Geir Lippestad | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Oslo City Commissioner for Trade and Ownership | |
In office 21 October 2015 –19 December 2017 | |
Governing Mayor | Raymond Johansen |
Preceded by | Hallstein Bjercke |
Succeeded by | Kjetil Lund |
Personal details | |
Born | Hønefoss,Buskerud,Norway | 7 June 1964
Political party | Labour (before 2020) Sentrum (2020-present) |
Spouse | Signe Lippestad (née Husebye) |
Children | Kristiane Eirik Ulrikke Rebekka (deceased) Josefine Mie Lycke |
Alma mater | University of Oslo |
Occupation | Lawyer |
Known for | Attorney for Anders Behring Breivik |
Website | Corporate Website |
Geir Lippestad (born 7 June 1964) is a Norwegian lawyer,politician and social activist. He is known for his involvement in several high-profile legal cases,and for starting the political party Sentrum in 2020. [1]
As a criminal appellate lawyer,he first became known in 2001 when he acted as defence counsel following the murder of Benjamin Hermansen.
In 2011 he became known internationally for being the lead counsel for the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks,Anders Behring Breivik. Since 2011 Lippestad has expanded his law-firm,handling several high-profile cases,as well as speaking at public events. He is also noted for being an outspoken proponent of progressive causes;from 2013 to 2020 he was chairman of the left-wing think tank Agenda . [2] From 2015 to 2019,he was a member of the Oslo City Council,representing the Labour Party. [3] He later left the Labour Party to form a new political party called Sentrum. [4]
Geir Lippestad was born 7 June 1964 in Hønefoss,in the Ringerike district in Buskerud county. His family name originates from Lippestad farm in Tomter in Østfold. His great grandfather Carl Thorvald Lippestad left the farm and relocated to Oslo at the end of the 19th century. [5] Lippestad's parents,originally from Nordstrand in Oslo had moved to the village of Heradsbygd outside of Hønefoss,where his father worked as an engineer. When Lippestad was six years old,the family of five moved back to Nordstrand. [6] After finishing high school he enrolled in the University of Oslo,studying law. He obtained the cand.jur. degree in the autumn of 1990. [7]
After graduating and receiving his law degree in 1990,Lippestad was employed at a small law-firm in Harestua,a small rural town outside of Oslo. Later he moved to the Association of Norwegian Insurance Companies,where he worked as a legal counsel. Afterwards he,along with a colleague,started a private law-firm based in Nedre Slottsgate street in down-town Oslo. [8] It was while working here that Lippestad first came to the national spotlight,when he represented Ole Nicolai Kvisler,who was later convicted of participation in the racially motivated murder of Benjamin Hermansen in 2002. [9] [10] [11] Kvisler received a 17-year prison sentence.
Three years later,Lippestad left the firm when he was appointed secretary-general at the National Association of the Hearing Impaired (Norwegian :Hørselshemmedes Landsforbund),Lippestad applied to this position due to his daughter Rebekka,who was born with a severe hearing impairment. [8] In 2009 he was one of the contenders for the position of Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud,but lost to Sunniva Ørstavik. He then decided to return to private practice and in 2010 he opened his own law-firm called Advokatkontoret Lippestad AS. [8]
In July 2011,he was appointed as defence counsel for Anders Behring Breivik,the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks,after the latter specifically requested him. [9] [12] [13] His co-lead counsel was Vibeke Hein Bæra,and they were assisted by assistant counsels Tord Jordet and Odd Ivar Grøn,both of whom are employed at his law firm. [14]
Before the trial Lippestad told the French newspaper Le Monde :"I feel I have lost my soul in this case [...] I hope to get it back once it's over –and that it will be in the same condition as before." [14] At the trial,Lippestad chose not to argue for the innocence of his client,although Breivik himself had specifically requested to be acquitted due to the legal principle of necessity. In his closing arguments,Lippestad asked only for his client to be found sane and to be sentenced leniently without mentioning the subject of culpability. [15] In a bizarre moment of confusion,the presiding judge Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen asked Lippestad if he would request an acquittal for his client,to which Lippestad replied that he would not. Breivik then interceded and told Lippestad;"You've got to do it!" after which Lippestad formally requested an acquittal. [16]
Although Lippestad successfully argued before the court that his client was legally sane and competent,Breivik was found guilty and sentenced to the maximum penalty of 21 years in containment. [17] The prosecution had asked for Breivik to be formally acquitted and found legally insane,and sentenced to mandatory psychiatric confinement. This was rejected by the court. [18] After the sentencing of Breivik,Lippestad formally transferred the legal responsibility of his client within the law-firm to Tord Jordet,thereby ceasing to be his official defence attorney. [19]
