Bjartmar Gjerde

Hailing from Larsnes in Sande, Møre og Romsdal, he was a son of smallholder Hjalmar Gjerde (1902–1979) and housewife Astrid Øvrelid (1907–1993).

A newspaper article about alcohol drinking among brigade group officers in 1947 cost him fifteen days in military prison.

[1] As an elected politician he served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from Oslo during the term 1965–1969.

During Trygve Bratteli's First and Second Cabinet, from 1972 to 1972 and 1973 to 1976, Gjerde was appointed as Minister of Education and Church Affairs.

[3] His time was marked by several extraordinary incidents, including the Alta controversy and the Alexander Kielland rig disaster.