Ragnar Christiansen

Ragnar Karl Viktor Christiansen (28 December 1922 in Drammen – 17 February 2019)^[1] was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.

Ragnar Christiansen
Minister of Transport and Communications
In office 15 January 1976 – 11 January 1978
Prime Minister	Odvar Nordli
Preceded by	Annemarie Lorentzen
Succeeded by	Asbjørn Jordahl
Minister of Finance
In office 17 March 1971 – 18 October 1972
Prime Minister	Trygve Bratteli
Preceded by	Ole Myrvoll
Succeeded by	Jon Ola Norbom
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
In office 1 January 1958 – 30 September 1977
Constituency	Buskerud
Personal details
Born	Ragnar Karl Viktor Christiansen (1922-12-28)28 December 1922 Drammen, Norway
Died	17 February 2019(2019-02-17) (aged 96)
Political party	Labour

Early life

He served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway during the terms 1950–1953 and 1954–1957.^[2] When taking seat as a deputy in Parliament in 1950, at the age of 27 he was the youngest MP in Norway ever.^[3] He was later elected to Parliament from Buskerud in 1957, and was re-elected four times to serve five terms.^[2]

Christiansen held several ministerial portfolios through the years; he was appointed Minister of Finance in 1971–1972 during Bratteli's First Cabinet and Minister of Transport and Communications in 1976–1978 during Nordli's Cabinet. During the first tenure he was replaced in Parliament by Egil Solin Ranheim; during the second period he was replaced by Olaf Øen.^[2]

On the local level he was a member of Nedre Eiker municipal council from 1945 to 1959, serving as mayor during the term 1955–1957. From 1955 to 1957 he was also a member of Buskerud county council. He chaired the local party chapter for several periods, and the county chapter from 1955 to 1956.^[2]

Outside politics he spent his career in the Norwegian State Railways. He started as errand boy in 1940 and left in 1977 as a managing clerk. His career ended with the post of County Governor of Buskerud, which he held from 1979 to 1989.^[2]