Guttorm Hansen

Guttorm Hansen (3 November 1920 – 2 April 2009) was a Norwegian writer and politician for the Labour Party. He started his career as a mechanic, but after 1945 he was a journalist and editor of magazines and newspapers. Via local politics in his native Namsos he was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1961, serving six terms in total. He was the President of the Storting for two of these terms, from 1973 to 1981. He was also known as a prolific book writer, many of his books having a direct connection to his political life.

Career He was born in Namsos as the son of mechanic Håkon Hansen (1895–1963) and housewife Agnes Selnes (1900–1924). Before 1945 he worked as a mechanic himself, and since he only had primary education, he took extra education in the evenings. From 1945 to 1948 he worked as a journalist and subeditor in the temperance magazine Menneskevennen. He then worked as editor-in-chief of Firdaposten from 1948 to 1951 and as a journalist in Namdal Arbeiderblad from 1951 to 1961.

Hansen's mother died from tuberculosis, and due to his social background and environment it was no surprise that he joined the labour movement. His book Om Stortingets arbeidsordning, co-written with Parliament secretary Erik Mo and released in 1994, is also often referenced.

Hansen was married to Karin Johanne Johnsen since December 1947. He died in Namsos in April 2009.

Selected works