Gunnar Stålsett

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Gunnar Johan Stålsett (born February 10, 1935 in Kjelvik (today Nordkapp ) as Gunnar Sirkka ) is a Norwegian Lutheran theologian and politician. From 1998 to 2005 he was Bishop of the Diocese of Oslo .

church

After studying Protestant theology in Oslo, at Bethany Lutheran Seminary in Minnesota and in Heidelberg , Stålsett was ordained pastor of the Norwegian Church in 1962 and first worked as a school pastor in the Hamar diocese . From 1964 to 1970 he was a lecturer in systematic theology at the Missionary College in Stavanger , then general secretary of the interchurch council of his church.

After a brief activity as parish priest in Elverum , he became general secretary of the Norwegian Biblical Society and the Verbum publishing house in 1982. In 1985 he was elected General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation . Here he campaigned for peace and human rights, for strengthening the southern churches and for the model of communion . After his resignation in 1994, he became rector of the Department of Practical Theology at the University of Oslo . In 1998 he was called to be Bishop of Oslo. Here he drew particular criticism when, against a vote of the college of bishops, he ordained a theologian who was openly in a homosexual partnership in 2001 for the first time. On August 25, 2001, he married Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in Oslo Cathedral ; In 2004 he christened their first daughter Ingrid Alexandra .

In 2005 Stålsett retired, but continued to perform special tasks, e.g. B. as head of the European Council of Religious Leaders (ECRL).

Stålsett hired Lula Tekle from Eritrea as a domestic helper, who had been tolerated in Norway for 19 years . The prosecution therefore demanded that Stålsett be sentenced to 45 days in prison without parole. Any form of wage labor for people without a work permit and without access to the social and health system is punishable in Norway. The 84-year-old commented:

"If so, I will gladly accept the punishment, because I have fulfilled my Christian duty."

- Gunnar Stålsett

On December 19, 2019, Stålsett was given a suspended sentence and a fine of 10,000 crowns. Shortly before, the four parties of the center-right government had agreed with the "Lex Tekle" on a new regulation for rejected asylum seekers who have been living in Norway for many years.

politics

Under Prime Minister Lars Korvald, Stålsett worked from October 1972 to October 1973 as State Secretary in the Ministry of Church, Education and Culture. From 1973 to 1978 he was chairman of the Senterpartiet in Oslo, from 1977 to 1979 also at the national level. In the legislative period 1977–1981 he was his party's successor candidate for the Storting . 1985–1990 and 1994–2002 he was a member of the Nobel Committee for the award of the Nobel Peace Prize . In 2012 he was reappointed to the body.

Stålsett served as the Norwegian special ambassador to East Timor between 2006 and 2010 .

Honors

Stålsett is Commander of the Saint Olav Order . In 2001 he received the Petter Dass Prize , in 2006 the St. Halvard Medal (the city's highest award) and in 2013 the Niwano Peace Prize .

family

Stålsett has been married since 1959 and has two grown children.

Works (selection)

  • Som deg selv. Tyve tekster til vår tid , Gyldendal, Oslo 2005
  • Julens budskap. I begynnelsen var fortellingen , Gyldendal, Oslo 2003
  • Hva er da et menneske? Tekster til tro og tanke , Gyldendal, Oslo 2002
  • Under the sky. Taler og prekner , Verbum, Oslo 2000
  • Following Christ together. Sermons and addresses on communion, service and hope , WCC Publications, Geneva 1994

literature

  • Norman A. Hjelm, Prasanna Kumari, Jens Holger Schjørring (eds.): From the World Federation to Community. History of the Lutheran World Federation 1947–1997 , Hanover 1997, pp. 452–456.
  • Roar Madsen: Gunnar Stålsett . In: Norsk biografisk leksikon ( online version ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Norwegian bishop goes to prison for his convictions , Frankfurter Rundschau, December 3, 2019
  2. ↑ Gunnar Stålsett dømt til betinget fengsel , NRK December 19, 2019, accessed on July 4, 2020
  3. ↑ Civil disobedience: Norwegian bishop does not have to be in custody , Frankfurter Rundschau, December 19, 2019
  4. ↑ Why the 30th Niwano Peace Prize is being awarded to Bishop Gunnar Stålsett .
personal data
SURNAME Stålsett, Gunnar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sirkka, Gunnar (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian politician (Sp) and theologian
DATE OF BIRTH February 10, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH North cap