Thorvald Stoltenberg, Labour politician, former Minister of Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Diplomat, Ambassador, Peace broker and President of the Norwegian Red Cross, died on July 13th at the age of 87 after a short illness.
About him (I won't go into his political achievements on this forum, but rather focus on some of his MANY personal qualities):
He was an amazing guy, admired, liked and respected on both sides of the political spectrum (even by the populists in the Right-winged Progress Party) - and polled the most admired person in Norway after the King, some years ago.
Known for:
*His extremely good people skills. - He hugged almost everyone he met in the streets and stuff.
*His kindness and friendliness to others. - He made himself available to everyone, and ordinary people called him daily for advice and comfort, something that made him very happy and which he regarded as a great honor.
*His struggle for the weak in society, strengthened by his late daughter Nini Stoltenberg's drug use. - He is described by many (including drug addicts and people working for them) as the Norwegian who has done the most in this field.
But as a political commentator said the day he died, Thorvald's best quality was that he was so pro at being a good person, it was nothing negative to say about him.
He was also a master in making everyone feel like they were the most important person in the world (an ability only a few others have).
About his famous kitchen table:
Well, that table in his large apartment in Oslo’s Frogner district was nearly as important as the man himself. It served as a gathering point when he gathered politicians, state leaders and others around it, most notably Nelson Mandela. - He was among the many invited home to eat breakfast with Thorvald, and admitted he wasn’t particularly fond of Stoltenberg’s breakfast staple of mackerel in tomato sauce (an iconic part of Norwegian eating habits since the 1950s).
The kitchen table (I will say the breakfasts, rather than the table) has been described by the media as Thorvald Stoltenberg’s ''personal weapon'' when it came to dealing with all these people.
Fatherhood:
His daughter and first child, Camilla Stoltenberg (Director-General of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health) has described him as a kind-hearted, hands-on father who took his children with him on many of his work-related travels.
His son and second child, Jens Stoltenberg (Secretary General of NATO and former Prime Minister of Norway) has described him as an amazing father and his best friend, but perhaps a bit too much hands-on. - Because he called his children every day (and they him), and he always wanted to know if the Smoke detectors worked and if they used bicycle helmets or not, even though his children were now over 50 (it was the same with his adult grandchildren).
His late daughter and youngest child, Nini Stoltenberg (Norwegian television personality) has described him as a caring and kind father, who never gave up on her.
Death:
Although it was very hard for him to lose his wife of 55 years Karin Stoltenberg (Norwegian politician and champion of women’s rights) in 2012 at the age of 80 after a short illness, and his daughter Nini Stoltenberg in 2014 at the age of 51, due to various illnesses caused by her drug use. - He found the love again with the 9 years younger Anja Breien (Norwegian film director and screenwriter), the same year (2014).
He had a fall in 2015 and had to use a walking stick after that, but he kept it going with giving lectures around the country, writing books and giving television/newspaper-interviews until May 2018, when cancer was discovered.
Then it went very fast, something which made him sad, because he wanted to live as long as his father Emil Stoltenberg (a well-known military man) who died at the age of 98 in 1998.
He died at home in his famous apartment in Oslo on July 13th, where he had lived for decades, surrounded by his family - including his two surviving children.
Jens BTW had to rush home from the NATO summit in Brussels to take farewell with him (a summit that Thorvald had insisted on his son to attend.
Media reactions to his death:
NRK and TV2 News Channel startet sending special news at 15:00, right after we got the news from the Labour Party. - And all Norwegian News websites had it as their main story with several articles each.
It totally dominated the media here (completely overshadowed QEII's meeting with Trump) and he (Thorvald) got all the front pages for himself the day after.
The tributes started pouring in from politicians, celebrities and people/families who helps/work with drug users & the weak in society, etc.
And people were already calling for statues and stuff at the moment he died.
I have not seen anything like this in Norway since the death of actress, humanitarian, gay rights supporter and national icon, Wenche Foss at the age of 93 in 2011.
Funeral:
He's not getting a funeral with government honour at state expense. - An honor usually given to leading statesmen, politicians, soldiers and, in rare cases, cultural workers as writers, actors, composers and athletes.
Why is he not? Well, most of the politicians who've received it have either been former Prime Ministers or former Presidents of the Storthing, and the current government has been much stricter on who that gets it, or not.
But it will be a large-scale live-televised funeral (arranged by the Labour party) in Oslo Cathedral on August 2nd, so everyone can take farewell with ''Hele Norges Thorvald'' (The Whole Norway's Thorvald), as the media describes him to be (which he is).
The King, Queen, Princess Astrid, Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, Erna Solberg and the two other party leaders in the government, Minister of Finance and leader of the Progress Party, Siv Jensen & Minister of Culture and Leader of the Liberal Party, Trine Skei Grande will be in attendance.
We are also hearing that former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan will be present.
So, there is no doubt that this will be the biggest funeral Norway has seen since the funeral of Wenche Foss (the actress, I mentioned above) in 2011.
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BTW, If you want to read about his political positions, one can do it here:
Thorvald Stoltenberg - Wikipedia