Viking Mestad is a Norwegian banker and politician for the Liberal Party.

From 1972 to 1973 he served as a State Secretary

State Secretary (Norway)

In Norway, a State Secretary is a partisan political position within the executive branch of government. Contrary to the position Secretary of State in many other countries, the Norwegian State Secretary does not head his or her Ministry, rather, they are second in rank to a Minister...

 in the Ministry of Government Administration and Consumer Affairs as a part of the cabinet Korvald. He was also a member of 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...

 city council in the early 1970s.

He is a cand.jur. by education, and was hired in the Bank of Norway in 1962. In 1986 he was promoted from the position as head of the administration department to become director of the secretariat of the board (Hovedstyresekretariatet).

Mestad was a proponent of the Nynorsk

Nynorsk

Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...

 written form of Norwegian.
From 1977 to 1997 he was the chair

Chair (official)

The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...

 of the theatre Det Norske Teatret

Det Norske Teatret

Det Norske Teatret is a theatre in Oslo. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg and Edvard Drabløs. It opened in 1913, touring with two plays, Ervingen by Ivar Aasen and Rationelt Fjøsstell by Hulda Garborg...

. He was succeeded by Berge Furre

Berge Furre

Berge Ragnar Furre is a Norwegian historian, theologian and politician for the Socialist Left Party.-Early life and career:...

. Two months after retiring, Mestad was proclaimed an honorary member of the employers' association Association of Norwegian Theatres and Orchestras

Association of Norwegian Theatres and Orchestras

The Association of Norwegian Theatres and Orchestras is an employers' organisation in Norway for theatre and symphony orchestra institutions.-Organization:...

. At the same time he also received the Hedda Award

Hedda Award

The Hedda Award is a Norwegian theatre award, first awarded in 1998. It is named after the character "Hedda" from Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler. Among the prize categories, which have varied over the years, are best theatre production, best direction, best stage performance, and occasionally an...

. He is the father of actor Henrik Mestad.