He was born in Oslo as son of manager Reidar Ludvig Webster (1905–1966) and wife pianist Astrid Thyrnhi (1901–1981).
He finished his secondary education in 1953, and graduated from the University of Oslo with the cand.jur.
In the same year he married district court judge Ingeborg Haldis Aslaksen.
He was also a competitive sport canoeist, and has been president of the Norwegian Canoe Association.
[1] In 1972 he was hired as assistant secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.