History

Its creation was agreed to by the city authorities of Oslo in 1925, and the company was inaugurated on 1 January 1926 as Oslo Kinematografer. It was a part of the Norwegian system of municipal-owned cinemas, superseding private ownership in the field. Only 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...

 and the Liberal Left Party voted against municipalization. These parties subsequently attempted to privatize cinemas in the years after 1926, but failed. An important motivation for municipal ownership was the surplus from the budget, which could be used for other cultural budget posts. Oslo Concert Hall

Oslo Concert Hall

Oslo Concert Hall is a concert hall located in Vika, a part of Oslo city centre in Norway. It is the base of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra , but it also aims to be one of the premier music venues for the general musical and cultural life of Norway, offering a broad variety of musical styles from...

, Folketeatret

Folketeatret

Folketeatret is a theatre in Oslo, Norway. The building has existed longer than the theatre, and been used as a movie theatre and opera house....

, Gustav Vigeland

Gustav Vigeland

Gustav Vigeland was a Norwegian sculptor. Gustav Vigeland occupies a special position among Norwegian sculptors, both in the power of his creative imagination and in his productivity. He is most associated with Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo...

's atelier (later the Vigeland Museum

Vigeland Museum

The Vigeland Museum is a museum in Oslo, Norway.Its history began in 1919 when noted sculptor Gustav Vigeland made an offer to Oslo Municipality to donate his works sometime in the future. Vigeland's total body of works consisted not only of sculptures, but also woodcuts, drawings, sketches and...

) and the Munch Museum

Munch Museum

Munch Museum is an art museum in Oslo, Norway dedicated to the life and works of the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch.-Munch Museum:...

 received monetary support from the cinema fund.

In 1997 the company was turned into a joint stock company

Joint stock company

A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...

. Between 2001 and 2003 the city council of Oslo tried to orchestrate a sale of 66% of the company shares, but this did not happen. No bidder came close to the excpected prize, and the sale thus fell through. The name was changed from Oslo Kinematografer to Oslo Kino in 2007.

Key people

The early directors were Jens Christian Gundersen (1926-1933) and Kristoffer Aamot

Kristoffer Aamot

Kristoffer Aamot was a Norwegian journalist, magazine editor, politician and cinema administrator. As a young journalist he was sentenced to one year imprisonment for his writings. He was a member of the Oslo City Council from 1917 to 1937. He was a director of Oslo Kinematografer from 1934 to...

 (1934-1940). During the German occupation of Norway the company had three Nazi collaborators as directors: Gustav Berg-Jæger

Gustav Berg-Jæger

Carl Gustav Berg-Jæger was a Norwegian journalist, actor, cultural director and Nazi collaborator. He is best known as director of Oslo Kinematografer, the National Theatre and briefly the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany...

 (1940-1942), Einar Schibbye (1942-1944) and Birger Ilseng (1944-1945). Kristoffer Aamot then recovered his job, and sat until 1955. Theodor Rosenquist followed (1955-1958), then Arnljot Engh (1958-1975), Eivind Hjelmtveit

Eivind Hjelmtveit

Eivind Hjelmtveit is a Norwegian cultural adminsitrator.He was born in Eydehavn, and attended school in Arendal and Sandefjord. He started his career at Riksteatret in 1950 as a secretary, and was the director of Riksteatret from 1968 to 1975 and later Oslo Kinematografer from 1975 to 1993...

 (1975-1993), Ingeborg Moræus Hanssen (1993-2005), Cecilie Trøan (acting, 2005-2006) and Geir Bergkastet

Geir Bergkastet

Geir Bergkastet is a Norwegian cultural director.He is the current CEO of Oslo Kino, having assumed the position in 2006. He completed his education at Rogaland University College in 1995, worked as treasurer at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science from 1986 to 1988 and as a consultant at...

 (2006-present).

Pre-war chairs of the board of directors were Arthur Skjeldrup (1926-1928), Kristoffer Aamot

Kristoffer Aamot

Kristoffer Aamot was a Norwegian journalist, magazine editor, politician and cinema administrator. As a young journalist he was sentenced to one year imprisonment for his writings. He was a member of the Oslo City Council from 1917 to 1937. He was a director of Oslo Kinematografer from 1934 to...

 (1929-1931), Eyvind Getz

Eyvind Getz

Eyvind Getz was a Norwegian barrister and politician for the Conservative Party.He was a son of jurist Bernhard Getz , a brother of barrister Bernhard Nicolai Getz and a first cousin once removed of Alfred Getz. His great-grandfather immigrated to Norway, probably from Schwarzwald.He was a...

 (1932-1934) and Rachel Grepp

Rachel Grepp

Rachel Grepp, née Helland was a Norwegian journalist and politician for the Norwegian Labour Party.She was among the founders of Bergens Socialdemokratiske Ungdomslag in 1902. From 1923 to 1945 she was a journalist in Arbeiderbladet, a member of Oslo city council as well as international secretary...

 (1935-1940). The chairpersons during the German occupation of Norway are not known. After the war, Rolf Hofmo

Rolf Hofmo

Rolf Hofmo was a Norwegian politician and sports official.He was chairman of Arbeidernes Idrettsforbund from 1939 to 1940, and central in the merge negotiations with Norges Landsforbund for Idræt. He was arrested in December 1940, and transferred to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1942...

 sat from 1946 to 1955, then Rolf Stranger

Rolf Stranger

Rolf Stranger was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party and Mayor of Oslo.Rolf Stranger was born in Kristiania. He attended St. Hans Haugen school and University of Oslo. In 1914 he joined the family business Hanssen & Bergh A / S, where he was manager from 1917 to 1953...

 (1956-1967), Albert Nordengen

Albert Nordengen

Albert Nordengen was a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party who became perhaps the most prominent, and best loved mayor in the history of the Norwegian capital....

 (1968-1971), Adele Lerche (1972-1975), Turid Dankertsen (1976-1979), Albert Nordengen again (1980-1983), Bjørn Bjørnseth (1984-1987), Jon Lyng

Jon Lyng

Jon Lyng was a Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Conservative Party.He was born in London as a son of John Lyng. A lawyer by profession, he was a State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice and the Police from 1985 to 1986. He was a member of Oslo city council from 1983 to 1991, and chaired...

 (1988-1991), Christian Hambro

Christian Hambro

Johan Christian Georg Hambro is a Norwegian civil servant.He was born in the UK as the son of Edvard Hambro and his wife Elisabeth . His grandparents were C. J. Hambro and Gudrun on the paternal side and Jacques Raverat and Gwen on the maternal side...

 (1992), Theo Koritzinsky

Theo Koritzinsky

Theodor "Theo" Koritzinsky is a Norwegian academic and politician for the Socialist Left Party.He was chairman of the Socialist Youth League from 1965 to 1966. He later joined the Socialist Left Party, and was their chairman from 1983 to 1987...

 (1993-1995), Jon Lyng again (1996-2003) and Heidi Larssen

Heidi Larssen

Heidi Larssen is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 2001, but was not re-elected in 2005. She served in the position of deputy representative during the term 2005–2009.Larssen held various positions in Oslo city council...

(2003-present). It is worth noting that several directors and chairs were also politicians for the Conservative Party, the party which initially opposed a municipal cinema company.