Christen Sveaas is a Norwegian businessperson.

He was born in Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, and has a degree from the University of St. Gallen

University of St. Gallen

The University of St. Gallen is a public research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland. It is specialized in the fields of business administration, economics, law, and international affairs. The University of St. Gallen is also known as HSG, which is an abbreviation of its former German...

 in 1981. His paternal great-grandfather Anders Sveaas

Anders Sveaas

Anders Sveaas was a Norwegian businessperson and consulate. He was involved in a number of foreign ventures before founding the pulp mill Kistefos Træsliberi in Jevnaker, Norway in 1889. He had bought the waterfall the year before and production at the plant started in 1890. The succession of the...

 (1840–1917), who founded the company Kistefos Træsliberi

Kistefos Træsliberi

Kistefos Træsliberi is a former pulp mill and hydroelectric power plant in Jevnaker, Norway. It was founded by Kistefos at the river Randselva in 1889.-History:...

 in 1889. The company was sold by the family to Viul Tresliperi in 1983, against Christen Sveaas' wish. He had then started his first investment company in 1979, and from 1982 to 1985 he worked in Grieg Finans before becoming independent again. He made a series of successful investments (venture capital

Venture capital

Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...

) in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1993 he bought back Kistefos Træsliberi. He also started the investment company Kistefos

Kistefos

Kistefos is a privately owned holding company that pursues investments within venture capital, private equity, offshore, shipping and other sectors. It is owned by Christen Sveaas and led by CEO Åge Korsvold....

, where he is the sole owner and chairman of the board

Chair (official)

The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...

. He initiated the Kistefos Museum, the original and fully intact wood pulp mill

Pulp mill

A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fibre source into a thick fibre board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical or fully chemical methods...

 from 1889, and is a board member and main sponsor. He has also sponsored 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 Vigeland Park. A collector of art and wine, he has also invested in horse gallop racing and owned the restaurant Bagatelle

Bagatelle restaurant

Bagatelle is a gourmet restaurant in the borough Frogner in Oslo, Norway.It is the only Norwegian restaurant that has held two stars in the Michelin guide. The restaurant lost one of its stars in 2008, though was restored as a two-star restaurant in March 2009...

. In December 2009, head chef Eyvind Hellstrøm

Eyvind Hellstrøm

Eyvind Hellstrøm is a chef and formerly the part owner of Bagatelle restaurant, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in the city of Oslo...

 announced he would leave Bagatelle after 27 years, due to a long term conflict with Sveaas.

The company Kistefos has investments in tanker-

Tanker (ship)

A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...

 and dry cargo-shipping

Shipping

Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...

, offshore services, financial services

Financial services

Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...

, private equity

Private equity

Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....

, venture capital

Venture capital

Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...

, technology founded investments and real estate development

Real estate development

Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...

. Kistefos Træsliberi has interests in forestry

Forestry

Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...

 (about 130000 acres (526.1 km²)), and related industrial activities in addition to various financial investments.

Sveaas has during the years served on several boards, Orkla Group

Orkla Group

Orkla Group is a Norwegian industrial conglomerate operating in the Nordic region, Eastern Europe, Asia and the US. The company's main divisions are branded consumer goods, aluminium solutions, materials, associates and financial investments.-Operations:...

, Stolt-Nielsen

Stolt-Nielsen

Stolt-Nielsen Limited is a Norwegian-Bermudean shipping and seafood company. The company has its headquarters formally in London although most of its operations are in Rotterdam, it is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange.-Stolt Tankers:...

, Tschudi & Eitzen, Vestenfjeldske Bykreditt, SkipsKredittforeningen and Treschow-Fritzøe. Presently Sveaas is member of Deans Council, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. Furthermore he is the Chairman of the board for the Anders Sveaas Almennyttige Fond, a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 charitable foundation founded in 1990. Its focus is to support organisations without relevant public funding, and young promising classical musicians through scholarship

Scholarship

A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...

s and instrument loans.

Politically, he has supported the Progress Party

Progress Party (Norway)

The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...

 think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 Fremskrittspartiets Utredningsinstitutt in 1988, the Liberal Party ahead of the Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001

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...

, and the Conservative Party ahead of the Norwegian local elections, 2007

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...

, and Norwegian parliamentary election, 2009

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...

.