Odd Karsten Tveit is 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...

 journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

, writer and economist

Economist

An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

. His speciality is the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, a subject on which he has written several books. Tveit has been a foreign correspondent

Correspondent

A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...

 for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) in the Middle East through three periods, from 1979 to 1983, from 1990 to 1994, and from 2003 to 2007.

Tveit has also served as a major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 in the UNIFIL peacekeeping forces in Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

.

Biography

Tveit has worked as a journalist for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation since 1973. To begin with he covered petroleum development in the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

. From 1977 Tveit has been attached to NRK's foreign editorial office ("utenriksredaksjonen").

Cairo 1978

Tveit's first assignment as a foreign correspondent was in Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

 in 1978, a short-term replacement for Kjell Gjøstein Resi.

Beirut 1979–1983

When Tveit started on his first permanent period as a foreign correspondent for NRK, in 1979, he relocated NRK's office from Cairo to Beirut

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

. Tveit stayed in Beirut until 1983.

Amman 1990–1994

During his next period as a Middle East correspondent, 1990–1994, the NRK office was based in Amman

Amman

Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...

.

Amman 2003–2007

Tveit was again Middle East correspondent for NRK from 2003 to 2007, when the office was based in Amman.
In 2007 Sidsel Wold was assigned as NRK's new correspondent after Tveit had finished his period in Amman.

Gullruten award

Tveit was responsible for the documentary program Brennpunkt: Sporene etter Sharon ("Focus: Tracks after Sharon"), broadcasted by NRK in 2002. This program received the Gullruten

Gullruten

Gullruten is an annual award for the Norwegian TV business, founded in 1998 by Norske Film- og TV-produsenters forening. The awarding committee has representatives from the major national TV companies, NRK, TV2, TV3 and TVNorge...

 award for best TV documentary in 2002.

Books

Tveit wrote three books on energy politics in the early 1970s. From the mid 1980s the theme for his books has been the Middle East. He issued the book Alt for Israel. Oslo-Jerusalem 1948-1978 ("All for Israel") in 1996, and Krig og diplomati. Oslo-Jerusalem 1978-1996 ("War and Diplomacy") in 2005. He was awarded the Brage Prize

Brage Prize

The Brage Prize is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation...

for non-fiction in 2005, for Krig og diplomati.

External links

• Odd Karsten Tveit on Amazon.com (Retrieved on 14 October 2008)