Åse Kleveland
Encyclopedia
Åse Maria Kleveland is a Swedish
-Norwegian
singer and politician
.
A well-known folk singer and traditional guitarist in Norway, she was appointed Minister of Culture
in Norway from 1990 to 1996, representing the Labour Party under the Gro Harlem Brundtland
administration. She was also president of the Swedish Film Institute
from 1999 to 2006.
In June 2007 she became Chairman of the Board
of Human-Etisk Forbund
, the Norwegian humanist
organization.
; he had family members in Sweden with whom he could live. She and her family moved to Romerike
, northeast of Oslo
, in 1957, where her father got a job working at the Institute for Atomic Energy.
In a 1977 interview she describes how her parents shared equally in the household chores, and that she and her then-husband Svenolov Ehrén, a Swedish artist, did the same. She is currently married to film director and cinematographer Oddvar Bull Tuhus.
Kleveland is fluent in Norwegian, Swedish, English, French and Japanese. She studied Law
at the University of Oslo
.
and has composed songs in the singer-songwriter
tradition. In addition to her solo career, she was also part of the vispop
group Ballade!.
She began playing classical guitar
at eight and two years later she debuted in a radio show. Her first bout as a singer of vispop
was on an Erik Bye
show when she was 13; Her first album was released in 1965. With her second album in 1966 she was one of the pioneers ushering in the new vispop genre, a blend of traditional folk song and pop
. This led to a series of engagements in Paris
--and a period of commuting between these Paris performances and her secondary school in Lillestrøm
, north of Oslo. At 17 she conducted a major tour of Japan
which included several TV shows and the release of four singles
in Japanese
. She released her final solo album in 1973 and has released thirteen singles for the Scandinavian and German markets.
In 1966, she represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
with the entry "Intet er nytt under solen
" (There's Nothing New Under The Sun), finishing in third place. She broke a tradition expected of female performers at the time in that she was the first woman to not to wear a dress, instead going for a pantsuit.
She had a long association with the Norwegian Association of Musicians, first holding the office of secretary from 1979 to 1983, then as their leader from 1983 to 1987. She was also the President of the Musicians' Union from 1983 to 1986 and their Vice-President from 1986 to 1987.
In 1986 she hosted the first Eurovision Song Contest
to be held in Norway in Bergen
following Bobbysocks
' victory in 1985, having previously introduced the Norwegian entry on camera at the Eurovision Song Contest 1980
.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
-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...
singer and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
A well-known folk singer and traditional guitarist in Norway, she was appointed Minister of Culture
Minister of Culture and Church Affairs (Norway)
The Norwegian Minister of Culture and Church Affairs is the head of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs.-Minister of Culture and Science:-Minister of Culture and Church Affairs:-Minister of Culture:...
in Norway from 1990 to 1996, representing the Labour Party under the 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...
administration. She was also president of the Swedish Film Institute
Swedish Film Institute
The Swedish Film Institute was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. The institute is housed in the Filmhuset building located in Gärdet, Östermalm in Stockholm...
from 1999 to 2006.
In June 2007 she became Chairman of the Board
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 Human-Etisk Forbund
Human-Etisk Forbund
The Norwegian Humanist Association is currently one of the largest Humanist associations in the world, with 82,890 members. In relation to the size of the national population , it is by far the largest such association per capita.Founded in 1956, the HEF is a member of the International Humanist...
, the Norwegian humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
organization.
Personal life
Kleveland was born in Sweden to Olaf Kleveland, a civil engineer from Norway, and Eva Hansson, a bookkeeper from Sweden. Her father had fled from Norway to Sweden in 1943 due to the Nazi occupationOccupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...
; he had family members in Sweden with whom he could live. She and her family moved to Romerike
Romerike
Romerike is a traditional district located north-east of Oslo, in what is today south-eastern Norway. It consists of the Akershus municipalities Fet, Lørenskog, Nittedal, Rælingen, Skedsmo, Sørum and Aurskog-Høland in the southern end , and Ullensaker, Gjerdrum, Nannestad, Nes, Eidsvoll and Hurdal...
, northeast 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...
, in 1957, where her father got a job working at the Institute for Atomic Energy.
In a 1977 interview she describes how her parents shared equally in the household chores, and that she and her then-husband Svenolov Ehrén, a Swedish artist, did the same. She is currently married to film director and cinematographer Oddvar Bull Tuhus.
Kleveland is fluent in Norwegian, Swedish, English, French and Japanese. She studied Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
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...
.
Musical career
As a singer, she is famous for her very dark, soulful voice. Besides singing, she also plays the guitarGuitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and has composed songs in the singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
tradition. In addition to her solo career, she was also part of the vispop
Vispop
Vispop is the Swedish name for a genre of music which became popular in the Scandinavian countries in the mid-60s. The term is derived from the word visa which denotes traditional and popular folk song. In Norway the term applied to this type of accompanied singing is visesang...
group Ballade!.
She began playing classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
at eight and two years later she debuted in a radio show. Her first bout as a singer of vispop
Vispop
Vispop is the Swedish name for a genre of music which became popular in the Scandinavian countries in the mid-60s. The term is derived from the word visa which denotes traditional and popular folk song. In Norway the term applied to this type of accompanied singing is visesang...
was on an Erik Bye
Erik Bye
Erik Erikssønn Bye was a versatile Norwegian journalist,artist, author, film actor, folk singer and radio and television personality...
show when she was 13; Her first album was released in 1965. With her second album in 1966 she was one of the pioneers ushering in the new vispop genre, a blend of traditional folk song and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. This led to a series of engagements in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
--and a period of commuting between these Paris performances and her secondary school in Lillestrøm
Lillestrøm
' is a city in the municipality of Skedsmo, Akershus, Norway. The municipal administration is located in Lillestrøm.Facilities in Lillestrøm include hotels, Norway trade fairs, a brand new cinema, a mall, Lillestrøm torv, restaurants, a high speed commuter train that reaches both Oslo and...
, north of Oslo. At 17 she conducted a major tour of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
which included several TV shows and the release of four singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. She released her final solo album in 1973 and has released thirteen singles for the Scandinavian and German markets.
In 1966, she represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
with the entry "Intet er nytt under solen
Intet Er Nytt Under Solen
"Intet er nytt under solen" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, performed in Norwegian by Åse Kleveland....
" (There's Nothing New Under The Sun), finishing in third place. She broke a tradition expected of female performers at the time in that she was the first woman to not to wear a dress, instead going for a pantsuit.
She had a long association with the Norwegian Association of Musicians, first holding the office of secretary from 1979 to 1983, then as their leader from 1983 to 1987. She was also the President of the Musicians' Union from 1983 to 1986 and their Vice-President from 1986 to 1987.
In 1986 she hosted the first Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
to be held in Norway in Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
following Bobbysocks
Bobbysocks
For the 1950s teen rage see Bobby soxerBobbysocks! were a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song "La det swinge" ....
' victory in 1985, having previously introduced the Norwegian entry on camera at the Eurovision Song Contest 1980
Eurovision Song Contest 1980
The Eurovision Song Contest 1980 was the 25th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 19 April 1980 in The Hague. The presenter was Marlous Fluitsma, although each song was introduced by a presenter from the nation represented...
.