Levi Fragell

His father was a Pentecostalist preacher and in his teens Fragell also began working full-time as a preacher, before his studies in philosophy and comparative religion led him to leave the church.

[1][2] In 1976, he became leader of the Norwegian Humanist Association (Human-Etisk Forbund) at a time when it had 1500 members; its membership later grew to over 75,000 making it, as a proportion of national population, the largest such organisation in the world.

[citation needed] He joined the board of the IHEU in the 1980s, becoming its co-president in 1987 and sole president between 1998 and 2003.

[3] He later became Chair of the IHEU's Committee on Growth and Development, and has travelled widely to promote humanism, oppose racism and religious intolerance.

[2] Periyar Maniammai University, Thanjavur of the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, conferred the Doctor of Letters (Honoris causa) on Fragell, he delivered the 21st Convocation Address on 4 July 2014 of the University.