Following the Breivik case,Lippestad experienced a significant increase in financial revenue. He expanded his law-firm,hired new staff and opened another branch in Skien,which would serve as the main office,in addition to the office in down-town Oslo. [20] [21] [22] In January 2014,the law firm Lippestad signed a contract with the Norwegian Police Federation,the trade union organizing all employees in the police sector in Norway. The agreement included assisting with all types of legal issues that members would have. It also included legal representation in cases where police officers are accused of criminal offences,as well as Lippestad holding lectures and speaking at events organized by the Police Federation. [23]
Lippestad has been an active member of the Norwegian Labour Party,and deputy chair of its Nordstrand local chapter. [24] In April 2013,he was invited as a keynote speaker at the annual Labour party congress. During his speech to the delegates,he spoke about humanity and human values. [25] He sharply criticised the treatment of Roma people in the city of Oslo. [26]
In December 2013,Lippestad was appointed chairman of the new left-wing think tank Agenda. [27] The think-tank was established with support from the trade union centre as well as the Labour party and intended as a left-wing counter-weight to the influential liberal think-tank Civita. [28]
In 2014 it was revealed that the Labour Party was considering Lippestad as a mayoral candidate for Oslo in the 2015 local elections due to him being a highly respected person who could possibly rival the popular incumbent conservative mayor Fabian Stang. [29] The Labour party had not had a mayor of Oslo in 20 years,and a majority of the Oslo chapter felt that Lippestad possessed the "broad appeal" necessary to pose serious challenge to mayor Stang. [30] In September 2014 however,Lippestad told the party that he did not want to be nominated. [31] In the 2015 Norwegian local elections he was instead elected as a member of Oslo city council. [32] He also served as Oslo City Commissioner for Trade and Ownership from 2015 to 2017.
In 2020,he co-founded a new political party named Sentrum (The Centre). [4] By December 2020 the party had collected the 5000 signatures needed to take part in the 2021 Norwegian parliamentary election. [33]
An outspoken advocate for the rights of people with physical disabilities,especially children,Lippestad was in 2014 awarded the "Defender of Human Life" award by the Pro-Life organisation Menneskeverd. In its citation,the jury wrote that the Lippestad couple reflects a set of values where respect and an unwavering belief in human life,no matter what situation you are in,is the basis. [34] At the event,Lippestad called for a reduction in the number of abortions. He also spoke out against what he believes is an expectation from society that parents should abort fetuses with genetic disorders. [35] He later echoed his statements in an interview with Dagbladet,claiming that there is a lack of options for mothers who wish to give birth to a child with disability. He also stated that:"Many are aborted almost automatically,and that is very sad." [36]
In 2013 he was appointed chairman of the Kirkens Familievern Foundation,a charity which aims to promote family values,as well as offer assistance to families or couples. Its activities also includes strengthening the family,marriage,parenting,relationship and singles' position in the church and society. [37] He is chairman of Youth For Understanding in Norway,an organization which promotes international peace and tolerance,by exchange programs. [38] [39]
Geir Lippestad is married to registered nurse Signe Lippestad (née Husebye). [40] Combined they have eight children,two of them together. Lippestad has two from his previous marriage,and his wife has four from her previous marriage. [8] The entire family resides in the Nordstrand suburb in southern Oslo. [41]
Two of the children were born with disabilities and one of them,16-year-old Rebekka,was critically ill early in 2012,in the midst of Lippestad's preparations for the Breivik trial. She pulled through the crisis which also coincided with Lippestad's wife giving birth to a baby girl,Mille Madicken. Rebekka died on June 14,2013. [42]
In the aftermath of the 22-July trial,Lippestad caused controversy when he wrote a book about the trial called "That which we may stand for" (Norwegian :Det vi kan ståfor). In the book Lippestad included full conversations which he had between himself and Breivik,which took place within the prison in full confidentiality. The book caused fierce reaction and condemnation from the legal establishment in Norway,some calling the book illegal. [43] Lippestad defended himself and the book by stating that Breivik had absolved him of the attorney-client privilege,as well as given him permission to write the book. [44]
