Thor Listau facts for kids

Thor Listau (born June 3, 1938, died March 22, 2014) was an important person in Norway. He started his career in the military. Later, he became a politician for the Conservative Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament three times. He also served as the Minister of Fisheries for four years. After his time in politics, he worked as a director for a large company called Statkorn.

Early Life and Education

Thor Listau was born in Svolvær, a town in Norway. His father, Magnus Listau, produced fish food. His mother was Johanna Jakobsen.

Thor went to a special school for military communications. He studied there from 1954 to 1958. After finishing school, he worked in the military. He was a radio mechanic. From 1961, he served in the Norwegian Army in Kirkenes.

Thor Listau's Political Journey

While in Kirkenes, Thor Listau became active in politics. He led the local youth group for the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1967. Then, he led the county group from 1967 to 1969. During these years, he was also a member of the main board for the Young Conservatives.

He was elected to the school board in Sør-Varanger Municipality. He served there from 1966 to 1971. He also became a member of the local council in Sør-Varanger. He was on the council from 1967 to 1975. For four of those years, he was part of the executive committee. Thor also led a local sports club, SK Vigør, for one year.

In 1973, Thor Listau was elected to the Parliament of Norway. He represented the area of Finnmark. He was re-elected two more times, in 1977 and 1981.

In 1981, the Conservative Party did very well in the election. They formed a new government, led by Kåre Willoch. Thor Listau was chosen to be the Minister of Fisheries. He held this important job until 1985. While he was a minister, another person, Steinar Eriksen, took his place in Parliament.

After 1986, Thor Listau stopped running for elections. He started working as an office manager for Statens Kornforretning. He also went back to school part-time. In 1988, he earned a degree in business from the BI Norwegian Business School. Even though he wasn't in Parliament, he stayed involved with the Conservative Party. He was on the party's main board from 1988 to 1990. He also led the party's study group from 1988 to 1995.

After Politics and Later Life

From 1991 to 1995, Thor Listau was the director of Statkorn. In 1995, Statkorn changed its name to Cermaq. Cermaq became a company that makes fish food and works with fish farming. Thor Listau worked there as an organizational director until 2005. He also led the board of Cermaq for its first year, from 1995 to 1996.

Thor Listau also held other important positions. He led the board of Statskraftverkene from 1985 to 1991. He was a board member for local newspapers, Sør-Varanger Avis and Finnmarksposten. He served on those boards from 1974 to 1982. He was also a board member for the Norwegian Guarantee Institute for Export Credits from 1993 to 2004.

In his later years, Thor Listau lived in Østerås in Bærum Municipality. He passed away there in March 2014.