtland became leader of the Labour Party in 1981 and held the office until resigning in 1992, during her third term as prime minister. In 1996, she resigned from office and retired completely from politics. Her successor as both Labour Party leader in 1992 and as prime minister in 1996 was Thorbjørn Jagland.
Local politics
Brundtland returned to politics when she became a candidate to the
International career
In 1983, Brundtland was invited by then
During her third ministry, the Norwegian government in 1993 took the initiative to sponsor secret peace talks between the Government of Israel led by
After the end of her term as PM, Brundtland was then elected Director-General of the World Health Organization in May 1998. In this capacity, Brundtland adopted a far-reaching approach to public health, establishing a Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, chaired by Jeffrey Sachs, and addressing violence as a major public health issue. Brundtland spearheaded the movement, now worldwide, to achieve the abolition of cigarette smoking by education, persuasion, and increased taxation.[8] Under her leadership, the World Health Organization was one of the first major employers to make quitting smoking a condition of employment. Under Brundtland's leadership, the World Health Organization was criticized[9] for increased drug-company influence on the agency.
Brundtland was recognized in 2003 by
In 2006 Brundtland was a member of the Panel of Eminent Persons who reviewed the work of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In May 2007, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon named Brundtland, as well as Ricardo Lagos (the former president of Chile), and Han Seung-soo (the former foreign minister of South Korea), to serve as UN Special Envoys for Climate Change.[10]
Brundtland's hallmark political activities have been chronicled by her husband,
External videos | |
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https://www.c-span.org/video/?205161-1/michigan-state-university-commencement-address Michigan State University Commencement Address, 2 May 2008], C-SPAN |
In 2007, Brundtland was working for Pepsi as a consultant.[11]
Brundtland is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.[12]
Brundtland is also a member of the Club of Madrid, an independent organization of former leaders of democratic states, which works to strengthen democratic governance and leadership.[13]
Brundtland is a founding member of
Brundtland attended the
In 2019, Brundtland served as co-chair with the WHO Global Preparedness Monitoring Board.
Assassination attempt
Brundtland narrowly escaped assassination by Anders Behring Breivik on 22 July 2011. She had been on the island of Utøya hours before the massacre there to give a speech to the AUF camp; Breivik stated that he originally intended Brundtland to be the main target of the attack (along with Eskil Pedersen and Jonas Gahr Støre), but he had been delayed while travelling from Oslo.[17][18] Breivik arrived on Utøya about two hours after Brundtland had left.
During his trial in 2012, Breivik revealed detailed assassination plans for Brundtland.[19] He told the court that he had planned to handcuff her and then record himself reading out a prepared text detailing her "crimes", before decapitating her on camera using a bayonet and uploading the footage to the internet. Breivik said that while Brundtland had been his main target, he had still planned to massacre everyone else on the island.[20]
Personal life
She married Arne Olav Brundtland on 9 December 1960. They had four children; one is deceased. They own a house in the
Health issues
Brundtland was operated on for
Honours
Brundtland has received many awards and honours, including
- Indira Gandhi Prize (1988)
- Charlemagne Prize (1994)
- Member of the American Philosophical Society (2002)[25]
- Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture (2008)[26]
- Prize International Catalonia (2013) with Malala Yousafzai[27]
- Tang Prize in Sustainable Development (2014)[28][29]
- Honorary member of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights (2016)[30]
- Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters[31]
- The National German Sustainability Award[32]
- Honorary Member of the Moscow Society of Naturalists[33]
- Rudyard n. Propst Award from Clubhouse International
See also
References
- ^ S2CID 239258606
- ^ "UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Appoints Special Envoys on Climate Change". United Nations. 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
- ^ Gro Harlem Brundtland
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Gro Harlem Brundtland i bystyret?" (in Norwegian). NRK Oslo og Viken. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Gro Harlem Brundtland seilte inn i Oslo bystyre" (in Norwegian). NRK Oslo og Viken. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ Claire Doole (21 October 1998). "WHO declares war on tobacco firms". BBC news. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
- ^ Wilson, Duff (26 June 2005). "New blood-pressure guidelines pay off – for drug companies". The Seattle Times. No. 26 June 2005. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press (10 May 2007). "U.N. Envoys Seek Input on Climate Change". Time. Archived from the original on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ Morten Ulekleiv; Gunn Kari Hegvik; Lars Kristian Tranøy (12 December 2007). "Pepsi-Gro slår tilbake: – Latterlig". Verdens Gang. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "Members". Council of Women World Leaders. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ "Brundtland, Gro Harlem". Club de Madrid. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "Gro Harlem Brundtland". The Elders. Archived from the original on 6 March 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "Kofi Annan appointed Chair of The Elders". theelders.org. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ "Mary Robinson appointed new Chair of The Elders". theelders.org. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ "Norway shooting: killer 'confirms Gro Harlem Brundtland was main target'". The Daily Telegraph. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ Line Brustad (18 November 2011). "Breiviks hovedmål: Gro, Jonas og Eskil". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ Haroon Siddique; Helen Pidd (19 April 2012). "News blog: Anders Behring Breivik trial, day four – Thursday 19 April". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "Breivik trial: Phone delay 'caused more deaths'". BBC News. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ regjeringen.no (31 May 2011). "Gro Harlem Brundtland". Government.no. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ Alf Bjarne Johnsen (10 January 2008). "Betalte operasjon i 2002". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian).
- ^ Alf Bjarne Johnsen (7 January 2008). "Gro flytter hjem". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ Aud Dalsegg (9 March 2002). "Får hodesmerter av mobilstråling". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ "International Leader in Environmental Issues to Receive 2008 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture, Law, Citizen Leadership, and Global Innovation". University of Virginia. 15 February 2008. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012.
- ^ "La nena pakistanesa Malala Yousafzai i l'ex primera ministra noruega Gro Harlem Brundtland, XXV Premi Internacional Catalunya" (in Catalan). Ara. 24 May 2013.
- ^ 2014 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Tang Prize laureate calls for more sustainable development efforts
- ^ "Gro Harlem Brundtland utnevnt til æresmedlem av Norsk Kvinnesaksforening". Norwegian Association for Women's Rights. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
- ^ "Gruppe 7: Medisinske fag" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
- ^ The National German Sustainability Award Archived 20 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Moscow Society of Naturalists official site (in Russian)
Further reading
- Wilsford, David, ed. Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary (Greenwood, 1995) pp 49–56.
- ISBN 9781447315780.
- Brundtland, Gro Harlem (2002) "Madam Prime Minister: A Life in Power and Politics". New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ISBN 0-374-53002-5, primary source
External links
- Media related to Gro Harlem Brundtland at Wikimedia Commons
- Quotations related to Gro Harlem Brundtland at Wikiquote
- Appearances on C-SPAN