Turid Birkeland

Turid Birkeland (5 November 1962 – 24 December 2015) was a Norwegian cultural executive and former politician for the Labour Party. She was Minister of Culture in 1996–97. She was an author and also worked in television, including being chief of cultural programming at NRK and a member of the board at Telenor. She also headed the Risør Chamber Music Festival, and was the director of Concerts Norway.

Birkeland was born in Haugesund as a daughter of trade unionist Einar Sigurd Birkeland and consultant Tora Birkeland. Her father was secretary in the Norwegian Union of Iron and Metalworkers in the 1970s, and later became international secretary in the United Federation of Trade Unions and rector of Sørmarka Folk High School.

Turid Birkeland received her secondary education at Bjerke Upper Secondary School in Oslo, graduating in 1981. She attended college in 1982–83, and holds an ex.phil.

She led her party's youth organization, the Workers' Youth League, in Oslo from 1985 to 1986 and nationwide from 1989 to 1992. Birkeland has said that she was unaware of inflated membership numbers in the Workers' Youth League that came to light after her tenure.

She was elected as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway in the 1985 election, but served as a regular representative through most of the term from 1986 to 1989, as a cover for Knut Frydenlund and Sissel Rønbeck who were members of Brundtland's Second Cabinet. She was a member of the Standing Committee on Education and Church Affairs. In 1993–1994 she worked for the Norwegian People's Aid as well as the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions branch in Brussels. In 1994 she was one of the spearheads in the campaign for Norway to join the European Union, which failed following a referendum on the issue.

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