Shortly after the announced opening of The Oslo Center, Bondevik told Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, that the center would focus primarily on negotiations between governments and take on the role as a peacemediator in conflict areas around the world. He also said that the center would work closely with westerngovernments and international human rightsorganizations and take advantage of the vast political networks that its members, all former politicians and bureaucrats, had built up over the years.[1]
In 2022, the center had lost the majority of its donors and was forced to close its operations in Oslo.[2] Operations were shifted to Nairobi, Kenya and as of 2024, the center's main donor was the Muslim World Foundation, an organization with close ties to the Saudi Arabian regime.
Mapping out religious health assets that can be mobilized in the battle against AIDS/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa
Criticism of funding sources
In 2021, the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet reported that Bondevik personally received 5 million NOK (around US$560,000) from Muslim World League, an NGO with close connections to the Saudi Arabian government, between the years 2019-2021 The majority of these funds went to the Oslo Center.[3] As of 2024, the Muslim World League continues to be a financial partner of the Oslo Center, supporting several of their activities.[4]
In 2022, the Norwegian newspaper Vårt Land disclosed that Bondevik had received an undisclosed amount to write a favorable op-ed piece in their pages earlier in 2022, praising the government of Kazakhstan.[5] This drew ire due to the increasingly authoritarian handling of protests in Kazakhstan that same year.
Criticism of nepotism
Kjell Magne Bondevik received criticism from both political commentators and newspapers when he informed the media about the new center. The recurring theme in this criticism was that Bondevik was using his political status to gain an unfair advantage for himself and his new center. Some commentators also felt that it was inappropriate for a recently retired prime minister to accept large sums of money from both the Government and the Norwegian business community, which up until that moment had benefitted from his politics. This was viewed by some as nepotism.
Bondevik was also criticized for selecting President of the Norwegian Parliament, Thorbjørn Jagland, as chairman of the board for the new center. Jagland, also received massive criticism for allowing Bondevik, a retired politician, to announce the opening of the centre in Jagland's Parliament office. Some felt that this raised serious doubts as to whether this was a private peace center, or whether it was under the auspices of the Norwegian Government.[6]
Bondevik's reaction to the criticism
In an interview given to Norwegian newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad, on 30 January 2006, Bondevik responded to some of the recent criticism that had been directed against him. In this interview he defended his actions and assured his critics that he had done nothing wrong. He also made it clear that the funds given to the center came without any strings attached. He also went on record to say that securing donations from private companies and businesses was in his opinion a positive thing, and he encouraged other humanitarianorganizations to do the same.[7]
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