Erling Folkvord
Encyclopedia
Erling Folkvord is a Norwegian politician for the Red
party, and a former member of the Parliament of Norway. A far-left revolutionary socialist, he was one of the leading members of the Workers' Communist Party
and the Red Electoral Alliance
before they merged to form Red. He sat as a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1993 to 1997, becoming the first communist in parliament since 1961. He later lost his position in 1997, and has been a candidate for parliament ever since. He has been a member of the Oslo City Council
from 1983 to 1993, and again since 1999. Folkvord has become one of the best-known Norwegian politicians on the left who are not connected with the Norwegian Labour Party
or the Socialist Left
.
In the early part of his political career Folkvord was a member of the Red Electoral Alliance. Known for working on several corruption
cases earned him the nickname the "watch dog
". Folkvord's political views turned to communism
and anti-capitalism
when he became a member of the Workers' Communist Party. From 1990 to 1997 he was Deputy Leader of the Workers' Communist Party and in 2001 he became Deputy Leader of the Red Electoral Alliance alongside Chris Hartmann.
Eldrid Kjesbu. He finished secondary school
earning the examen artium
degree in Trondheim
and then started studies to become a social worker at the Social School of Trondheim
. By 1976 he was the leader of the national Social Agencies Union serving until 1978. In 1982, along with fellow Red Electoral Alliance
member Harald Stabell
, Folkvord sued Oslo's social-office leading figures, Signe M. Stray Ryssdal
and Marit Moe. They accused them of misconduct
and of making a false accusation which led to an innocent man going to prison. These accusations eventually led to a police investigation into the matter. After finding no proof of their accusations, Moe sued Folkvord and Stabell for defamatatory charges made against her, but she abstained from pursuing this in court.
Folkvord and Stabell reported to the police that the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet
breached the pimp
paragraph of the criminal code. In an interview Folkvord stated that Dagbladet contributed to giving the Norwegian sex market more attention.
, the Red Electoral Alliance and the Christian Democratic Party had the most loyal voter base throughout the election. Folkvord was later highly vocal in his opposition towards the decentralisation
of health and social services in Oslo where control was to be given to the boroughs. During his early years as member of the City Council Folkvord used most of his time in defending the then "current" social administration.
By the late 1980s Folkvord had earned the nickname "watch dog", as he usually wanted an "independent investigation" into corruption
matters. This eventually developed into one of his most well-known public traits. When leading an investigation into a corruption case in 1989, which involved several representatives of the Oslo City Council, he said "It is possible to sweep corruption and other non-essential nonsense out of City Hall. People only need to persist where necessary". Earlier that year, when finding more proof of a so-called corruption scandal, Folkvord asked for assistance from the district attorney
urging him to lead an investigation into the matter.
By 1990 there were talks within the Red Electoral Alliance towards replacing Folkvord and Athar Ali
as City Council representatives in Oslo to make way for more women in the top positions within the party. Folkvord was kept since he was a well-known face with the Norwegian media. By September 1990 Folkvord had demanded a police-run investigation against Conservative Party
member Michael Tetzschner
, accusing him of corruption and hidden money. These charges were included in a broadcast by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). Tetzschner replied to this broadcast stating that "The news feature was completely dominated by false information. If the television provider does not make the corrections that are necessary, we'll bring the case to the Complaints Board of the Broadcasting Corporation". Folkvord is one of the co-founders of the Oslo party cell, established in early 1991, of the Red Electoral Alliance. While media speculated that he would become the chapter's leader, he denied any such allegations, saying their existed "better suited people" then him for that post.
. Folkvord needed 14,000 votes to earn a seat in parliament. In January 1993, at the national convention
, several long-standing members discussed the best way to organise Folkvord's Oslo electoral campaign. There was optimism among these members believed, along with Nærstad, and they believed before hand that Folkvord would be elected to parliament. The Red Electoral Alliance used a total of for their nationwide 1993 election
campaign, two thirds of it being used to support Folkvords campaign in Oslo. When announcing the results the party managed to become the biggest party in six different constituencies: Grünerløkka
, Ankertorget
, Tøyen
, Kampen
, Vålerenga
and Gamlebyen. Various analysists, and Folkvord himself, believed the Red Electoral Alliance achieved good results in Oslo because of the Socialist Left Party's bad election results in the municipality.
When asked what parliamentary committee he wanted to be a member of Folkvord replied that the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
would be an ideal choice because most of the "assaults" on the working man had their origins in that committee. He was then selected for that very committee in addition to a seat on the Election Committee
. He later became elected as a member of the financial committee of parliament.
