By Kleppe

Per Kleppe (2009)

Per Kleppe (* 13. April 1923 in Oslo ) is a Norwegian politician of Arbeiderpartiet , among others 1971-1972 trading and shipping minister in the first government of Prime Minister Trygve Bratteli , 1973-1979 Finance Minister in the second government Bratteli and the Government of Prime Minister Odvar Nordli and, most recently, between 1980 and 1981 head of the planning secretariat in the rank of ministerial in the Nordli government and the first government of Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland . Between 1981 and 1988 he was Secretary General of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

Life

Studies and youth functionary

Kleppe, son of the lawyer Knut Sigurd Kleppe and his wife Nathalie Mathilde Andersen, began to study economics at the University of Oslo after attending school in 1941 , which he had to interrupt temporarily because of the Second World War .

During his studies he began his political career in the Arbeiderpartiet and was first chairman of the Socialist Student League between 1948 and 1949 and then from 1949 to 1955 a member of the central board of the youth organization of the workers' party AUF ( Arbeidernes Ungdomsfylking ) . At the same time he was vice-member of the city council of Oslo between 1951 and 1955 and vice-chairman of the local youth committee from 1952 to 1955 and also chairman of the European youth council between 1953 and 1955.

Kleppe began his professional career in 1952 as a secretary in the Ministry of Finance and then from 1953 to 1954 as a secretary in the Central Statistical Office, before he was secretary of the research council's steering committee from 1954 to 1957.

Vice-Member of the Storting and State Secretary

In 1954 Kleppe was elected vice-member of the Storting for the Arbeiderpartiet for Oslo and held this position until 1957. During this time he graduated from the University of Oslo in 1956 as Candidatus oeconomices (Cand. Oecon.).

On 25 February 1957 he was Secretary of the Treasury and was as such until 1 March 1962 closest collaborator of the former Minister of Finance of the government of Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen , Trygve Bratteli respectively since April 23, 1960 Petter Jakob Bjerve .

After resigning from this office, in 1962 he first became full-time secretary of the committee responsible for drawing up the budget (Den finanspolitiske komité) before moving to the Secretariat of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in Geneva in 1963 , where he was head of the economic department until 1967. On his return he was head of the Labor Movement Research Office between 1967 and 1971.

In 1969 Kleppe became a vice-member of the central board of the Arbeiderpartiet and held this position for twelve years until 1981.

Minister in the Bratteli, Nordli and Brundtland governments

Trade Minister 1971 to 1972 and failed EC accession negotiations

On March 17, 1971, Kleppe was appointed to a ministerial office by Prime Minister Trygve Bratteli for the first time, as Minister of Commerce and Shipping (Handels- og Skipsfartsminister) in his first government. He held this ministerial office until the end of Bratteli's term of office on October 18, 1972 and was also acting minister of industry from September 24 to November 4, 1971 as a representative of industry minister Finn Lied . After leaving the government, he returned to working as head of the labor movement research office between 1972 and 1973.

As Minister of Commerce, he was responsible for negotiations for Norway's accession to the European Communities , which the Storting decided in 1970 with 132 votes to 17. A few months later, however, there was a referendum in Norway on September 24 and 25, 1972 , in which membership of the European Communities was rejected by 53.5 percent of the electorate. In the discussion about accession, one of the questions that played a role was whether accession would give EC partners free access to fishing waters. As a result of this defeat and the apparent misjudgment of the will of the electorate, the referendum ultimately led to Bratteli's resignation on October 7, 1972.

Finance Minister 1974 to 1979 and the Kleppe package against the economic crisis

Prime Minister Bratteli appointed Kleppe on 16 October 1973 Treasury (finance minister) in its second government. He held the office of finance minister from January 15, 1976 until a cabinet reshuffle on October 8, 1979 in the government of Prime Minister Odvar Nordli. His successor was then Ulf Sand .

During his six-year tenure as finance minister, Kleppe had a significant influence on Norway's economic policy. The announcement of the discovery of significant oil and natural gas deposits in the North Sea bed on August 29, 1974 resulted in Norway becoming self-sufficient in the energy sector and being able to export oil and natural gas, but was confronted with new problems. The beginning industrial boom overwhelmed the labor market and led to an emigration from northern Norway.

Kleppe then made several important decisions in economic policy, such as an anti-cyclical financial policy after the oil price crisis , in order to counteract rising unemployment through strong government involvement, for example through various subsidy measures and guarantees for shipping and shipbuilding.

Kleppe also tried to counteract the noticeable inflationary tendencies associated with this. He partially succeeded in convincing the unions that the wage demands made against the state in return necessitated tax cuts and measures to curb inflation. The measures known as the “Kleppe Package” ('Kleppe-pakke') were controversial, but ultimately proved to be effective.

