Nobel Prize

Short biography Steen, Johannes Vilhelm Christian 1827 – 1906 Educator and politician Liberal Johannes Vilhelm Christian Steen received his M.A. degree (Cand.Philol.) in 1848. From 1849 he worked as a teacher. He was headmaster at the Grammar School in Stavanger (southwestern Norway) in 1867-1891. Steen was elected chairman of the political organization, Arbeiderforeningen “The Workers’…

by Geir LundestadSecretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, 1990-2014 Introduction This article is intended to serve as a basic survey of the history of the Nobel Peace Prize during its first 100 years. Since all the 107 Laureates selected from 1901 to 2000 are to be mentioned, the emphasis will be on facts and names.…

The KWImF was conceived during Germany’s golden era of scientific development The opening of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research (KWImF) was the culmination of years of intensive planning and organizational efforts by Ludolf von Krehl. Krehl was one of the earliest promoters of the integration of discrete disciplines of the natural sciences under…

Short biography Mowinckel, Johan Ludwig 1870 – 1943 Shipowner and politician Liberal   Johan Ludwig Mowinckel graduated from high school in 1888. In the period 1890-1893 he studied languages and business in Germany, England and France. In 1898 he bought his first ship and subsequently developed a shipping company of considerable size with its headquarters…

Short biography Sandegren, Kaare 1929 – Trade union official Labour party Kaare Sandegren got his M.A. in 1953 after having studied at the University of Oregon and Fletcher School of Law (both in the USA). In 1956 he finished further studies in Norway and from 1957 trained as a diplomat in the Norwegian Department of…

Short biography Smitt-Ingebretsen, Herman 1891 – 1961 Journalist and politician Conservative Herman Smitt-Ingebretsen graduated from high school in 1911. He studied political economy at the University of Oslo but left the University to work as a journalist on the conservative newspaper Morgenbladet. From 1916 to 1936 he held leading positions on other conservative newspapers: Aftenposten,…

by Michael W. Doyle Peace and democracy are just two sides of the same coin, it has often been said. In a speech before the British parliament in June of 1982, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed that governments founded on a respect for individual liberty exercise “restraint” and “peaceful intentions” in their foreign policy. He then,…

The KWImF was barely three years old when unanticipated difficulties began to create severe problems for the Institute. The first blow to Krehl’s vision for the KWImF came in 1933 with the death of Karl Hausser. Besides the loss to his family and friends, Hausser’s colleagues seriously missed the scientific approach of a man who…

Short biography Sanness, John Christian Munthe 1913 – 1984 Norwegian historian Labour John Christian Munthe Sanness took his M.A. in 1940 and his Ph.D. in history in 1959. He was editor of the foreign affairs section of Arbeiderbladet, the organ of the Labour Party in 1946-1950. In 1960 he became Director of Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt…

Short biography Rønbeck, Sissel Marie 1950 – Politician Labour Sissel Marie Rønbeck became engaged in politics when she was in her teens. She worked for the youth organisation of the Labour Party in 1970-1972 and was chairman of the organisation in 1975-1977. Later she held different leading positions within the Labour Party. She was a…