In 1994 Folkvord criticised the Labour Government for exporting weapons to Turkey
, which at that time was engaged in a civil war
against the Kurdish people
. He claimed it violated a parliamentary decision made in 1959 which said that the government would not distribute, or export, weapons to countries involved in a civil war. Folkvord earned the support of the Socialist Left, the Centre Party
and the Christian Democratic Party who all sought to end weapon exports to Turkey. The Conservative Party
supported the Labour Party's decision however, with the then party leader Jan Petersen
claiming that the Kurdish liberators were "terrorists". According to Arbeiderbladet
the Norwegian Government had sold worth of weapons to the Turkish Government in 1989 alone. Folkvord sent a letter to Bjørn Tore Godal
, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs
, and asked if the Norwegian Government had gotten the approval of the parliament's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence
to sell weapons to Turkey. In a 1967 decree it became illegal to sell weapons to civil war torned countries, and Folkvord believed that Norway should stopp selling weapons to a country which he considered to be embroilled by civil war.
In early 1995 Folkvord announced that he would not be a candidate for parliament when his term was over. He later claimed the job was "exhausting and stressful". In an opinion poll, conducted in August 1997, Folkvords popularity in Oslo had declined while his popularity outside Oslo had increased. During the election the party used on Folkvord's re-election campaign, which was estimated to be around 70% of party's budget estimated to be around . On 1 September 1995 Folkvord was arrested by Turkish law enforcement
in the Kurdish
city of Diyarbakir
. The Turkish Government said the main reason was his visit to an illegal Kurdish peace festival. That very same day he was flown to Ankara
, and later Istanbul
and the following day he was delivered back to Norway. Nicolas Rea
, a member of the British House of Lords
, took a picture of Folkvord during the event. It was claimed that the picture showed Folkvord being beaten by Turkish officials and that the picture was in-turn burnt by the Turkish police when they saw Rea had a camera.
On 12 September various opinion polls showed that Folkvords popularity had increased again in Oslo which gave rise to speculation that Folkvord would win Inger Lise Husøy
's seat in parliament because of this sudden rise in popularity. When 99% of the vote in Oslo had been counted the party had managed to earn a disappointing 3.9%, losing its only seat.
. The commission revealed there had been extensive surveillance of Norwegian communists, socialists and other radicals by the Norwegian Police Security Service. Folkvord demanded to be shown his own documentation created during the surveillance. In 1999 Folkvord topped his party's list of candidates running for a seat in the City Council. Folkvord was successful and earned a seat on the City Council while the party noted an increase of 1.3%. Folkvords main goal during the campaign was to earn a third seat for the Red Electoral Alliance, he failed to do so though the party held its two seats on the City Council. The party earned 2% and 2.1% of the vote in the county and municipal elections of 1999.
Before the 2001 parliamentary election
both Aslak Sira Myhre
, leader of the Red Electoral Alliance, and Folkvord stated their intentions of being top cadidate for the Red Electoral Alliance. Later, when hearing that Myhre sought to become the party's lead candidate in Oslo, Folkvord told the media he would become third candidat if he was not elected to become the party's lead candidate. A vote was held at the party convention, which resulted in 50 votes for and 62 against Folkvord as lead candidate. Folkvord became third candidate, and Sigrid Angen became second candidate.
By February 2001 the Workers' Communist Party
proposed making Folkvord the new leader of the Red Electoral Alliance, since Myhre would resign if he was elected to parliament. While the majority of the members wanted a female leader after the departure of Myhre, his supporters were perfectly aware that Folkvord could lose the nomination and a campaign was started to make him deputy leader. The main problem for Folkvord's opposition was his close ties to the Workers' Communist Party. At the convention Myhre was re-elected the party's party leader, with Folkvord and Chris Hartmann stepping in as the party's new deputy leaders. Myhre did not become a member of parliament.
By March 2003 Myhre had resigned as leader and Torstein Dahle
was elected as his successor. Dahle had been the leading figure of the Red Electoral Alliance in Hordaland since the 1990s. When commenting on his resignation, Myhre commented on his 2001 election in Oslo saying "it is sad to resign after a bad election". During the 2003 local elections
three different polls showed that the Red Electoral Alliance was close to earning three seats on the Oslo City Council. Folkvord stated that if the party managed to earn one extra seat, he would use try removing the right-wing Conservative Party from power and replace them with a more left-wing "leaning choice" — such as the Labour Party or the Socialist Left Party. The party increased its vote by 0.1%, earning the party 3.1% of the popular vote in Oslo. The party was not able to win a third seat, retaining the two they held.
. Folkvord was accused in a statement saying "his refusal to walk away from the area where it was held an illegal demonstration, despite the fact that he was asked to leave the area". After the incident he received a fine of which he refused to pay.
At the Red Electoral Alliance's city convention Folkvord was elected their lead candidate in Oslo for the 2005 election
. Folkvord, along with Torstein Dahle
, were the only representatives from the party who had a chance of gaining a seat in parliament. Jens Stoltenberg
, leader of the Labour Party, was negative towards the idea of having any representatives from the Red Electoral Alliance in parliament, saying that the voters should do anything in their power to stop them from earning a seat in parliament. When the votes were counted Folkvord did not gain a seat in parliament.
Folkvord later accused many of the prominent members of the Oslo City Council
of being involved, or having been involved, in corruption
. André Støylen
of the Conservative Party
said Folkvord should stop accusing and instead go to the police with proof if he had any.
