Sjur Lindebrække

Sjur Lindebrække   (politician, banker)
Born	6 April 1909 Voss
Died	1 October 1998 (Age 89) Bergen
Nationality	Norwegian
Alma mater	Oslo University
Parents	Gjert Lindebrække
Party	Conservative Party (Norway)
«Father of the modern Norwegian Conservative Party» who persuaded it to support NATO. Attended September 1956 and 1956 Bilderberg meetings.  Conservative Party of Norway/Leader In office 1962 - 1970  Member of the Storting In office 1945 - 1953

Sjur Lindebrække was a Norwegian banker and Conservative Party of Norway politician. He was one of the Conservatives' most central politicians in the post-war period, in the decades between CJ Hambro and Kåre Willoch. According to historian Francis Sejersted, Lindebrække is rightly referred to as «the father of the modern Conservative Party».

Lindebrække was a MP for Bergen 1945–1953, the Conservatives' second deputy chairman 1950–1954 and chairman 1962–1970. He wanted a liberal party at the center of Norwegian politics, and placed great emphasis on socio-political issues. Together with John Lyng, Lindebrække is given the greatest credit for the fact that the party in the post-war period emerged with an economic policy based on the demand for full employment and a social profile.

Of deep state importance is his leadership in the clandestine MILORG during World War 2, and how these contacts were kept up after the end of the war, especially how he exerted pressure to get the Conservatives to support Norwegian NATO membership, which he succeeded in.

Background

He was born in Voss in 1909 as the son of director (and later county governor) Gjert Lindebrække and singer Ida Bessesen Lie Lindebrække. He grew up in Bergen. He graduated in law from the University of Oslo, with extremely high grades in 1931, and became dr.juris. in 1948.

During World War II, he was a key resistance leader ^{[Citation Needed]} in Bergen, but omits the war years in his memoirs.

He was an assistant judge in Nordfjord 1932–1933 and a university fellow in law 1933–1936. In 1936 he was employed by Bergens Privatbank, where he later was deputy head 1940–1945, bank manager in 1945 and 1946–1959, managing director 1959–1968 and working chairman 1968–1976. He took leave from the bank when he was head of the War Damages Committee 1945–1946. He managed Bergens Privatbank through a period marked by strong expansion both nationally and internationally, and fought for an independent Norwegian banking industry - which he regarded as a fundamental prerequisite for a democratic society - throughout his professional career.

He was married to Tikken Manus, sister of the well-known resistance fighter Max Manus.

Political work

Lindebrække was elected to the Storting from Bergen against his will in 1945. He was not a member of the Conservative Party, and tried in vain to be exempted from being a list candidate. He referred to the Constitution and his work in the War Damages Committee, but this was not accepted as a valid reason to refuse, as this job was only temporary.

He quickly asserted himself as a member of the Storting's finance and customs committee, and was the Conservative Party's leading fiscal politician during his time in the Storting. In the years after the war, he also exerted pressure on CJ Hambro to get the Conservatives to support Norwegian NATO membership, which he succeeded in.

In 1947, he stated that full employment was an overriding goal for the Conservatives. The Labor Party claimed to have a monopoly on such issues, but it was not accepted by Lindebrække. In 1949 he finally joined the party, and had a heavy influence over the party program.

In 1950, he was elected the party's first organizational vice chairman, while Alv Kjøs and CJ Hambro were elected political vice chairman and chairman, respectively. Lindebrække was obviously the party's rising star and was launched as a candidate for party chairman candidate in 1952, but was stopped by Hambro. After his resignation as vice chairman in 1954, he continued as a member of the Conservative Party's board. Neither Lindebrække nor John Lyng dared to make the final settlement with the political organization Libertas, something the older leaders Hambro and Kjøs did instead.

He returned to politics fully as party chairman in 1962, thus ensuring a generational change ten years later than planned. With him as vice-chairmen throughout his chairmanship were Svenn Stray and Håkon Kyllingmark. His presidency was marked by a number of unorthodox initiatives and a strengthening of the organizational work, but it still did not become as shining as many had expected, and it is often said that his greatest contribution to the party was made before he became its chairman. However, the party's social profile and zeal for civic cooperation were strengthened, and in 1963 John Lyng was able to form his short-lived government which paved the way for the formation of Per Borten's government in 1965. Francis Sejersted wrote in the Conservative Party's history: "No one, like Lindebrække, has helped to modernize the Conservative Party's profile, to adapt the party to the problems of the time." In 1970, Lindebrække handed over the chairmanship to Kåre Willoch, but was chairman of the Conservative Party's political council 1971–1981 and a member of the central board again from 1974.

Lindebrække was a deputy member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 1 January 1970 to 31 December 1975, acting member August 1970-March 1971 and October 1973-May 1974. From 1 January 1976 to 31 December 1981 he was a permanent member.ref>"Lists of Nobel Prizes and Laureates" Nobel Prize. Retrieved 19 June 2013.</ref>

Together with Bernt Ingvaldsen he worked to undermine Hélder Câmara as candidate, cooperating with the Brazilian ambassador in Oslo as the military dictatorship in Brazil was vehemently against Câmara receiving the Nobel peace prize.

Lindebrække held a number of public, private and organizational board positions.

 

Events Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Bilderberg/1955 September	23 September 1955	25 September 1955	Germany Bavaria Garmisch-Partenkirchen	The third Bilderberg, in West Germany. The subject of a report by Der Spiegel which inspired a heavy blackout of subsequent meetings.
Bilderberg/1956	11 May 1956	13 May 1956	Denmark Fredensborg	The 4th Bilderberg meeting, with 147 guests, in contrast to the generally smaller meetings of the 1950s. Has two Bilderberg meetings in the years before and after

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.

References

This page imported content from Wikipedia on 07.07.2021.
Wikipedia is not affiliated with Wikispooks.   Original page source here