Anita Apelthun Sæle is a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 politician who was a member of the Norwegian parliament from 1993 until 2005, representing the Christian Democratic Party (KrF) and the county of Hordaland

Hordaland

is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...

. Sæle was among the most conservative members of KrF, and a firm opponent of abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

 and gay rights. In foreign policy. Sæle is opposed to Norwegian membership in the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, and a firm supporter of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. She is married to Finn Jarle Sæle who runs an online Christian newspaper, and they have the son Finn Ørjan Sæle

Finn Ørjan Sæle

Finn Ørjan Sæle is a Norwegian businessman, widely known for his role in MLM. He had the biggest downline in Scandinavia at the time it all collapsed....

.

In the KrF nomination for parliament ahead of the 2005 parliamentary election

Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005

Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 12 September 2005. More than 3.4 million Norwegians were eligible for vote for the Storting, the parliament of Norway. The new Storting has 169 members, an increase of four over the 2001 election....

, Sæle lost both the top and second spot on the KrF ballot, to Ingebrigt Sørfonn and Laila Dåvøy

Laila Dåvøy

Laila Dåvøy is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party.From 1989 to 1990, during the cabinet Syse, Dåvøy was appointed personal secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs. From August to November 1990 she was State Secretary in the same ministry...

 respectively, in spite of warnings from some members that losing her from the ballot might cost the party conservative voters. After losing the nomination, she was offered a top spot on the Coastal Party

Coastal Party

The Coastal Party is a Norwegian conservative and centrist political party. The party has district, fishing and coastal issues among its primary policies and is a staunch opponent of Norwegian EU membership. It was represented in the Norwegian Parliament from 2001 to 2005, and its predecessor, the...

's ballot, but declined the offer.

In April 2006, Sæle became the leader of the women's division of the Christian Democratic Party.