Kari Gjesteby facts for kids

Kari Gjesteby was born on May 16, 1947, in Oslo, Norway. She is a well-known Norwegian politician who was part of the Labour Party.

Even though Kari Gjesteby was never a member of the main Norwegian Parliament, she held many important roles in the government. She served as a State Secretary three times. She was also a government minister twice. First, she was the Minister of Trade and Shipping from February to October 1981. Later, she became the Minister of Justice and the Police from 1990 to 1992.

After her political career, Kari Gjesteby continued to lead important organizations. She worked as a director at the Bank of Norway. She also directed the National Library of Norway and the Norwegian Library of Talking Books and Braille. From 2009 to 2013, she made history as the first woman to become the State Conciliator of Norway. This role involves helping to solve big disagreements, often between workers and employers.

Kari Gjesteby's Career Journey

Starting Her Career Path

Kari Gjesteby was born in Oslo. Her father, Omar Gjesteby, was also a politician. She went to primary school in Bjølsen starting in 1953. She finished secondary school at Oslo Commerce School in 1965.

From 1967 to 1970, she studied economics at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. This school teaches about business and money. During these years, she also worked at Landsbanken, a bank, and Universitetsforlaget, a publishing company.

Kari became involved in politics when she was a teenager. She joined the Workers' Youth League, which is the youth branch of the Labour Party. She led the secondary school branch from 1964 and worked as a secretary from 1966. She was also on the board of her local Labour Party group.

Her Time in Politics

In 1972, Kari Gjesteby started working as a consultant in the Ministry of Local Government and Labour. Two years later, she became a political secretary in the Ministry of Government Administration and Consumer Affairs. This role is now called a political advisor.

In 1976, she was promoted to State Secretary in the Ministry of Church and Education. A State Secretary is a high-ranking official who helps a government minister. She left this role in 1978 but returned in 1979 as State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.

On February 4, 1981, Kari Gjesteby became the Minister of Trade and Shipping. She was part of the first government led by Gro Harlem Brundtland, which was sometimes called the "female government" because it had many women ministers. This government lasted until October 1981.

After this, from 1981 to 1982, Kari worked as a secretary for the Labour Party's group in Parliament. When Gro Harlem Brundtland formed her second government in 1986, Kari Gjesteby became State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She held this position until May 1988.

Later, from November 1990 to September 1992, Kari Gjesteby served as the Minister of Justice and the Police. This was during Gro Harlem Brundtland's third government.

Leadership Roles After Politics

Between her times as a full-time politician, Kari Gjesteby worked for the Nordic Council of Ministers. This organization helps countries in the Nordic region work together.

In 1990, she was hired as a director at the Bank of Norway, which is Norway's central bank. She took time off from this role to lead other important institutions. From 2002 to 2004, she was the director of the National Library of Norway. Then, from 2005 to 2006, she directed the Norwegian Library of Talking Books and Braille, which provides books for people with visual impairments.

In 2009, Kari Gjesteby was appointed the State Conciliator of Norway. She was the very first woman to hold this important position, which involves mediating disputes and helping to find solutions.

Kari Gjesteby also served on the boards of many different organizations. For example, she was a board member of the Bank of Norway and the Nordic Investment Bank. She also served on the boards of companies like Norsk Hydro and SAS Norway. She chaired the board of the Cancer Registry of Norway and Asplan Viak, a consulting company.

Today, Kari Gjesteby lives in Enerhaugen, a neighborhood in Oslo.