On 27 February 2007 Folkvord announced he would seek another term in the City Council. Folkvord was re-elected lead candidate for the municipal election at the party convention. In March 2007 the Red Electoral Alliance and the Workers' Communist Party merged and established Red
. By 3 September, six days before the election day
, Red earned its best showing ever in Oslo earning 4.4% in an opinion poll — an increase of 0.3% from the previous election. When the votes for the municipality of Oslo were counted the party had managed to gain three seats on the City Council, with Folkvord's position secure. At national level Red had received 1.9% and 2.1% for the municipal and county elections respectively.
During the 2009 election
several opinion polls showed that Folkvord and Dahle had enough support to earn two seats in parliament. Jens Stoltenberg and Kristin Halvorsen
from the Red-Green Coalition were both highly negative towards the idea of having Red in parliament. Folkvord stated several times that he would demand an immediate withdrawal of Norwegian troops from Afghanistan
if elected to parliament. He said this decision involved both the "enthusiastic warriors of the Progress Party" and "the disillusioned skeptics of the Socialist Left". Folkvord later felt he needed to set pressure on the Labour Party which would, according to him, move them further to the left. Labour Party member Reiulf Steen
had reacted positively towards the idea of having Folkvord in parliament saying, "I am a great admirer of Erling Folkvord. He has integrity and great courage. Besides I am overjoyed that Red supports the Red-Green coalition". When the votes were counted Red had an increase of 1% from the 2005 election, but it was not enough to secure Folkvord a seat in parliament. When all the votes were counted the party had gained 1.3% of the national vote, an increase of 0.1%.
s more power so that they could better defend the working class
. When asked if it was exhausting to promote socialist reforms Folkvord said, "It is. But I think in some ways easier than before [because many] fake socialist regimes have collapsed". Another opinion of his was that "capitalism
destroys the natural environment around us making the bourgeois society planners understand that there must be something new in the future. This provides inspiration to win support for socialist beliefs in Norway". Folkvord's first contact with anti-capitalist beliefs came when he joined the Workers' Communist Party. The party told him about "capitalist barbarism" and how the wealthy controlled everything. Folkvord said he believed that "[this] can't be the end of human development", and that he believes humans are destined to create another more-just system.
Folkvord has long supported the Kurdish
independence movement, believing that Norway and other countries in Europe should stop treating the conflicts between Turkish military and the Kurds as an internal Turkish matter. Being an anti-war
activist he was highly vocal against Norwegian involvement in the War on Terror
since the start of the American led invasion of Iraq. In 2009 Folkvord visited Norwegian soldiers in Afghanistan but claimed that Red was the only Norwegian party not allowed to visit the Afghan city of Meymaneh
, the city were the Norwegian troops are stationed. He is also highly vocal against Norwegian membership in the European Union
, claiming the organisation is spreading "German imperialism".
in Norway, although to verify this he had only one source, Knut Frigaard. Harlem later wrote an article in Aftenposten
stating that the book was "dubiously" written and unreliable. The book also received support from Carl August Fleischer
and Liberal Party politician Helge Seip
who defended the book against the accusations. Folkvord wrote Rødt! in 1998, a book about his tenure as a parliamentary representative. Twelve pages were about Folkvords four-year-term as representative, the other pages contained information criticising fellow parliamentary representatives. When writing the book, he wanted it to have some sort of impact on Red Youth
members and other left of center groups or activists. Operasjon Heilomvending, published in 2007, contained a large amount of criticism of the Socialist Left Party, the Labour Party and the Red-Green Coalition in general.
during the early 1990s.
Red (Norway)
The Red Party is a Norwegian far-left political party and the leading party to the left of the Socialist Left and the Labour Party in Norway. Since 2007 the party has sought a seat in Parliament; the only counties in which they have a realistic chance of earning a seat are Oslo and Hordaland...
party, and a former member of the Parliament of Norway. A far-left revolutionary socialist, he was one of the leading members of the Workers' Communist Party
Workers' Communist Party (Norway)
The Workers' Communist Party was a Norwegian communist party . AKP was a maoist party and one of two communist parties in Norway; the other was the older Communist Party of Norway which has remained pro-Soviet. The relationship between the two parties was characterized by strong hostility.AKP was...
and the Red Electoral Alliance
Red Electoral Alliance
Red Electoral Alliance was an alliance of left-wing groups formed into a Norwegian political party to promote revolutionary far-left ideals into the Norwegian parliament...
before they merged to form Red. He sat as a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1993 to 1997, becoming the first communist in parliament since 1961. He later lost his position in 1997, and has been a candidate for parliament ever since. He has been a member of the Oslo City Council
County council (Norway)
A County Council is the highest governing body of the county municipalities in Norway. The county council sets the scope of the county municipal activity. The council is led by a chairman or county mayor...
from 1983 to 1993, and again since 1999. Folkvord has become one of the best-known Norwegian politicians on the left who are not connected with the Norwegian Labour Party
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
or the Socialist Left
Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
.
