Steinar Gil is a Norwegian philologist and diplomat.

He was born in 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...

, and worked at 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...

 from 1972 to 1980. He started working for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway...

 in 1984, being promoted to assistant secretary in 1993. He served at the embassy of Norway in Moscow

Embassy of Norway in Moscow

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Moscow is the chief diplomatic mission of Norway in the Russian Federation. It is located at 7 Povarskaya Street in the Arbat district of Moscow.- See also :* Norway–Russia relations* Diplomatic missions in Russia...

 from 1996 to 1999, before returning to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as head of the Eastern Europe department. He then served at the Norwegian ambassador to Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

 from 2002 to 2006, and to Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

from 2007.