Per Ditlev-Simonsen (born 12 June 1932) is a Norwegian politician. He was the mayor of Oslo, representing the Conservative Party, from 1995 to 2007. He stepped down on 23 August 2007 following the Swiss bank-account scandal.
Per Ditlev-Simonsen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 64th Mayor of Oslo | |
| In office 25 October 1995 – 29 August 2007 | |
| Deputy | Svenn Kristiansen |
| Governing Mayor | Rune Gerhardsen Fritz Huitfeldt Erling Lae |
| Preceded by | Ann-Marit Sæbønes |
| Succeeded by | Svenn Kristiansen |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 16 October 1989 – 3 November 1990 | |
| Prime Minister | Jan P. Syse |
| Preceded by | Johan Jørgen Holst |
| Succeeded by | Johan Jørgen Holst |
| Member of the Norwegian Parliament | |
| In office 1 October 1981 – 30 September 1985 | |
| Constituency | Oslo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 June 1932 Oslo, Norway |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Relations | Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen Sr (grandfather) Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen Jr (uncle) John Ditlev-Simonsen (uncle) |
| Children | Cecilie Ditlev-Simonsen |
| Residence(s) | Oslo, Norway |
| Alma mater | Stanford University |
| Occupation | Shipping magnate |
Ditlev-Simonsen was an officer of the Norwegian Royal Guards, and he later attended Stanford University getting a Master of Arts degree. After college, Ditlev-Simonsen became a partner in his father's shipping company Sverre Ditlev-Simonsen & Co (SDS) in 1955. He was a partner in the company until 1995.
Ditlev-Simonsen was a Member of Parliament from 1981 to 1985, serving in the Standing Committee of Finance. From 1989 to 1990 Ditlev-Simonsen was Minister of Defence in the Cabinet of Jan P. Syse.
Personal life
editDitlev-Simonsen was born in Oslo to ship owner Sverre Ditlev-Simonsen and Lily Kaurin. He was a grandson of Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen Sr, and nephew of Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen Jr. He was married to Benedicte Werring (d. 1990) from 1960, and to Turi Klaveness from 1992.[1]
Swiss bank account tax probe
editIn August 2007, the presence of a hitherto unknown Swiss bank account was revealed. The revelation came after an acrimonious divorce involving his daughter, Cecilie Ditlev-Simonsen, the communications director of Norsk Hydro.[2] The account, which contained NOK 1.5 million had been inherited by Ditlev-Simonsen after his wife died in 1990, and he eventually admitted to not having paid the Norwegian wealth tax on it.[3]
The revelation caused several opposition politicians to call for Ditlev-Simonsen's resignation. Erna Solberg, the head of the Conservative Party, asked that Ditlev- Simonsen refrain from active campaigning for his party ahead of the local elections scheduled for 10 September. Even if he had not resigned, the 75 year old Ditlev-Simonsen was set to retire after the election.[4] The incident was believed to be a cause of the Conservative's 4 percent drop in opinion polls, three weeks ahead of the election.[5]
References
edit- ^ Kortsen, Bjarne. "Per Ditlev-Simonsen". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ Aftenposten (August 17, 2007). "Mayor caught in tax probe".
- ^ Aftenposten (August 20, 2007). "Mayor sorry but won't resign".
- ^ Aftenposten (August 20, 2007). "Oslo's mayor faces resignation demands".
- ^ Aftenposten (August 22, 2007). "Voters abandon Conservatives".