Many high-profile attorneys as well as legal scholars were of the opinion that Lippestad had breached the attorney-client privilege as well being disloyal to his client. The leader of the Norwegian Bar Association Berit Reiss-Andersen accused Lippestad of exploiting his role as a defence attorney in order to create "another platform for himself in the public sphere". Other lawyers called the book "social pornography" and "an obvious breach of ethics". The Association of Defence Attorneys (Norwegian :Forsvarergruppen) unanimously voted to refer the case to the Bar Association's Main Board for possible sanctions. [45] The board subsequently ordered Lippestad to send a formal reply explaining his case within three weeks,which he did. [46] After formally hearing the case,the Main Board unanimously ruled that Lippestad had not breached legal ethics,thereby avoiding sanctions. [47]
Per Sandberg is a Norwegian politician for the Capitalist Party and formerly the Progress Party who served as the Norwegian Minister of Fisheries from 2015 to 2018. Sandberg was a member of the Norwegian parliament from 1997 to 2017,and served as chair of the parliamentary standing committees on Justice,and Transport and Communications. He has additionally held the position of first deputy leader of the Progress Party from 2006 to 2018. In 1997 he was convicted of assault and battery of an asylum seeker. His status as a convicted felon has made him controversial in Norwegian politics.
Knut Storberget is a Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Labour Party. He is currently serving as the county governor of Innlandet since 2019. He previously served as Minister of Justice under Jens Stoltenberg from 2005 to 2011. He was also an MP for Hedmark from 2001 to 2017,and deputy MP for the same constituency from 1993 to 2001.
Fritt Ord is a Norwegian private foundation,whose aim is to support freedom of expression and a free press. It was established on 7 June 1974 by Narvesen Kioskkompani's leaders Jens Henrik Nordlie and Finn Skedsmo as well as the lawyer Jens Christian Hauge.
Anne Holt is a Norwegian author,lawyer and former Minister of Justice.
Peder Are Nøstvold Jensen is a Norwegian far-right counter-jihad blogger who writes under the pseudonym Fjordman. Jensen wrote anonymously as Fjordman starting in 2005,until he disclosed his identity in 2011. He has been active in the counter-jihad movement,which argues that multiculturalism,particularly Muslim mass immigration,poses an existential threat to Western civilization. He has promoted this belief in a self-published book titled Defeating Eurabia,and stated that "Islam,and all those who practice it,must be totally and physically removed from the entire Western world".
Mazyar Keshvari is an Iranian-born Norwegian former politician for the Progress Party and a convicted felon who is serving two prison sentences for fraud and violent threats. He was elected as a substitute member of the Norwegian parliament for the city of Oslo in 2013,representing the right-wing and anti-immigration Progress Party,and attended parliamentary sessions from 2013 to 2018 as the substitute of the mandate holder Siv Jensen who has been on leave from parliament during her government service. As a politician he was known for taking a hard stance on immigration,calling for a complete ban on further immigration to Norway,a stop to the practice of accepting asylum seekers in Norway,and the deportation of immigrants convicted of crimes. In 2019 he was convicted of aggravated fraud for defrauding the Norwegian parliament and in 2020 he was sentenced to 11 months imprisonment. He left the Norwegian parliament following his indictment in 2018 and also left the Progress Party in October 2019. In 2019 he was also arrested and charged with making violent threats,and he was convicted and sentenced to an additional four months in prison in 2020.
Hadia Tajik is a Pakistani-Norwegian jurist,journalist and politician from the Labour Party. She served as Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion from 2021 to 2022. She previously served as Minister of Culture from 2012 to 2013. She was 29 years of age at the time and became the youngest minister to serve in the Norwegian government. She is the first Cabinet member that is a Muslim. Tajik has served as a Member of Parliament representing Rogaland since 2017,and Oslo from 2009 to 2017. She was also the party's deputy leader from 2015 until 2022.
Center Party is a registered political party in Norway. The party was established by several former county leaders from the Christian Democratic Party,defectors from the Socialist Left Party,the Labour Party,the Conservative Party and the Green Party,as well as former city councilor for the Labour Party in Oslo Geir Lippestad. The party's youth organization is Unge Sentrum.
