Inge Lønning is a Norwegian theologian, educator, and politician, active in the Conservative Party of Norway

Conservative Party of Norway

The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...

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Lønning was born in Fana

Fana

Fana is a borough of the city of Bergen, Norway.-History:Prior to 1972, Fana was an independent municipality which territory also included today's boroughs of Ytrebygda, Fyllingsdalen, and the southernmost part of Årstad.-Geography:...

, Bergen

Bergen

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....

, Norway

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...

. He earned his cand. theol. from the University of Oslo

University of Oslo

The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...

 in 1962 and finished the practical-theological seminar in 1963. He continued his academic career with a fellowship from 1963 to 1971, with a year's interruption for military service as a chaplain in the Norwegian Navy. He earned his doctorate

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

 in theology, also at the University of Oslo, in 1971 and was appointed professor in systematic theology at the University of Oslo the same year.

In 1971, Lønning also started his political career, when he was elected into the Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 city council for one term and also the city's board of education for eight years.

In 1985 he was made rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of the University of Oslo, serving in this capacity until 1992, while maintaining his tenure as professor in theology to the present.

Lønning was elected as a member of Norwegian parliament for three terms, from 1997 through 2009. He is currently the president of Lagtinget, was vice president of Stortinget from 2001 to 2005, and has also served as a member of several parliamentary committees.
Lønning lost the "safe seat

Safe seat

A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...

" on third place of the Conservatives' party list in Oslo in the 2009 nomination for the Norwegian Parliamentary elections to Michael Tetzschner

Michael Tetzschner

Michael Tetzschner is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party of Norway . He lives with politician Kristin Clemet....

, a current member of the Oslo City Council.

He was president of the Nordic Council

Nordic Council

The Nordic Council is a geo-political, inter-parliamentary forum for co-operation between the Nordic countries. It was established following World War II and its first concrete result was the introduction in 1952 of a common labour market and free movement across borders without passports for the...

 in 2003, has been awarded honorary doctorates from Luther College

Luther College (Iowa)

Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...

 and Åbo Akademi University

Åbo Akademi University

Åbo Akademi University is a Swedish language university in Turku, Finland . , there are 7 941 students and a staff consisting of 1125 people. The university has activities not only in Turku, but also in Vaasa, Jakobstad, Helsinki and on Åland...

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He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway.-History:The University of Oslo was established in 1811. The idea of a learned society in Christiania surfaced for the first time in 1841. The city of Throndhjem had no university, but had a learned...

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His older brother is the former bishop Per Lønning

Per Lønning

Per Lønning is a Norwegian bishop, theologian, professor and politician. Lønning received his Doctor of theology from University of Oslo in 1955...

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