In the early part of his political career Folkvord was a member of the Red Electoral Alliance. Known for working on several corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
cases earned him the nickname the "watch dog
Guard dog
A guard dog, an attack dog or watch dog is a dog used to guard against, and watch for, unwanted or unexpected people or animals. The dog is discriminating so that it does not annoy or attack familiar people.-Barking:...
". Folkvord's political views turned to communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements, ideas, and attitudes which oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists, in the strict sense of the word, are those who wish to completely replace capitalism with another system....
when he became a member of the Workers' Communist Party. From 1990 to 1997 he was Deputy Leader of the Workers' Communist Party and in 2001 he became Deputy Leader of the Red Electoral Alliance alongside Chris Hartmann.
Early life and career
Folkvord is the son of school principal Sverre Folkvord and housewifeHousewife
Housewife is a term used to describe a married woman with household responsibilities who is not employed outside the home. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household...
Eldrid Kjesbu. He finished secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
earning the examen artium
Examen artium
Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1630...
degree in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
and then started studies to become a social worker at the Social School of Trondheim
Sør-Trøndelag University College
Sør-Trøndelag University College or HiST is a Norwegian university college located in Trondheim. The school offers higher education within nursing, teaching, economics, food science, engineering and information technology...
. By 1976 he was the leader of the national Social Agencies Union serving until 1978. In 1982, along with fellow Red Electoral Alliance
Red Electoral Alliance
Red Electoral Alliance was an alliance of left-wing groups formed into a Norwegian political party to promote revolutionary far-left ideals into the Norwegian parliament...
member Harald Stabell
Harald Stabell
Harald Stabell is a Norwegian barrister.He worked as a defender in Eidsivating Court of Appeal from 1990 to 1995 and in Borgarting Court of Appeal and Oslo City Court from 1995. Since 2005 he is a barrister with access to Supreme Court cases.He resides in Oslo, and has been a minor ticket...
, Folkvord sued Oslo's social-office leading figures, Signe M. Stray Ryssdal
Signe Marie Stray Ryssdal
Signe Marie Stray Ryssdal is a Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Liberal Party.She was born in Tromøy as a daughter of barristers Christian Stray and Sigrid Stray . She finished her secondary education in 1943, and studied law at the University of Oslo from 1945 to 1948. She spent the...
and Marit Moe. They accused them of misconduct
Misconduct
A misconduct is a legal term meaning a wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts....
and of making a false accusation which led to an innocent man going to prison. These accusations eventually led to a police investigation into the matter. After finding no proof of their accusations, Moe sued Folkvord and Stabell for defamatatory charges made against her, but she abstained from pursuing this in court.
Folkvord and Stabell reported to the police that the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet
Dagbladet
Dagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....
breached the pimp
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
paragraph of the criminal code. In an interview Folkvord stated that Dagbladet contributed to giving the Norwegian sex market more attention.
Council representative
In 1983 Folkvord, along with Liv Finstad, was elected as Red Electoral Alliance representative for the Oslo City Council, taking office on 1 January 1984. According to AftenpostenAftenposten
Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
, the Red Electoral Alliance and the Christian Democratic Party had the most loyal voter base throughout the election. Folkvord was later highly vocal in his opposition towards the decentralisation
Décentralisation
Décentralisation is a french word for both a policy concept in French politics from 1968-1990, and a term employed to describe the results of observations of the evolution of spatial economic and institutional organization of France....
of health and social services in Oslo where control was to be given to the boroughs. During his early years as member of the City Council Folkvord used most of his time in defending the then "current" social administration.
By the late 1980s Folkvord had earned the nickname "watch dog", as he usually wanted an "independent investigation" into corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
matters. This eventually developed into one of his most well-known public traits. When leading an investigation into a corruption case in 1989, which involved several representatives of the Oslo City Council, he said "It is possible to sweep corruption and other non-essential nonsense out of City Hall. People only need to persist where necessary". Earlier that year, when finding more proof of a so-called corruption scandal, Folkvord asked for assistance from the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
urging him to lead an investigation into the matter.
By 1990 there were talks within the Red Electoral Alliance towards replacing Folkvord and Athar Ali
Athar Ali
Athar Ali is a Pakistani Norwegian have represented the Norwegian political party Red.He served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo during the term 1993–1997...
as City Council representatives in Oslo to make way for more women in the top positions within the party. Folkvord was kept since he was a well-known face with the Norwegian media. By September 1990 Folkvord had demanded a police-run investigation against Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
member Michael Tetzschner
Michael Tetzschner
Michael Tetzschner is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party of Norway . He lives with politician Kristin Clemet....
, accusing him of corruption and hidden money. These charges were included in a broadcast by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). Tetzschner replied to this broadcast stating that "The news feature was completely dominated by false information. If the television provider does not make the corrections that are necessary, we'll bring the case to the Complaints Board of the Broadcasting Corporation". Folkvord is one of the co-founders of the Oslo party cell, established in early 1991, of the Red Electoral Alliance. While media speculated that he would become the chapter's leader, he denied any such allegations, saying their existed "better suited people" then him for that post.
