Carl I. Hagen

Carl Ivar Hagen (born May 6, 1944) is a Norwegian politician. He is the chairman of the Progress Party, a position he has held since 1978. He is the son of CEO Mr. Ragnar Hagen (1908-1969) and accountant Ms. Gerd Gamborg (1914- ). He is married to Eli Hagen.

Education

Examen artium 1963. Higher National Diploma in Business Studies 1968. Diploma in marketing at the Institute of Marketing, London 1968.

Organizational background

Member of the board of the British Business Forum 1972. Member of the board of Norske Agenters landsforbund 1972-1974. Secretary of the Anders Lange Party, 1973-1974.

Profession

CEO Tate & Lyle Norge A/S, 1970-1974. Consultant Finansanalyse A/S, 1977-1979. Economic policy consultant in the oil industry, 1979-1981.

Member of Parliament

• Deputy-rep for Oslo from 1973-74 ALP.
• Representative from Oslo 1974-77, for the ALP
• Representative nr. 8 for Oslo from 1981-85, FrP.
• Representative nr. 14 for Oslo, 1985-89, FrP.
• Representative nr. 3 for Oslo, 1989-93, FrP.
• Representative nr. 6 for Oslo 1993-97, FrP.
• Representative nr. 3 for Oslo 1997-2001, FrP.
• Representative nr. 5 for Oslo 2001-2005, FrP.

Criticism

By his political opponents, Carl I Hagen has often been labeled a "populist" and "political chameleon". He is said to be "quickly changing his views on key political issues according to what he thinks will win his party the most votes". The retort from Carl I Hagen is that this is undocumented characterizations. The charge that The Progress Party often changes its views, goes back to a demand a vote of confidence in 1986 by the then Norwegian Conservative Party prime minister Kåre Willoch. Kåre Willoch argued that during the 1985 parliamentary election campaign, The Progress Party had promised to support a non-socialist government. When he failed to get the votes he needed on his vote of confidence, Kåre Willoch explain it as "the unpredictablillity of Carl I Hagen". However, research on the voting patterns over the years of political parties in the Storting published in 2001, surprisingly showed that the party did not distinguishing itself as particularly inconsistent. On the contrary, it turned out that The Progress Party distinguished itself as particularly consistent in its voting pattern in the Norwegian Parliament over the years.

Another line of criticism often levied by his political opponents, is that "Carl I Hagen is known for his aggressive attitude towards immigration". However, Carl I Hagen has always been very careful to distinguish between criticism of immigrants and his criticism of "naive" immigration policies.

References

• Carl I. Hagen: Ærlighet varer lengst, 1984, autobiography.
• Jan Ove Ekeberg and Jan Arild Snoen: Kong Carl, en uautorisert biografi, 2001, biography.

External links

• Biography of Carl I. Hagen by the Norwegian parliament (Storting)
• Carl I Hagen - speech at Levende Ord, July 13, 2004 (transcript, translated into English by Bjørn Stærk).