Jørgen Watne Frydnes (born 26 November 1984) is a Norwegian administrator and politician.

Jørgen Watne Frydnes
Born (1984-11-26) 26 November 1984 (age 39)[1]
NationalityNorwegian
AwardsFritt Ord Honorary Award (2021)

He has been a member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 2021, and chair of the committee since 2024.

Career

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Frydnes has been General Secretary of PEN Norway since 2023. He was previously the CEO of Utøya AS from 2011 to 2023.[2] Utøya and Frydnes received the Fritt Ord Honorary Award in 2021.[3]

In 2020 he was elected member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee for the period 2021–2026.[4][5][6] He is a board member of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.[7]

In February 2024, it was announced that he would become the new chair of the Nobel Committee, succeeding Berit Reiss-Andersen. With his appointment, Watne Frydnes would be the youngest person to have ever led the committee.[8]

Criticism

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In October 2024, the accounting company PwC released a report from investigation of the limited company Utøya AS, where they listed several possible violations of corporate law (Norwegian: Aksjeloven [no]) during the period when Frydnes led the company.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Lie, Kjersti Kanestrøm. "Jørgen Watne Frydnes". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  2. ^ Bromark, Stian (2017). "Demokrativaktmesteren. Jobben til Jørgen Frydnes er å gjøre det meningsløse meningsfylt". Agenda Magasin (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Fritt Ords Honnør 2021. Utøya og Jørgen Watne Frydnes". frittord.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  4. ^ Bakken, Laila Ø. (11 November 2020). "Utøya-gjenreiser erstatter Jagland i Nobelkomiteen". nrk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Valg av medlemmer til Nobelkomiteen". stortinget.no (in Norwegian). 18 January 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Den Norske Nobelkomite". nobelpeaceprize.org (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Den norske Helsingforskomité. Styret". nhc.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Tidligere Utøya-sjef Jørgen Watne Frydnes blir ny leder av Nobelkomiteen" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  9. ^ Andresen, Frode; Skiphamn, Silje Sjursen; Jensen, Balder Haarklou; Jor, Eira Lie; Ruud, Solveig (14 October 2024). "Tidligere Utøya-sjef anklages for en rekke mulige brudd på aksjeloven". Altinget (in Norwegian). Retrieved 14 October 2024.