Parliament
Folkvord was elected the Red Electroal Alliance's Oslo lead candidate in June 1992. The decision was made based on party leader Aksel Nærstad's belief that Folkvord could easily win a seat since he had become a "national celebrity" of sorts and due to the support Folkvord enjoyed during the 1989 parliamentary electionNorwegian parliamentary election, 1989
A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 11 September 1989.-Results:1 This list was a cooperation between the Norwegian Communist Party, Workers' Communist Party, Red Electoral Alliance and independent socialists....
. Folkvord needed 14,000 votes to earn a seat in parliament. In January 1993, at the national convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, several long-standing members discussed the best way to organise Folkvord's Oslo electoral campaign. There was optimism among these members believed, along with Nærstad, and they believed before hand that Folkvord would be elected to parliament. The Red Electoral Alliance used a total of for their nationwide 1993 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1993
A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 13 September 1993. The Labour Party won a plurality of seats, and Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland remained in office. The Centre Party was particularly successful, gaining 21 seats....
campaign, two thirds of it being used to support Folkvords campaign in Oslo. When announcing the results the party managed to become the biggest party in six different constituencies: Grünerløkka
Grünerløkka
Grünerløkka is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. Grünerløkka became part of the city of Oslo in 1858.Grünerløkka was named after Friedrich Grüner who bought a mill in the area from king Christian V of Denmark in 1672 . During the 19th century, Grünerløkka became a working class area...
, Ankertorget
Ankertorget
Ankertorget is a market square in Oslo, founded 1880-1882, named after merchant Christian Anker....
, Tøyen
Tøyen
Tøyen is a residential area in the central parts of Oslo, Norway, part of the borough of Gamle Oslo.-Location:It is noted for its high concentration of immigrants. The multicultural atmosphere makes Tøyen very trendy and popular with continually rising cost of housing.There are two different...
, Kampen
Kampen, Norway
Kampen is a neighborhood in Oslo, Norway. It is located Gamle Oslo borough, between Tøyen, Hasle, Vålerenga and Galgeberg.-History:The name may come from kamp, meaning outcrop, though it may also come from a military campment. During the 18th century, the home guard had military practices at Kampen...
, Vålerenga
Vålerenga
Vålerenga is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for its traditional, small wooden houses, and for its football and...
and Gamlebyen. Various analysists, and Folkvord himself, believed the Red Electoral Alliance achieved good results in Oslo because of the Socialist Left Party's bad election results in the municipality.
When asked what parliamentary committee he wanted to be a member of Folkvord replied that the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to economic policy, monetary and credit policy, the financial and credit system, financial administration, block grants to municipalities and...
would be an ideal choice because most of the "assaults" on the working man had their origins in that committee. He was then selected for that very committee in addition to a seat on the Election Committee
Election Committee (Parliament of Norway)
The Election Committee ) is a special committee of the Parliament of Norway. The 37 members are responsible for allocating the members of parliament in the various standing and special committees and to allocate the members of the presidium. The committee is also used to conduct elections....
. He later became elected as a member of the financial committee of parliament.
In 1994 Folkvord criticised the Labour Government for exporting weapons to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, which at that time was engaged in a civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
against the Kurdish people
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
. He claimed it violated a parliamentary decision made in 1959 which said that the government would not distribute, or export, weapons to countries involved in a civil war. Folkvord earned the support of the Socialist Left, the Centre Party
Centre Party (Norway)
The Centre Party is a centrist and agrarian political party in Norway, founded in 1920. The Centre Party's policy is not based on any of the major ideologies of the 19th and 20th century, but has a focus on maintaining decentralised economic development and political decision-making.From its...
and the Christian Democratic Party who all sought to end weapon exports to Turkey. The Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
supported the Labour Party's decision however, with the then party leader Jan Petersen
Jan Petersen
Jan Petersen is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Akershus in 1981, and was re-elected on six occasions. He had previously served as a deputy representative during the term 1973–1977. From 2001 to 2005, when the second cabinet...
claiming that the Kurdish liberators were "terrorists". According to Arbeiderbladet
Dagsavisen
Dagsavisen is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999, and it is now fully independent...
the Norwegian Government had sold worth of weapons to the Turkish Government in 1989 alone. Folkvord sent a letter to Bjørn Tore Godal
Bjørn Tore Godal
Bjørn Tore Godal is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs 1991-1994, as well as acting Minister of Foreign Affairs 1993-1994. He was then Minister of Foreign Affairs 1994-1996 and 1996-1997, and Minister of Defense 2000-2001 in the first cabinet Stoltenberg...
, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway...
, and asked if the Norwegian Government had gotten the approval of the parliament's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence
The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating foreign affairs, military, development cooperation, Svalbard or in other polar regions and matters in general relating to agreements between Norway and...
to sell weapons to Turkey. In a 1967 decree it became illegal to sell weapons to civil war torned countries, and Folkvord believed that Norway should stopp selling weapons to a country which he considered to be embroilled by civil war.
