Kåre Willoch's career in politics started when he became a member of
the Oslo City Council from 1952 to 1959. In 1958, at the age of 30 he
became a member of the Norwegian Parliament, a seat he held for over 30
years. At the age of 35 he became Minister of Trade in John Lyng's
government that lasted only from August to September of 1963. From 1965
he was again appointed to the same post as Minister in the Per Borten
government. He held his post until 1970 when he stepped down to take
over as the Conservative Party's parliamentary leader. From 1970 to
1974 he was also the party's chairman.
During his stay as Trade Minister in the Borten government he took a
part in deciding whether they would support then Crown Prince Harald
who wanted to marry a commoner, Sonja Haraldsen. Willoch in later years
revealed he thought Ms Haraldsen was a wonderful woman, and would never
stand in the way of her and the Crown Prince's love (Ms Haraldsen
married Harald in 1968 and since 1991 she has been Queen Sonja of
Norway).
After the Conservative election victory in 1981 Willoch put together a
cabinet and became Prime Minister of Norway. He held the position until
the government resigned in 1986, after disagreements with Parliament
over their financial politics. From 1986 Willoch was leader of
Parliament's Foreign Committee until he retired from Parliament in
1989. From 1989 he was county chairman (fylkesmann) of the county of
Oslo and Akershus, until he retired from that post in the late 1990s.
Willoch has since been active in political and social debates, among
others well known for his support of a free Palestinian state. He has
won new admirers even in the left-wing circle after seeming to grow
more liberal with age. He has authored several important books (since
debuting as an author as early as 1956), and is considered one of the
great statesmen in modern Norway.
