Preben Hempel Munthe is a Norwegian economist.

He was born in Aker

Aker, Norway

Aker is a former municipality in Akershus, which lends its name to a municipality and a county in Norway. The name originally belonged to a farm which was located near the current Old Aker Church...

 as a son of librarian Wilhelm Munthe

Wilhelm Munthe

Abraham Wilhelm Støren Munthe was a Norwegian librarian. He worked at the University Library of Oslo from 1903 to 1953.-Personal life:...

 (1883–1965) and dr.philos. Jenny Hempel (1882–1975), and younger brother of Gerhard Munthe. He finished

Examen artium

Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1630...

 his secondary education in 1941, and graduated 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...

 with the cand.oecon.

Cand.oecon.

Candidatus oeconomices or Candidata oeconomices , often abbreviated cand.oecon. is an academic degree in economics at Danish and Norwegian universities. It is roughly equivalent to a Master of Economics, but it consists of 4+2 years, and was based on a four year cand.mag.. The degree was replaced...

 degree in 1946. He worked as a research fellow at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration from 1947, and was promoted to docent in 1956. He took his doctorate in 1961, and was a professor at the University of Oslo from 1961 to 1992. Parallel to this he served as the State Conciliator of Norway

State Conciliator of Norway

The State Conciliator of Norway is an arbitrator's office of Norway. It is invoked in labour disputes, in other words when tariff agreements are disagreed upon.It was established in 1915, and the first State Conciliator took office in 1916...

 from 1965 to 1974. Important books include Freedom of Entry into Industry and Trade (1959), Produsentenes vertikale markedspolitikk som pristeoretisk problem (1960), Horisontale karteller (1961), Sirkulasjon, inntekt og økonomisk vekst (1976, third ed. 1983), Penger, kreditt og valuta (1978, second ed. 1982) and Markedsøkonomi (1979, third ed. 1982).

Munthe was a consultant for the Norwegian Nobel Committee

Norwegian Nobel Committee

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awards the Nobel Peace Prize each year.Its five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament and roughly represent the political makeup of that body.-History:...

 from 1959 to 1983, and served on the editorial board of Familieboka (fourth edition, 1973–1975) and Store norske leksikon

Store norske leksikon

Store norske leksikon, abbreviated SNL, is currently the second most comprehensive contemporary Norwegian language encyclopedia. The SNL was created in 1978 when the two publishing houses Aschehoug and Gyldendal merged their encyclopedias and created the company Kunnskapsforlaget. The name...

(first edition 1978–1981; second edition 1985–1989; third edition 1995–1999). He was chairman of Norsk Hydro

Norsk Hydro

Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...

 from 1974 to 1977, Freia

Freia (chocolate)

Freia is a Norwegian chocolate candy manufacturing company. The company is famous for Freia Melkesjokolade and Kvikk Lunsj, as well as for other candy and dessert products.-History:...

 from 1978 to 1990, Aschehoug Forlag

Aschehoug

H. Aschehoug & Co , commonly known as Aschehoug, is one of the largest independent publishing companies in Norway. -History:...

 from 1979 to 1992 and Fritt Ord from 1981 to 2000. He was a board member of IBM in Norway

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

, Nora Industrier

Nora Industrier

Nora Industrier was a Norwegian company, most of its history involved in manufacturing of soft drinks and foodstuffs.It traced its history back to the brewery St. Halvard Bryggeri, established in Pilestredet in 1877. It originally brewed beer only, from 1882 soda as well. In 1918 the brewery...

 and Bergen Bank

Bergen Bank

Bergen Bank was a Norwegian commercial bank in existence between 1975 and 1990. It was created as a merger between Bergens Privatbank and Bergens Kreditbank while the bank Kvam Privatbank was acquired in 1979. In 1988 it bought Nevi. Bergen Bank, which was based in Bergen, Norway, merged with Den...

, and edited Bergen Bank's quarterly publication from 1967 to 1982. He was decorated as a Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1971, and was chancellor for the order from 1985 to 2000. In 1974 he became a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway.-History:The University of Oslo was established in 1811. The idea of a learned society in Christiania surfaced for the first time in 1841. The city of Throndhjem had no university, but had a learned...

. Two festschrift

Festschrift

In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...

s to him was issued in 1982 and 2000.

He is married to architect Siri Serck-Hanssen, and resides in Oslo.