Global InformationNorwegian of the Century information
Norwegian of the Century (Norwegian: Århundrets nordmann) was a poll carried out by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation in 2005, the 100-year anniversary of Norwegian independence. The poll was SMS-based and over 400,000 Norwegians voted over the course of the year.[1] To qualify as "Norwegian of the Century", the nominee must have lived between 1905 and 2005. All Norwegians were eligible for nomination, and there were initially 600 people on the list. A "Great Norwegian Committee" (Store Norske komiteen) consisting of Nils Arne Eggen, Astrid Nøklebye Heiberg, Guri Hjeltnes, Harald Norvik, Erling Sandmo and Cathrine Sandnes narrowed the list down to 50.[2] Another poll was conducted, again SMS-based, with the results presented live on NRK1 on 17 December 2005. The winner, with 41% of the vote, was King Olav V. Former Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen was second with 24%, followed by Erik Bye with 15%.[3][4] The results for the top 50 spots were as follows:
- Olav V (1903–1991) - King of Norway (21 September 1957 – 17 January 1991)
- Einar Gerhardsen (1897–1987) - politician and Prime Minister of Norway (1945–1951, 1955–1963, 1963–1965)
- Erik Bye (1926–2004) - journalist, artist, author, film actor, folk singer and radio and television personality
- Kim Friele (1935–2021) - gay rights and human rights activist
- Thor Heyerdahl (1914–2002) - ethnographer, led Kon-Tiki expedition
- Mari Boine (1956–) - Norwegian Sami musician
- Gro Harlem Brundtland (1939–) - politician and 22nd Prime Minister of Norway (1981, 1986–1989, 1990–1996)
- Haakon VII (1872–1957) - King of Norway (18 November 1905 – 21 September 1957)
- Christian Michelsen (1857–1925) - shipping magnate, statesman, and 1st Prime Minister of Norway (1905–1907)
- Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930) - explorer, diplomat, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- Ivar Asbjørn Følling (1888–1973) - physicist and biochemist known for describing the disease commonly known as Følling's disease or phenylketonuria
- Grete Waitz (1953–2011) - marathon runner, first woman to run a marathon in under two and a half hours
- Alf Prøysen (1914–1970) - author, poet, playwright and musician
- Helge Ingstad (1899–2001) and Anne Stine Ingstad (1918–1997) - archaeologists and explorers of a Norse settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in 1960
- Anne-Cath. Vestly (1920–2008) - author of children's literature
- Gunnar Sønsteby (1918–2012) - member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway in World War II.
- Knut Hamsun (1859–1952) - writer, Nobel laureate in Literature
- Kjell Aukrust (1920–2002) - author and poet
- Eivind Berggrav (1884–1959) - Lutheran bishop, figure in resistance against German occupation of Norway
- Kirsten Flagstad (1859–1962) - opera singer and dramatic soprano
- Ole Gunnar Solskjær (1973–) - football player and manager
- Hjalmar Andersen (1923–2013) - speed skater, won three gold medals at the 1952 Winter Olympic Games held in Oslo, Norway
- Edvard Munch (1863–1944) - painter and print-maker, best known for painting The Scream
- Bjørn Dæhlie (1967–) - cross–country skier, won a total of 29 medals in the Olympics and World Championships from 1991 and 1999
- Carl Joachim Hambro (1885–1964) - journalist, author and politician
- Katti Anker Møller (1868–1945) - feminist, children's rights advocate, reproductive rights activist
- Kristian Ottosen (1921–2006) - non–fiction writer and public servant
- Rosemarie Köhn (1939–2022) - bishop in the Diocese of Hamar of the Church of Norway
- Bjørn Wirkola (1943–) - ski jumper
- Sam Eyde (1866–1940) - engineer and industrialist
- Olav Selvaag (1912–2002) - residential contractor, responsible for innovative design for building affordable housing in Post–World War II economic expansion
- Arne Arnardo (1912–1995) - circus performer, generally known as the "circus king" of Norway
- Karl Evang (1902–1981) - physician and civil servant
- Thorbjørn Egner (1912–1990) - playwright and songwriter for children
- Halldis Moren Vesaas (1907–1995) - poet for children
- Jan Garbarek (1947–) - jazz saxophonist
- Finn Lied (1916–2014) - military researcher and politician
- Sigrid Undset (1882–1949) - novelist, Nobel laureate in Literature
- Wenche Foss (1917–2011) - actress of stage, screen, and television
- Erling Stordahl (1923–1994) - farmer and singer
- Oscar Mathisen (1888–1954) - speed skater
- Sonja Henie (1912–1969) - figure skater and film star
- Arne Nordheim (1931–2010) - composer
- Trygve Lie (1896–1968) - politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1940–1946) and 1st Secretary-General of the United Nations (1946–1952)
- Inger Hagerup (1905–1985) - poet
- Johs Andenæs (1912–2003) - jurist
- Liv Ullmann (1938–) - actress and film director
- Ragnar Frisch (1895–1973) - economist, being one of the founders of the discipline of econometrics, and for coining the widely used term pair macroeconomics/microeconomics in 1933; awarded Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1968
- Gustav Vigeland (1869–1943) - sculptor
- Francis Bull (1887–1974) - literary historian
- ^ Amundsen, Ulrik Rongved. "Olav 5 er århundrets nordmann" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ Øyen, Ragnhild Sleire. "Store Norske komiteen" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ "Kong Olav kåret til århundrets nordmann" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 17 December 2005. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ "Folkekongen ble århundrets nordmann" (in Norwegian). Aftenbladet. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.