Ansgar Gabrielsen (born 21 May 1955 in Mandal) is a Norwegian consultant and former politician for the Conservative Party.
Ansgar Gabrielsen | |
---|---|
Minister of Health and Care Services | |
In office 18 June 2004 – 17 October 2005 | |
Prime Minister | Kjell Magne Bondevik |
Preceded by | Dagfinn Høybråten |
Succeeded by | Sylvia Brustad |
Minister of Trade and Industry | |
In office 19 October 2001 – 18 June 2004 | |
Prime Minister | Kjell Magne Bondevik |
Preceded by | Grete Knudsen |
Succeeded by | Børge Brende |
Personal details | |
Born | Mandal, Vest-Agder, Norway | 21 May 1955
Political party | Conservative |
Occupation | Consultant and former politician |
He was born in Mandal as a son of Terje Gabrielsen and Astrid Olsen. He is an insurance agent by education and worked in this profession before entering politics. He is also a trained officer in the Norwegian Defence Force. He was a member of Lindesnes municipal council from 1983 to 1993, the last six years as mayor. [1] His father Terje Gabrielsen has also been mayor of Lindesnes, from 1975 to 1979.[ citation needed] Ansgar Gabrielsen also chaired his county party chapter from 1989 to 1990, and was a member of the Conservative Party central board during the same period. [1]
He was elected to the Parliament of Norway from Vest-Agder in 1993, and was re-elected on the two following occasions in 1997 and 2001. In 2001 Gabrielsen was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry as a part of Bondevik's Second Cabinet. Following the cabinet reshuffle in 2004 he became Minister of Health and Care Services. While Gabrielsen was a cabinet member his seat in parliament was taken by Peter Skovholt Gitmark. Bondevik's Second Cabinet fell following the 2005 election. [1]
While Minister of Trade and Industry, Gabrielsen was first criticized for his suggestion about a law that requires 40% of the board members in Norwegian companies to be female. The law was passed with the blessing of the socialist parties, but his own party opposed it. [1]
Gabrielsen moved from Lindesnes when being elected in 1993, and resided at Østerås. [2] [3] He also kept his residential address in Spangereid, his constituent district. Towards the end of his cabinet tenure, he was reported as residing in a yacht at Aker Brygge in Oslo. In 2007 he stood for municipal re-election in Lindesnes, and won a seat. However, as it surfaced that he had recently bought an apartment in Oslo, he had to relinquish the seat. [4]
Gabrielsen started his own consultant company in 2006. In 2007 he became chairman of the Special Olympics and the Norwegian Council for Mental Health. [1]
In 2007, Tor Øystein Vaaland, former leader of the Norwegian Council for Mental Health, published the book Brev til en minister (Letters to a Minister) based on private letters Gabrielsen received while he served as Minister of Health, with a focus on letters from people with psychiatric problems or drug addiction. [5] The book was published in 205,000 copies and distributed to Norwegian healthcare workers. [6]
Gabrielsen was decorated as a Commander of the Order of St. Olav in 2005. [1] Gabrielsen is married and has four children.
In 2014 was elected as chairman of the board at CSAM Health. [7]