In early 1995 Folkvord announced that he would not be a candidate for parliament when his term was over. He later claimed the job was "exhausting and stressful". In an opinion poll, conducted in August 1997, Folkvords popularity in Oslo had declined while his popularity outside Oslo had increased. During the election the party used on Folkvord's re-election campaign, which was estimated to be around 70% of party's budget estimated to be around . On 1 September 1995 Folkvord was arrested by Turkish law enforcement
General Directorate of Security
The General Directorate of Security are the civilian police force responsible for law enforcement in Turkey.-Structure:In the provinces, it operates under the command of governors and district governors . Civil administrators are responsible for the security and wellbeing of towns and districts...
in the Kurdish
Turkish Kurdistan
Turkish Kurdistan is an unofficial name for the southeastern part of Turkey, which is inhabited predominantly by ethnic Kurds. The area covers between 190,000 to 230,000 km² , or nearly a third of Turkey...
city of Diyarbakir
Diyarbakir
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
. The Turkish Government said the main reason was his visit to an illegal Kurdish peace festival. That very same day he was flown to Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, and later Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and the following day he was delivered back to Norway. Nicolas Rea
Nicolas Rea, 3rd Baron Rea
John Nicolas Rea, 3rd Baron Rea commonly known as Nicolas Rea is a British peer, politician and doctor.The son of James Russell Rea and Betty Rea was educated in Dartington Hall School, in Belmont Hill School, Massachusetts and Dauntsey's School...
, a member of the British House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, took a picture of Folkvord during the event. It was claimed that the picture showed Folkvord being beaten by Turkish officials and that the picture was in-turn burnt by the Turkish police when they saw Rea had a camera.
On 12 September various opinion polls showed that Folkvords popularity had increased again in Oslo which gave rise to speculation that Folkvord would win Inger Lise Husøy
Inger Lise Husøy
Inger Lise Husøy is a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the Norwegian Labour Party.She was born in Rauma as a daughter of Gunnar Husøy and Karin Nord. She took her primary and secondary education in Åndalsnes, and also attended Borgund Folk High School and various colleges in the late...
's seat in parliament because of this sudden rise in popularity. When 99% of the vote in Oslo had been counted the party had managed to earn a disappointing 3.9%, losing its only seat.
1999 to the 2003 elections
After losing his position in parliament, Folkvord went through a short-period of obscurity. He once again earned media attention when he publicly denounced the Lund CommissionLund Report
The Lund Report The Lund Report The Lund Report (Official title: "Dokument nr. 15 (1995-96) - Rapport til Stortinget fra kommisjonen som ble nedsatt av Stortinget for å granske påstander om ulovlig overvåking av norske borgere", in English: "Document no...
. The commission revealed there had been extensive surveillance of Norwegian communists, socialists and other radicals by the Norwegian Police Security Service. Folkvord demanded to be shown his own documentation created during the surveillance. In 1999 Folkvord topped his party's list of candidates running for a seat in the City Council. Folkvord was successful and earned a seat on the City Council while the party noted an increase of 1.3%. Folkvords main goal during the campaign was to earn a third seat for the Red Electoral Alliance, he failed to do so though the party held its two seats on the City Council. The party earned 2% and 2.1% of the vote in the county and municipal elections of 1999.
Before the 2001 parliamentary election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001
A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on September 10, 2001. The Labour Party won a plurality of votes and seats, closely followed by the Conservative Party...
both Aslak Sira Myhre
Aslak Sira Myhre
Aslak Sira Myhre is a Norwegian politician and former party leader of Red Electoral Alliance . He currently is director of Litteraturhuset, part of Fritt Ord....
, leader of the Red Electoral Alliance, and Folkvord stated their intentions of being top cadidate for the Red Electoral Alliance. Later, when hearing that Myhre sought to become the party's lead candidate in Oslo, Folkvord told the media he would become third candidat if he was not elected to become the party's lead candidate. A vote was held at the party convention, which resulted in 50 votes for and 62 against Folkvord as lead candidate. Folkvord became third candidate, and Sigrid Angen became second candidate.
By February 2001 the Workers' Communist Party
Workers' Communist Party (Norway)
The Workers' Communist Party was a Norwegian communist party . AKP was a maoist party and one of two communist parties in Norway; the other was the older Communist Party of Norway which has remained pro-Soviet. The relationship between the two parties was characterized by strong hostility.AKP was...
proposed making Folkvord the new leader of the Red Electoral Alliance, since Myhre would resign if he was elected to parliament. While the majority of the members wanted a female leader after the departure of Myhre, his supporters were perfectly aware that Folkvord could lose the nomination and a campaign was started to make him deputy leader. The main problem for Folkvord's opposition was his close ties to the Workers' Communist Party. At the convention Myhre was re-elected the party's party leader, with Folkvord and Chris Hartmann stepping in as the party's new deputy leaders. Myhre did not become a member of parliament.
