Kjell Borgen

Kjell Borgen (21 October 1939 – 22 August 1996) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He served as Minister of Transport and Communications from 1986 to 1988, Minister of Local Government from 1988 to 1989 and again from 1990 to 1992. He served as County Governor of Hedmark from 1993 until his death.

Early life and career He was born in Oslo as a son of a worker and a housewife. He attended the teacher's college in Elverum from 1960 to 1962. He worked as a secondary school teacher in Rendalen Municipality from 1962 to 1966, and also minored in Norwegian at the University of Oslo in 1964. From 1967 to 1972 he worked as headmaster at a combined primary-secondary school, and from 1972 he had a municipal administrative job.

Borgen chaired his regional branch of the Workers' Youth League from 1957 to 1959. He chaired his local Labour Party chapter from 1964 to 1967, and the county chapter from 1976 to 1980. He was a member of the Labour Party central committee from 1985 to 1993. Locally, Borgen became a member of the municipal council for the new Rendalen Municipality in 1965. In 1967 he became mayor, serving until 1977. He was a member of Hedmark county council from 1967 to 1979, from 1874 to 1975 as deputy county mayor (fylkesvaraordfører). Borgen also became slightly controversial due to the Oslo Airport localization debate. A decision to choose Hurum Municipality as the site of the new Oslo Airport was the reason for Borgen's withdrawal as Minister of Transport.

Borgen lost his position as Minister of Local Government and Labour when Brundtland's Second Cabinet fell in 1989. When Brundtland's Third Cabinet returned in 1990, Borgen returned as well, only under a slightly different name: Minister of Local Government. He made his exit in September 1992, and sat through his last term in Parliament, to 1993. While Borgen was Minister, his seat in Parliament was taken by Ingrid Nylund and Grethe Fossum.