At the same time he was chairman of the Norwegian delegation of the Norwegian- Portuguese Commission for Cooperation from 1974 to 1981 . In 1978 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Christ for his services there .

The popular politician played a supporting role as a member of Storting in 1978 in the comedy Olsenbanden + Data-Harry sprinkler verdensbanken by Knut Bohwim with Arve Opsahl , Sverre Holm and Carsten Byhring .

Head of the planning secretariat from 1980 to 1981

At the end of the 1970s, Kleppe viewed Nordli's economic policy more and more critically and, despite increasing revenues from oil sales, demanded that budgetary discipline be observed, which led to accusations from the unions and which was ultimately the reason for Nordli's dismissal as finance minister.

On January 1, 1980, Kleppe, who nevertheless had a great influence on economic policy, took over the newly created office of head of long-term planning and cooperation matters in the rank of minister (Statsråd, Planleggingssekretariatet / Minister for samord Langtidsplanlegging) in the Nordli government . He also held this position in the first government of Nordli's successor as Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland, until the end of her term on October 14, 1981.

Secretary General of EFTA

On December 1, 1981, Kleppe succeeded the Swiss Charles Müller as Secretary General of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and held this office until April 5, 1988. He was succeeded on October 16, 1988 by the Austrian Georg Reisch . In 1987 he was awarded the Order of the Yugoslavian Flag with Gold Star and Necklace by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . At the same time he acted as chairman of the Committee for the Promotion of Norwegian Monetary Policy from 1987 to 1989.

After his work as EFTA General Secretary, the EFTA member states awarded him in 1988 the Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland , the Grand Cross of the Order of the Hawks of Iceland and the Grand Cross of the North Star Order of Sweden . In addition, in 1989 he also became a Star Commander of the Order of Saint Olav .

Kleppe was later chairman of the Employment Committee from 1991 to 1992, chairman of the transfer committee between 1992 and 1993 and chairman of the committee for the then two Norwegian state banks ( Den Norske Stats Husbank and Statens Lånekasse for Utdanning ) from 1994 to 1995 . Most recently, from 1999 to 2007, he was chairman of the Arbeiderpartiet committee for senior policy.

Publications

Books

• Main aspects of economic policy in Norway since the war , Oslo 1968.
• EFTA-NORDEK-EEC. Analyze av de nordiska länderas integration problem , Stockholm 1970.
• Næringslivet på anklagebenken , co-author Einar Førde, Oslo 1972.
• Norsk økonomi og dens internasjonale sammenheng , Oslo 1979.
• Norges vei til Europa , Oslo 1989.
• Visjonen og hverdagen , Tiden Oslo 1990.
• Kleppepakke, Meninger og minner fra et politisk liv , autobiography, Oslo 2003.

in German language

• Requirements of international free trade in the 1980s: January 25, 1983 , Vienna 1983.

items

• Are there any industries? , Co-author Jan Idriksen, in: Industriforum , Oslo 1977.
• Utviklingen av de public utgifter and styringen av disse i de nordiske land i 70-årene , in: Nordisk Administrativt Tidsskrift , Copenhagen 1981.
• Synpunkter på norsk sentraladministrasjon , in: Nordisk Administrativt Tidsskrift , Copenhagen 1982.
• International trends in developments of production and industrial structure , in: EFTA occasional papers issue 1, Geneva 1983.
• Status for Keynesianitan , in: EFTA occasional papers , edition 3, Geneva 1983.
• Motkonjunktpolitikken in the middle of 1970-årene , in: Full sysselsetting og økonomisk vekst. Festskrift til Eivind Erichsen , Oslo 1987.
• Kan Stortingets budsjettsaldering forenkles? , in: Med Finanskomiteen i arbeid , Oslo 1988.
• Kampen om 70-åra , in: Festskrift til Gudmund Hernes , 1991.
• Internasjonaliseringen and sysselsettingen , in: Tanker om ledelse - i kjølvannet av LOS , 1994.
• Økonomisk vekst og konkurranseevne - hva er de sentrale factors? , in: Per Heum and Dag Stokland (editors): Internasjonalisering og nasjonal næringspolitikk , in: Fafo-Rapport , 1994.
• Solidarity alternative: fortid og framtid , in: Fafo-Rapport , Oslo 1999.
• Arbeidslinjer og de svake gruppene på arbeidsmarkedet , in: Fafo-Rapport , Oslo 1999.
• Bedre tjenesteyting i kommunene , in: Fafo-Rapport , Oslo 1999.

Web links

• Literature by and about Per Kleppe in the catalog of the German National Library
• Per Kleppe in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Entry on the homepage of the Storting
• Biography in the store norske leksikon

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} The Great Ploetz . The Encyclopedia of World History , Verlag Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 35th edition, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-32008-2 , p. 1538.
2. ↑ Olsenbanden + Data – Harry sprenger verdensbanken in the Internet Movie Database