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October 14, 2005 |
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October 14, 2005 |
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Per Egil Hegge, recently retired editor of Aftenposten, Norway's leading newspaper, gave a gripping account of the events that took place in 1905 as Norway gained its full independence from Sweden. Part of the Norwegian Fish Club 2005 Lecture Series: Norwegian Independence, his hour-long lecture presented at the Norwegian Fish Club on October 14 entitled "1905 Viewed From a Modern Perspective" touched on national as well as international events that influenced the attainment of independence.
Mr. Hegge is a prolific writer having authored ten books. Among these are two on Soviet foreign policy and two on American foreign policy. His books also include biographies of two noted Norwegian Arctic explorers, Fridjof Nansen and Otto Sverdrup. He has a strong interest in the Norwegian language, having authored a book on language usage. His most recent book, most timely for the 100th anniversary of Norwegian independence, deals with the breakup of the Union with Sweden. Hegge is commissioned to write the official biography of His Majesty King Harald V, due to be published in 2007.
Per Egil Hegge was born in Stjørdal, Trøndelag in 1940. He is married, with three children and five grandchildren, and is fluent in five foreign languages: English, Russian, German, French and Italian. In addition, he modestly indicates that he "speaks some Czech and Spanish." He served as Aftenposten's foreign corres-pondent in London, Moscow, and Washington, D.C., and in 1971 he gained the honor of being expelled from the Soviet Union. He was editor of Aftenposten's magazine in its weekend edition from 1984 to 1988. He later served as the Culture and Arts editor from 1992 to 1998.
Mr. Hegge retired from Aftenposten in May 2005 after a career of 43 years. An active linguist of major ability however, he continues to write a daily column for Aftenposten where he discusses appropriate uses of the Norwegian language. This is a highly recommended column for anyone that speaks Norwegian:
http://www.aftenposten.no/ekspertene/spraak/
© 2000-2005 The Norwegian Fish Club in San Diego