First House is a Norwegian strategic advisory,corporate communications,governmental affairs and crisis management/issue management agency.
The 2011 Norway attacks,referred to in Norway as 22 July or as 22/7,were two domestic terrorist attacks by far right extremist Anders Behring Breivik against the government,the civilian population,and a Workers' Youth League (AUF) summer camp,in which a total of 77 people were killed.
Fjotolf Hansen,better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik,is a Norwegian neo-Nazi terrorist. He is known primarily for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011,in which he killed eight people by detonating a van bomb at Regjeringskvartalet in Oslo,and then killed 69 participants of a Workers' Youth League (AUF) summer camp,in a mass shooting on the island of Utøya.
Eskil Pedersen is a Norwegian politician and former leader of the Workers' Youth League (AUF) from 2010 to 2014,the youth organisation associated with Norway's leading Labour Party.
The 2011 Norway attacks were a bombing in Oslo and a series of shootings at Utøya on Friday,22 July 2011. The first attack was a bomb exploding in Regjeringskvartalet,the executive government quarter of Oslo,and the second an attack on a youth camp organized by the youth organization (AUF) of the Norwegian Labour Party (AP) on the island of Utøya in Tyrifjorden,Buskerud.
The trial of Anders Behring Breivik,the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks,took place between 16 April and 22 June 2012 in Oslo District Court. Breivik was sentenced to 21 years of preventive detention on 24 August 2012. 170 media organisations were accredited to cover the proceedings,involving some 800 individual journalists.
Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen is a Norwegian lawyer and judge. She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Norway on 20 June 2014,having previously been a judge at the Oslo District Court.
Bjørnar Moxnes is a Norwegian politician and activist representing the left-wing political party,the Red Party in the Storting. Moxnes opposes the European Union,characterizing Norway's participation in the EEA as undemocratic. Moxnes describes himself as a socialist. He served as the leader of the Red Party from 2012 to 2023,when he resigned in the wake of stealing a pair of sunglasses from a shop at Oslo Airport Gardermoen. Moxnes had previously served as the party's deputy leader from 2010 to 2012.
Åsmund Grøver Aukrust is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He is member of Parliament from Akershus county,first elected at the Norwegian parliament election in 2013. He was the deputy leader of the Workers' Youth League (AUF) from 2010 to 2014. He was also deputy member of the Parliament of Norway for the term 2009–2013.
The European Defence League (EDL) is a largely UK-based offshoot of the English Defence League founded by Tommy Robinson which campaigns against what it considers sharia law and itself has various offshoots. The group was set up in October 2010 and held its first demonstration that month in Amsterdam,Netherlands,at the trial of Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders.
Geir Eriksen,former names Geir Selvik and Geir Selvik Malthe-Sørenssen,is a Norwegian con artist and convicted felon. He formerly worked as a private investigator for criminal clients,and became known for fabricating material in the Arne Treholt case;it was subsequently revealed that he had engaged in similar fraud in a large number of other cases. He was charged with aggravated fraud and forgery;he pled guilty to all charges and in 2018 was sentenced to three years in prison and to pay 7 million kr in restitution. As of 2021 Malthe-Sørenssen was an inmate at Romerike Prison. He has changed his names several times,but is best known under the name Geir Selvik Malthe-Sørenssen,his legal name from 2010 to 2017. In 2021 his former wife Ida Marie Hansen published the book Jeg var gift med en bedrager about the Malthe-Sørenssen case.
22 July is a 2018 American crime drama film about the 2011 Norway attacks and their aftermath,based on the book One of Us:The Story of a Massacre in Norway —and Its Aftermath by Åsne Seierstad. The film was written,directed and produced by Paul Greengrass and features a Norwegian cast and crew. It stars Anders Danielsen Lie,Jon Øigarden,Thorbjørn Harr,Jonas Strand Gravli,Ola G. Furuseth,Ulrikke Hansen Døvigen,Isak Bakli Aglen,Maria Bock,and Seda Witt. The film had its world premiere on September 5,2018,in the main competition section of the 75th Venice International Film Festival. and was released online and in select theaters on October 10,2018,by Netflix.
Ferdige cand.jur. høsten 1990 ved Universitetet i Oslo: Til sammen 163 har avlagt juridisk embetseksamen ved Universitetet i Oslo høstsemesteret 1990. [...] Geir Lippestad