Personal life

She 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...

 as a daughter of Sigmund Skard

Sigmund Skard

Sigmund Skard was a Norwegian poet, essayist and professor of literature.He was born in Kristiansand as a son of educators Matias Skard and Gyda Christensen . He was a nephew of Johannes Skar and Christopher Bruun, a brother of Bjarne and Eiliv Skard and a half-brother of Olav and Torfinn...

 (1903–1995) and Åse Gruda Skard

Åse Gruda Skard

Åse Gruda Skard was a Norwegian psychologist, and a pioneer in the field of the bringing up of children. She lectured at the University of Oslo from 1947 to 1973. She edited the magazine Norsk Pedagogisk Tidsskrift from 1936 to 1970. She wrote 24 books and almost 2,000 journal articles...

 (1905–1985). She is a sister of Halvdan Skard

Halvdan Skard

Halvdan Skard is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.He was born in Oslo as a son of Åse Gruda Skard and Sigmund Skard, and through Åse the grandson of Halvdan Koht and Karen Grude Koht. He has two sisters Torild Skard and Målfrid Grude Flekkøy, who are twins, and himself has a twin...

 and twin sister of Torild Skard

Torild Skard

Torild Skard is a Norwegian psychologist and researcher, feminist, politician for the Socialist Left Party, civil servant and former high-ranking United Nations official . She served as a Member of Parliament, President of its upper chamber and Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice...

. Through her mother, she is a granddaughter of Halvdan Koht

Halvdan Koht

Halvdan Koht was a Norwegian historian and politician representing the Labour Party.As a politician he served as the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1935 to 1941. He was never elected as a member of the Parliament of Norway, but was a member of Bærum municipal council in 1917–1919 and...

 and Karen Grude Koht

Karen Grude Koht

Karen Grude Koht was a Norwegian pedagogist, essayist and feminist pioneer. She was born in Høyland and started her working career as a teacher in Sandnes. She was married to historian Halvdan Koht, and mother of Åse Gruda Skard and Paul Koht. Among her works are Mi fyrste bok from 1921 and Barna...

, and through her father she is a granddaughter Matias Skard

Matias Skard

Matias Skard was a Norwegian philologist, educator, psalmist, essayist and translator, a brother of folklorist Johannes Skar....

 and niece of Torfinn

Torfinn Skard

-Personal life:He was born in Faaberg as a son of educator Matias Skard and his second wife Nilsine Kristiane Myhre . He was a nephew of Johannes Skar, Christopher Bruun and Per Bø and a half-brother of Olav Skard and Bjarne, Eiliv and Sigmund Skard...

, Bjarne

Bjarne Skard

-Personal life:He was born in Levanger as a son of educators Matias Skard and Gyda Christensen . The family moved to Kristiansand in 1901. He was a nephew of Johannes Skar and Christopher Bruun, a brother of Eiliv and Sigmund Skard and a half-brother of Olav and Torfinn Skard...

, Eiliv

Eiliv Skard

Eiliv Skard was a Norwegian classical philologist.-Personal life:He was born in Levanger as a son of educators Matias Skard and Gyda Christensen . The family moved to Kristiansand in 1901...

 and Olav Skard

Olav Skard

-Personal life:He was born in Østre Gausdal as a son of educators Matias Skard and his first wife Marie Bø . He was a nephew of Johannes Skar and Per Bø and a half-brother of Torfinn, Bjarne, Eiliv and Sigmund Skard...

. She is also a niece of Paul Koht

Paul Koht

-Personal life:He was born in Bærum as a son of Halvdan Koht and Karen Grude Koht 1871–1960. He was a brother of Åse Gruda Skard. He was a grandson of Paul Steenstrup Koht and Martin Adolf Grude, and through his sister he was a brother-in-law of Sigmund Skard and uncle of Halvdan Skard, Målfrid...

.

From 1962 to 1981 she was married to psychologist Kjell Magne Flekkøy (born 1939), and from 1983 to 1995 she had her second marriage to Truls Wilhelm Gedde-Dahl (born 1930).

Career

She finished her secondary education in 1956, and took education in domestic science and as a preschool teacher. She took the cand.psychol. degree 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...

 in 1967, and the doctor's degree at the University of Ghent in 1991. She was also involved in local politics in Bærum

Bærum

is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandvika. Bærum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. A suburb of Oslo, Bærum is located on the west coast of the city....

 and 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...

, representing the Labour Party

Norwegian Labour Party

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....

.

From 1981 to 1989 she served as the Ombudsman for Children in Norway; the first ombudsman

Ombudsman

An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...

 of its kind in the world. She was then a senior fellow at UNICEF's International Child Development Center, before being hired as a psychologist in the Nic Waals Institutt in 1991.