Herman Friele is a Norwegian businessman and politician for 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...

. He has been chairman of the coffee manufacturer Friele

Friele

Friele is a Norwegian coffee manufacturer and brand based in Midtun, a commercial and residential district of the borough of Fana in Bergen, Norway. Friele is the largest producer of coffee in Norway....

 since 1981, as the seventh generation Friele in charge of the company. He was the highly popular mayor of 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 , ....

 from 2003 to 2007.

Before the 2003 election

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...

, a survey found that 64% of the inhabitants of Bergen wanted him to become the mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 after the election. When Friele announced that he would not be running for mayor in the 2007 election

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...

, a survey showed that 60% of the inhabitants of Bergen wanted him to continue in the job.