Inge Lønning

Inge Lønning
Lønning in 2003.
President of the Lagting
In office 10 October 2005 – 30 September 2009
Vice President	Jon Lilletun Ola T. Lånke
Preceded by	Lodve Solholm
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Vice President of the Storting
In office 9 October 2001 – 30 September 2005
President	Jørgen Kosmo
Preceded by	Hans J. Røsjorde
Succeeded by	Carl I. Hagen
First Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party
In office 29 March 1998 – 5 May 2002
Leader	Jan Petersen
Preceded by	Børge Brende
Succeeded by	Erna Solberg
President of the Norwegian European Movement
In office 31 January 1993 – 5 March 1995
Preceded by	Fredrik Vogt-Lorentzen
Succeeded by	Gro Balas
Rector of the University of Oslo
In office 1 January 1985 – 31 December 1992
Preceded by	Bjarne A. Waaler
Succeeded by	Lucy Smith
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
In office 1 October 1997 – 30 September 2009
Constituency	Oslo
Personal details
Born	Inge Johan Lønning (1938-02-20)20 February 1938 Fana, Norway
Died	24 March 2013(2013-03-24) (aged 75) Beitostølen, Norway
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Kari Andersen (m. 1962–2008; her death) Mari Mæland (m. 2012–2013; his death)
Children	4, including Lars Lønning
Education	University of Oslo
Military service
Allegiance	Norway
Branch/service	Navy

Inge Johan Lønning (20 February 1938 – 24 March 2013) was a Norwegian Lutheran theologian and politician for the Conservative Party of Norway. As an academic, he was Professor of Theology and Rector of the University of Oslo during the term 1985–1992. As a politician, he served as President of the European Movement in Norway, as a Member of Parliament, as Vice President of the Parliament, as Vice President of the Conservative Party, and as President of the Nordic Council.

Biography

Lønning was born in Fana, Bergen, Norway. He was the son of Per Lønning (1898–1974) and Anna Gurine Strømø (1895–1966). His older brother was Bishop Per Lønning (1928–2016). He earned his cand. theol. degree from the University of Oslo in 1962 and finished the practical-theological seminar in 1963. He continued his academic career with a fellowship from 1963 to 1971, with a year's interruption for military service as a chaplain in the Norwegian Navy. He earned his doctorate in theology at the University of Oslo in 1971 and was appointed professor in systematic theology at the University of Oslo the same year. In 1985 he was elected rector of the University of Oslo, serving until 1992, while maintaining his chair as professor of theology until his retirement in 2008.

In 1971, Lønning also started his political career, when he was elected into the Oslo city council for one term and also the city's board of education for eight years. Lønning was elected as a member of Norwegian parliament for three terms, from 1997 through 2009. He was (at the time of his death) the president of Lagtinget, was vice president of Stortinget from 2001 to 2005, and also served as a member of several parliamentary committees.

He was president of the Nordic Council in 2003, and was awarded honorary doctorates from Luther College and Åbo Akademi University. He was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

He died on 24 March 2013, after he fell ill while cross country skiing at Beitostølen.

Selected works

• Frihet til tro. En bok om Bibel og bekjennelse (Oslo: Gyldendal. 1980) ISBN 978-82-05-12336-6
• Fellesskap og frihet. Tid for idépolitikk (Oslo: Genesis.1997) ISBN 978-82-476-0029-0

External links

• "Inge Lønning" (in Norwegian). Storting.
• Nordic Council website