Olav Versto was a Norwegian journalist and editor, primarily known for his work for the newspaper Verdens Gang

Verdens Gang

Verdens Gang , generally known under the abbreviation VG, is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper...

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Education and career

Versto received a cand.mag.

Cand.mag.

Candidatus magisterii , Candidata magisterii , i.e. Latin Candidate of Arts, abbreviated cand.mag., is an academic degree used in Denmark, and formerly in Norway and Iceland, roughly corresponding to an American Master of Arts and officially translated as such...

 degree from 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 1976. He started his career in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation in 1977, and was hired as a subeditor of Verdens Gang

Verdens Gang

Verdens Gang , generally known under the abbreviation VG, is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper...

, Norway's largest newspaper, in 1987. From 1994 to 2008 he was the political editor of Verdens Gang. After that he became the editor of the op-ed

Op-ed

An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...

 section of the newspaper.

Olav Versto hailed from Vinje

Vinje

Vinje is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Åmot.-Name:...

, and was the grandson of Olav Aslakson Versto

Olav Aslakson Versto

Olav Aslakson Versto was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.He was born in Rauland.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Telemark in 1928, and was re-elected on eight occasions....

 and son of Aslak Versto

Aslak Versto

Aslak Versto was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.He was the son of former MP Olav Aslakson Versto. Aslak Versto was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Telemark in 1969, and was re-elected on one occasion...

, both politicians. He was himself politically involved, and was a forceful activist for the failed campaign for Norwegian European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 membership in 1994. In his later years, Versto was involved in the debate over the conflict between Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 and the West. In 2003, he went far towards supporting the US-led invasion of Iraq

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

, a controversial stance in Norway at the time.

Versto was married to Kari Storsletten, journalist in the newspaper Aftenposten

Aftenposten

Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...

. The two were in 2007 ranked as number four among the most powerful media couples in Norway, by the online business newspaper NA24

NA24

Næringslivsavisen NA24.no AS or NA24 is a Norwegian online business newspaper. It was created on 22 March 2006 as a merger between the business sections of Nettavisen, Fædrelandsvennen, Stavanger Aftenblad, Bergens Tidende and Adresseavisen, and the online newspapers iMarkedet and Propaganda. It...

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Death

Versto was found dead in the harbour of Farsund

Farsund

is a town and municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.The town of Farsund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 , although already recognized as a trading center in 1795...

 on 7 July 2011. Police believe he may have slipped on the rain-soaked floor of his boat and fell into the water.

Following his death, Versto was praised by several prominent figures, including Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg

Jens Stoltenberg

is a Norwegian politician, leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and the current Prime Minister of Norway. Having assumed office on 17 October 2005, Stoltenberg previously served as Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001....

, former Prime Ministers Gro Harlem Brundtland

Gro Harlem Brundtland

Gro Harlem Brundtland is a Norwegian Social democratic politician, diplomat, and physician, and an international leader in sustainable development and public health. She served three terms as Prime Minister of Norway , and has served as the Director General of the World Health Organization...

, Kjell Magne Bondevik

Kjell Magne Bondevik

Kjell Magne Bondevik is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician . He served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him Norway's longest serving non-Labour Party Prime Minister since World War II...

, Kåre Willoch

Kåre Willoch

Kåre Isaachsen Willoch is a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party. He served as Minister of Trade and Shipping in 1963 and 1965–1970, and as Prime Minister of Norway from 1981 to 1986...

 and World War II veteran Gunnar Sønsteby

Gunnar Sønsteby

Gunnar Fridtjof Thurmann Sønsteby DSO was a member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway in World War II...

.