By March 2003 Myhre had resigned as leader and Torstein Dahle
Torstein Dahle
Torstein Dahle is a Norwegian politician and economist. He works at the Bergen University College and represents Red in the city council of Bergen. Dahle was born in Oslo....
was elected as his successor. Dahle had been the leading figure of the Red Electoral Alliance in Hordaland since the 1990s. When commenting on his resignation, Myhre commented on his 2001 election in Oslo saying "it is sad to resign after a bad election". During the 2003 local elections
Norwegian local elections, 2003
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway on September 15, 2003. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently. In addition, several municipalities held direct mayoral...
three different polls showed that the Red Electoral Alliance was close to earning three seats on the Oslo City Council. Folkvord stated that if the party managed to earn one extra seat, he would use try removing the right-wing Conservative Party from power and replace them with a more left-wing "leaning choice" — such as the Labour Party or the Socialist Left Party. The party increased its vote by 0.1%, earning the party 3.1% of the popular vote in Oslo. The party was not able to win a third seat, retaining the two they held.
Later years: 2004–present
In February 2004 Folkvord was charged with violating the penal code as he had participated in a demonstration against the Invasion of Iraq in 2003. Together with other demonstrators he effectively cut off the entrance to the office of Kristin Krohn, the Minister of DefenceMinister of Defence (Norway)
The Norwegian Minister of Defence is a Councillor of the Council of State and Chief of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, the position has existed since the Secretary of the Army and Secretary of the Navy was combined into the Minister of Defence...
. Folkvord was accused in a statement saying "his refusal to walk away from the area where it was held an illegal demonstration, despite the fact that he was asked to leave the area". After the incident he received a fine of which he refused to pay.
At the Red Electoral Alliance's city convention Folkvord was elected their lead candidate in Oslo for the 2005 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005
Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 12 September 2005. More than 3.4 million Norwegians were eligible for vote for the Storting, the parliament of Norway. The new Storting has 169 members, an increase of four over the 2001 election....
. Folkvord, along with Torstein Dahle
Torstein Dahle
Torstein Dahle is a Norwegian politician and economist. He works at the Bergen University College and represents Red in the city council of Bergen. Dahle was born in Oslo....
, were the only representatives from the party who had a chance of gaining a seat in parliament. Jens Stoltenberg
Jens Stoltenberg
is a Norwegian politician, leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and the current Prime Minister of Norway. Having assumed office on 17 October 2005, Stoltenberg previously served as Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001....
, leader of the Labour Party, was negative towards the idea of having any representatives from the Red Electoral Alliance in parliament, saying that the voters should do anything in their power to stop them from earning a seat in parliament. When the votes were counted Folkvord did not gain a seat in parliament.
Folkvord later accused many of the prominent members of the Oslo City Council
County council (Norway)
A County Council is the highest governing body of the county municipalities in Norway. The county council sets the scope of the county municipal activity. The council is led by a chairman or county mayor...
of being involved, or having been involved, in corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
. André Støylen
André Støylen
André Støylen is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.Born in Ørsta, he served in the position of deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Møre og Romsdal during the term 1989–1993...
of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
said Folkvord should stop accusing and instead go to the police with proof if he had any.
On 27 February 2007 Folkvord announced he would seek another term in the City Council. Folkvord was re-elected lead candidate for the municipal election at the party convention. In March 2007 the Red Electoral Alliance and the Workers' Communist Party merged and established Red
Red (Norway)
The Red Party is a Norwegian far-left political party and the leading party to the left of the Socialist Left and the Labour Party in Norway. Since 2007 the party has sought a seat in Parliament; the only counties in which they have a realistic chance of earning a seat are Oslo and Hordaland...
. By 3 September, six days before the election day
Norwegian local elections, 2007
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway on September 10, 2007, with some areas polling on September 9 as well. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently...
, Red earned its best showing ever in Oslo earning 4.4% in an opinion poll — an increase of 0.3% from the previous election. When the votes for the municipality of Oslo were counted the party had managed to gain three seats on the City Council, with Folkvord's position secure. At national level Red had received 1.9% and 2.1% for the municipal and county elections respectively.
During the 2009 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 2009
The 2009 parliamentary election was held in Norway on 14 September 2009. Elections in Norway are held on a Monday in September, usually the second or third Monday, as determined by the king. Early voting was possible between 10 August and 11 September 2009, while some municipalities held open...
several opinion polls showed that Folkvord and Dahle had enough support to earn two seats in parliament. Jens Stoltenberg and Kristin Halvorsen
Kristin Halvorsen
Kristin Halvorsen is a Norwegian socialist politician and was the Minister of Finance from 17 October 2005 until 20 October 2009. She is now the Minister of Education in Stoltenberg's second cabinet....
