Norwegian of the Century

Norwegian of the Century (Århundrets nordmann) was a poll carried out by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation in 2005, the 100-year anniversary of Norwegian independence. The poll was SMS-based and over 400,000 Norwegians voted over the course of the year. To qualify as "Norwegian of the Century", the nominee must have lived between 1905 and 2005. All Norwegians were eligible for nomination, and there were initially 600 people on the list. A "Great Norwegian Committee" (Store Norske komiteen) consisting of Nils Arne Eggen, Astrid Nøklebye Heiberg, Guri Hjeltnes, Harald Norvik, Erling Sandmo and Cathrine Sandnes narrowed the list down to 50. Another poll was conducted, again SMS-based, with the results presented live on NRK1 on 17 December 2005. The winner, with 41% of the vote, was King Olav V. Former Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen was second with 24%, followed by Erik Bye with 15%. The results for the top 50 spots were as follows:


 * 1) Olav V (1903–1991) - King of Norway (21 September 1957 – 17 January 1991)
 * 2) Einar Gerhardsen (1897–1987) - politician and Prime Minister of Norway (1945–1951, 1955–1963, 1963–1965)
 * 3) Erik Bye (1926–2004) - journalist, artist, author, film actor, folk singer and radio and television personality
 * 4) Kim Friele (1935–2021) - gay rights and human rights activist
 * 5) Thor Heyerdahl (1914–2002) - ethnographer, led Kon-Tiki expedition
 * 6) Mari Boine (1956–) - Norwegian Sami musician
 * 7) Gro Harlem Brundtland (1939–) - politician and 22nd Prime Minister of Norway (1981, 1986–1989, 1990–1996)
 * 8) Haakon VII (1872–1957) - King of Norway (18 November 1905 – 21 September 1957)
 * 9) Christian Michelsen (1857–1925) - shipping magnate, statesman, and 1st Prime Minister of Norway (1905–1907)
 * 10) Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930) - explorer, diplomat, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
 * 11) Ivar Asbjørn Følling (1888–1973) - physicist and biochemist known for describing the disease commonly known as Følling's disease or phenylketonuria
 * 12) Grete Waitz (1953–2011) - marathon runner, first woman to run a marathon in under two and a half hours
 * 13) Alf Prøysen (1914–1970) - author, poet, playwright and musician
 * 14) Helge Ingstad (1899–2001) and Anne Stine Ingstad (1918–1997) - archaeologists and explorers of a Norse settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in 1960
 * 15) Anne-Cath. Vestly (1920–2008) - author of children's literature
 * 16) Gunnar Sønsteby (1918–2012) - member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway in World War II.
 * 17) Knut Hamsun (1859–1952) - writer, Nobel laureate in Literature
 * 18) Kjell Aukrust (1920–2002) - author and poet
 * 19) Eivind Berggrav (1884–1959) - Lutheran bishop, figure in resistance against German occupation of Norway
 * 20) Kirsten Flagstad (1859–1962) - opera singer and dramatic soprano
 * 21) Ole Gunnar Solskjær (1973–) - football player and manager
 * 22) Hjalmar Andersen (1923–2013) - speed skater, won three gold medals at the 1952 Winter Olympic Games held in Oslo, Norway
 * 23) Edvard Munch (1863–1944) - painter and print-maker, best known for painting The Scream
 * 24) Bjørn Dæhlie (1967–) - cross–country skier, won a total of 29 medals in the Olympics and World Championships from 1991 and 1999
 * 25) Carl Joachim Hambro (1885–1964) - journalist, author and politician
 * 26) Katti Anker Møller (1868–1945) - feminist, children's rights advocate, reproductive rights activist
 * 27) Kristian Ottosen (1921–2006) - non–fiction writer and public servant
 * 28) Rosemarie Köhn (1939–2022) - bishop in the Diocese of Hamar of the Church of Norway
 * 29) Bjørn Wirkola (1943–) - ski jumper
 * 30) Sam Eyde (1866–1940) - engineer and industrialist
 * 31) Olav Selvaag (1912–2002) - residential contractor, responsible for innovative design for building affordable housing in Post–World War II economic expansion
 * 32) Arne Arnardo (1912–1995) - circus performer, generally known as the "circus king" of Norway
 * 33) Karl Evang (1902–1981) - physician and civil servant
 * 34) Thorbjørn Egner (1912–1990) - playwright and songwriter for children
 * 35) Halldis Moren Vesaas (1907–1995) - poet for children
 * 36) Jan Garbarek (1947–) - jazz saxophonist
 * 37) Finn Lied (1916–2014) - military researcher and politician
 * 38) Sigrid Undset (1882–1949) - novelist, Nobel laureate in Literature
 * 39) Wenche Foss (1917–2011) - actress of stage, screen, and television
 * 40) Erling Stordahl (1923–1994) - farmer and singer
 * 41) Oscar Mathisen (1888–1954) - speed skater
 * 42) Sonja Henie (1912–1969) - figure skater and film star
 * 43) Arne Nordheim (1931–2010) - composer
 * 44) Trygve Lie (1896–1968) - politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1940–1946) and 1st Secretary-General of the United Nations (1946–1952)
 * 45) Inger Hagerup (1905–1985) - poet
 * 46) Johs Andenæs (1912–2003) - jurist
 * 47) Liv Ullmann (1938–) - actress and film director
 * 48) Ragnar Frisch (1895–1973) - economist, being one of the founders of the discipline of econometrics, and for coining the widely used term pair macroeconomics/microeconomics in 1933; awarded Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1968
 * 49) Gustav Vigeland (1869–1943) - sculptor
 * 50) Francis Bull (1887–1974) - literary historian