Ola Skjåk Bræk (February 4, 1912 in
Eidsvollis a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.-Name:...
– December 26, 1999 in
Trondheimis a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The city of Trondheim was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
) was a
NorwegianNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
banker and politician for the Liberal Party. He was Minister of Industry in 1972–1973.
Skjåk Bræk was born in Eidsvoll, the second child of the local banker Gudbrand Bræk and his wife Elisabeth Fischer. He studied law at the
University of OsloThe University of Oslo is the oldest, largest and most prestigious university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.It was founded in 1811 as The Royal Frederick University...
and earned his cand.jur. degree in 1935. He married Ingeborg Wergeland, a noted peace activist.
Ola Skjåk Bræk (February 4, 1912 in
Eidsvollis a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.-Name:...
– December 26, 1999 in
Trondheimis a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The city of Trondheim was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
) was a
NorwegianNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
banker and politician for the Liberal Party. He was Minister of Industry in 1972–1973.
Skjåk Bræk was born in Eidsvoll, the second child of the local banker Gudbrand Bræk and his wife Elisabeth Fischer. He studied law at the
University of OsloThe University of Oslo is the oldest, largest and most prestigious university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.It was founded in 1811 as The Royal Frederick University...
and earned his cand.jur. degree in 1935. He married Ingeborg Wergeland, a noted peace activist. Among their children is
Lise Skjåk BrækLise Skjåk Bræk is a Norwegian textile artist, known for her works within ceremonial apparel, uniforms, costumes, rugs, and other textiles. She is a resident of Trondheim....
, a fashion and costume designer. Ola Skjåk Bræk moved to
Ålesundis a city and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Jugendstil architecture....
in 1950 to assume the presidency of Aalesund Nye Kreditbank, a savings and loan bank for the coastal region which eventually became merged into Sunnmørsbanken. He worked in this area - with leave for his time in the cabinet - until 1979, when he retired and moved to Trondheim.
He served in the position of deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from
Møre og Romsdalis a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. The county administration is located in Molde, while Ålesund is the largest city.-The name:...
during the terms 1965–1969 and 1973–1977. He became Minister of Industry in the coalition cabinet formed by
Lars Korvaldwas a Norwegian politician from the Christian Democratic Party. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 1972 to 1973, leading the cabinet that took over when Trygve Bratteli resigned in the wake of the first referendum over Norway's membership in the European Economic Community.-Early life and...
after
Trygve Bratteliwas a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party and Prime Minister of Norway in 1971–1972 and 1973–1976.-Early life and career:...
resigned his
cabinetThe Bratteli's First Cabinet governed Norway between 17 March 1971 and 18 October 1972. The Labour Party cabinet was led by Trygve Bratteli.On 8 May 1972 there was a cabinet reshuffle...
after a referendum defeated his proposal for Norway to join the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
. Skjåk Bræk ended up on the anti-EEC side, and as such stayed in the Liberal Party after the party split in 1972. He played an active role in the post-World War II economic development in Western Norway and took political and professional interest in the appropriate use of Norway's
natural resourcesNatural Resources is a soul album released by Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in 1970 on the Gordy label. The album is significant for the Vietnam War ballad "I Should Be Proud" and the slow jam, "Love Guess Who"...
.
Ola Skjåk Bræk published his memoirs
Hva brast så høyt? (ISBN 82-90330-50-2) in 1990, expressing several concerns about Norwegian economic policy.