Berge Furre facts for kids
Berge Ragnar Furre (born April 13, 1937 – died January 11, 2016) was an important Norwegian person. He was a historian, a theologian (someone who studies religion), and a politician. He was known for his work with the Socialist Left Party.
Early Life and Student Days
Berge Furre was born in a place called Sjernarøy in 1937. He went to school in different cities like Sjernarøy, Stavanger, and Oslo. After finishing high school in 1955, he started studying at the University of Oslo.
While at university, he became very active in student politics. In 1959, he led the Norwegian Students' Society. He was first part of the Norwegian Labour Party. However, he was a key person in something called the "Easter Uprising" in 1958. This was a student movement that led him and others, like Finn Gustavsen, to leave the Labour Party. They then started a new party called the Socialist People Party. Berge Furre worked as the party secretary from 1961 to 1964.
He finished his university degree in 1968. Before that, in 1967, he became an editor for a magazine called Syn og Segn. He also worked on the board of a newspaper, Dag og Tid. In 1971, he became a history teacher at the University of Tromsø. He also cared about the Norwegian language and was on the board of Noregs Mållag.
Time in Politics
Berge Furre became a member of the Storting (the Norwegian Parliament) for the Socialist Left Party. He represented the county of Rogaland from 1973 to 1977. While in Parliament, he led the committee that dealt with farming.
He was also the leader of the Socialist Left Party from 1976 to 1983. Before that, he had been a deputy leader for the party.
Later Career and Public Service
After leaving Parliament in 1977, Berge Furre went back to the University of Tromsø as a lecturer. In 1985, he became a full professor there.
Later, he became very involved in Christian work. He held several important roles within the Church of Norway. In 1991, he became a professor of church history at the University of Oslo. He also served on the board of Church City Mission. In 1998, he became an ordained priest, many years after he first started studying theology. He retired from his professor role in 2007.
Berge Furre was also part of the Lund commission from 1994 to 1996. This group investigated the police intelligence services in Norway. It was later discovered that Furre himself had been secretly watched by these same services. This discovery caused a big stir and even led to a government minister resigning.
In 1998, he became a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. From 2003 to 2009, he was a member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. This committee decides who wins the Nobel Peace Prize. He also served as the deputy chair and later chair of Det Norske Teatret, a well-known theater in Norway.