from the Red-Green Coalition were both highly negative towards the idea of having Red in parliament. Folkvord stated several times that he would demand an immediate withdrawal of Norwegian troops from Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
if elected to parliament. He said this decision involved both the "enthusiastic warriors of the Progress Party" and "the disillusioned skeptics of the Socialist Left". Folkvord later felt he needed to set pressure on the Labour Party which would, according to him, move them further to the left. Labour Party member Reiulf Steen
Reiulf Steen
Reiulf Steen is a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. He was active in the Norwegian Labour Party from 1958 to 1990, serving as deputy party chairman from 1965 to 1975 and chairman from 1975 to 1981....
had reacted positively towards the idea of having Folkvord in parliament saying, "I am a great admirer of Erling Folkvord. He has integrity and great courage. Besides I am overjoyed that Red supports the Red-Green coalition". When the votes were counted Red had an increase of 1% from the 2005 election, but it was not enough to secure Folkvord a seat in parliament. When all the votes were counted the party had gained 1.3% of the national vote, an increase of 0.1%.
Political positions
During an interview in 1993, Folkvord said his most important commitment if he gained a seat in parliament was giving the National trade union centerNational trade union center
A national trade union center is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a single country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. When there is more than one national center, it is often because of ideological differences—in some...
s more power so that they could better defend the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
. When asked if it was exhausting to promote socialist reforms Folkvord said, "It is. But I think in some ways easier than before [because many] fake socialist regimes have collapsed". Another opinion of his was that "capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
destroys the natural environment around us making the bourgeois society planners understand that there must be something new in the future. This provides inspiration to win support for socialist beliefs in Norway". Folkvord's first contact with anti-capitalist beliefs came when he joined the Workers' Communist Party. The party told him about "capitalist barbarism" and how the wealthy controlled everything. Folkvord said he believed that "[this] can't be the end of human development", and that he believes humans are destined to create another more-just system.
Folkvord has long supported the Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
independence movement, believing that Norway and other countries in Europe should stop treating the conflicts between Turkish military and the Kurds as an internal Turkish matter. Being an anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
activist he was highly vocal against Norwegian involvement in the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
since the start of the American led invasion of Iraq. In 2009 Folkvord visited Norwegian soldiers in Afghanistan but claimed that Red was the only Norwegian party not allowed to visit the Afghan city of Meymaneh
Meymaneh
Maymana, Meymaneh or Maimana is the capital of Faryab province, northern Afghanistan, near the Turkmenistan border. It is approximately 400 km northwest of the Afghan capital Kabul.-Location:...
, the city were the Norwegian troops are stationed. He is also highly vocal against Norwegian membership in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, claiming the organisation is spreading "German imperialism".
Authorship
Since earning the position of Oslo City Council representative in 1984, Folkvord has used much of his time writing books about his political experiences and beliefs. His books have earned much attention by the Norwegian media. He has also collaborated on several books, the most notable being Rapport fra rottereiret – korrupsjon i Norge. In the book Folkvord claimed that Lise Harlem was involved in some sort of corruptionPolitical corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
in Norway, although to verify this he had only one source, Knut Frigaard. Harlem later wrote an article in Aftenposten
Aftenposten
Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
stating that the book was "dubiously" written and unreliable. The book also received support from Carl August Fleischer
Carl August Fleischer
Carl August Fleischer is a Norwegian jurist, born in Oslo. He was professor of jurisprudence at the University of Oslo from 1970. He has been a long-term consultant for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and participated in a number of public committees.-References:...
and Liberal Party politician Helge Seip
Helge Seip
Helge Seip was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party and later the Liberal People's Party.He was born in Surnadal. At a young age he became involved in the Young Liberals, the youth wing of the Liberal Party. In the local chapter of Oslo he was a member of the board from 1937 to 1939, and...
who defended the book against the accusations. Folkvord wrote Rødt! in 1998, a book about his tenure as a parliamentary representative. Twelve pages were about Folkvords four-year-term as representative, the other pages contained information criticising fellow parliamentary representatives. When writing the book, he wanted it to have some sort of impact on Red Youth
Red Youth (Norway)
Red Youth is a Norwegian revolutionary youth league. It is the youth organization of the party Red and former Red Electoral Alliance and the Workers' Communist Party. The current leader of Red Youth is Iver Aastebøl.-Politics:...
members and other left of center groups or activists. Operasjon Heilomvending, published in 2007, contained a large amount of criticism of the Socialist Left Party, the Labour Party and the Red-Green Coalition in general.
Family
Folkvord has a daughter named Jorunn Folkvord who works as a teacher and is a member of the Norwegian teachers union, Union of Education Norway. She was notable for her far-left political activities in Norway, having membership status in the Workers' Communist Party and the Red Electoral Alliance. She took part in several notable protests during the 1990s, in one case being arrested by the police. She was also the Leader of Red YouthRed Youth (Norway)
Red Youth is a Norwegian revolutionary youth league. It is the youth organization of the party Red and former Red Electoral Alliance and the Workers' Communist Party. The current leader of Red Youth is Iver Aastebøl.-Politics:...
during the early 1990s.