Guro Fjellanger facts for kids

Guro Fjellanger was a Norwegian politician. She was a member of the Liberal Party. From 1997 to 2000, she served as the Minister of the Environment. She also worked as a consultant and served on many important boards and government groups.

Early Life and Education

Guro Fjellanger was born in Bergen, Norway, on January 26, 1964. Her father was a professor and her mother was an interior decorator. She grew up in Stokmarknes. Guro finished high school in 1984. She later studied history at the University of Oslo, earning her degree in 1990.

Political Career

Guro Fjellanger started her political journey early. In 1985, she became the secretary for the Young Liberals of Norway. This is the youth group of the Liberal Party. She then led this group as its chairperson from 1986 to 1988.

In 1988, she became a leader in the group called Nei til EU. This group was against Norway joining the European Union. She worked as their secretary-general from 1991 to 1995.

Roles in the Liberal Party

In 1994, Guro Fjellanger joined the main committee of the Liberal Party. She was the party's information director in 1995. From 1996 to 2000, she served as the vice president of the Liberal Party. She also worked briefly for the Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature in 1996.

Minister of the Environment

After the 1997 election, Kjell Magne Bondevik formed his first government. Guro Fjellanger was chosen to be the Minister of the Environment. This was a very important job. On April 29, 1998, she signed the Kyoto Protocol for Norway. This was an international agreement to fight climate change.

She left her role as minister in March 2000. This happened when Bondevik's government lost a vote of confidence. This means the government no longer had enough support from the parliament. In the same year, she also stepped down as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party.

Other Important Roles

After her time as minister, Guro Fjellanger continued to work in public service. From 2002 to 2004, she was the director of the Norwegian Centre Against Ethnic Discrimination. This was a government agency that worked to prevent unfair treatment of people.

She also served on the boards of many organizations. She was on the board of the Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers from 1996 to 1997. She led the Norwegian Institute for Water Research from 2001 to 2007. She also led Ecolabelling Norway starting in 2004.

Guro Fjellanger was a board member of the Norwegian Consumer Council from 2008 to 2012. She also served on the board of the Oslo University Hospital starting in 2011. From 2014 to 2016, she was the President of the Forum for Women and Development. She was also a member of the city council in Oslo from 2007 to 2015.

She was part of two government groups. These groups looked at rules for medical research and how to protect people with disabilities from unfair treatment.

Personal Life and Legacy

Guro Fjellanger was born with spina bifida. This is a condition that affects the spinal cord and can make walking difficult. She learned to walk a little, but later used a wheelchair all the time. When she became Minister of the Environment, she was the first Norwegian government minister with a disability.

In 2007, she won a lawsuit against the state. The state had refused to give her insurance coverage. This was an important victory for her.

In November 2018, Guro Fjellanger wrote an article for a newspaper. She explained that even though she lived with spina bifida, she had not been constantly sick. She also shared that she had cancer and had recently faced serious infections. Guro Fjellanger passed away on April 16, 2019, at the age of 55.