Reiulf Steen

Reiulf Steen was a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. He was active in the Labour Party from 1958 to 1990, serving as deputy party chairman from 1965 to 1975 and chairman from 1975 to 1981.

Born in Hurum, Steen was elected leader of the regional Labour Party affiliate at age 14. He started out his professional career as a factory worker but soon took a job as a journalist in the newspaper Fremtiden, in Drammen. He rose quickly through the ranks of his party, chairing the Workers' Youth League from 1961 to 1964.

He later served as minister of transportation from 1971 to 1972 and minister of commerce and trade from 1979 to 1981. From 1977 to 1993 he was a member of Parliament, representing the constituencies Oslo and Akershus. He was the vice president of the Socialist International from 1978 to 1983 and chaired its committee on Chile from 1975 to 1990. He maintained a long-standing interest in Latin America and was appointed Norwegian ambassador to Chile in 1992, a tenure that lasted until 1996.

In later years, his memoirs and personal recollections affected public opinion.[citation needed] He related accounts of his own psychiatric problems, difficulties within the Labour Party, and other contemporary issues.[citation needed] He has also written columns for several of the country's leading newspapers, dealing with matters such as the EU, the war in Iraq, and the shift to the right of his party in recent years. He was also active in ATTAC and chaired the Norwegian branch of the European Movement (1999–2001), Norsk Folkehjelp (1999–2003) and the Norwegian branch of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (1986–1992).

He died on 5 June 2014 and was survived by his wife, four children from a prior marriage and step-family.