Personal life

He was born in Bergen

Bergen

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....

 as a son of the professor of religious studies Georg Johan Sverdrup (1885–1951). He was a nephew of philologist Jakob Sverdrup

Jakob Sverdrup (philologist)

-Personal life:He was born in Leikanger as a son of the bishop and politician Jakob Liv Rosted Sverdrup . He was a brother of Georg Johan Sverdrup, uncle of historian Jakob Sverdrup, a first cousin of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup and Leif Sverdrup, a nephew of Georg Sverdrup and Edvard Sverdrup, grandson...

, a first cousin once removed of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup

Harald Sverdrup

Harald Ulrik Sverdrup was a Norwegian oceanographer and meteorologist who made a number of important theoretical discoveries in these fields. Having first worked in Bergen and Leipzig he was the scientific director of the North Polar expedition of Roald Amundsen aboard the Maud from 1918 to 1925...

 and Leif Sverdrup, a grandson of Jakob Liv Rosted Sverdrup, a great-grandson of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, Sr

Harald Ulrik Sverdrup (politician)

Harald Ulrik Sverdrup was a Norwegian priest and politician.He was born at Jarlsberg Manor in Vestfold. His brother Johan Sverdrup would found the Liberal Party and become Prime Minister of Norway in 1884....

, a grandnephew of Georg Sverdrup and Edvard Sverdrup

Edvard Sverdrup

Johan Edvard Sverdrup was a Norwegian educator, author and church leader. Edvard Sverdrup was one of the key theologian in the Church of Norway in the first few decades of the 1900s.-Biography:...

 and a second cousin of Harald Sverdrup

Harald Sverdrup (writer)

Harald Ulrik Sverdrup was a Norwegian poet and children's writer. He received several literary prizes, including the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature, the Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment, the Dobloug Prize and the Riksmål Society Literature Prize.-Early and personal life:Sverdrup was born in...

.

Career

He started his career as a journalist, and became the editor of foreign news in Arbeiderbladet. He took the dr.philos. degree in 1974 with the thesis Et statsmonopol blir til—Vinmonopolet frem til 1932. He worked as a lecturer at the University of Oslo

University of Oslo

The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...

 from 1963 and as assisting professor from 1983. From 1978 to 1989 he was the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute

Norwegian Nobel Institute

The Norwegian Nobel Institute was established in 1904 in Kristiania , Norway.The principal duty of the Nobel Institute is to assist the Norwegian Nobel Committee in the task of selecting the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and to organize the annual Nobel event in Oslo.The institute is situated...

, doubling as secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee

Norwegian Nobel Committee

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awards the Nobel Peace Prize each year.Its five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament and roughly represent the political makeup of that body.-History:...

.