Fritt Ord
 Fritt Ord  (Foundation)    | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Formation | 1974 |
| Founder | •  Jens Henrik Nordlie• Finn Skedsmo •  Jens Christian Hauge |
| Headquarters |  Oslo, Norway |
| Staff | 11 |
| Member of | The Hague Club |
| Sponsor of | • Media Development Investment Fund • Forbidden Stories • Article 19 •  Reporters Without Borders |
| Subpage | •Fritt Ord/Chairman |
| Membership | • Grete Brochmann • Christian Bjelland • Frank Rossavik • Guri Hjeltnes • Sigrun Slapgard •  Bård Vegar Solhjell• Anine Kierulf • Knut Olav Åmås • Erik Ruden •  Hadia Tajik |
| Norwegian grant giving foundation with Cold War origins. | |
Fritt Ord is a Norwegian private foundation, whose financially supporting most intellectual life and almost all book publications in Norway. It was established on 7 June 1974 by Director Jens Henrik Nordlie and his subordinate Finn Skedsmo as well as the lawyer and deep politician Jens Christian Hauge. The Foundation has its origins in the Cold War and the older US system of providing funding to select causes through foundations, to create the illusion of no deep state control.
Contents
Own words
Its stated aim is to support freedom of expression and a free press.[1]
Overview
Fritt Ord has significant funds and is playing a part in supporting various projects in Norway, for example investing in the newspaper Morgenbladet, supporting an encyclopedia (Store Norske Leksikon) and holding a 10.1% ownership in the media group A-Pressen. In addition it awards scholarships to students within media and journalism, awards the Fritt Ord Prize, and supports writing competitions. It has also provided funding for controversial projects, e.g. a book written by the blogger Fjordman,[2] who calls for the deportation of all Muslims from Europe.[3]
The organization awards three annual prizes to subsidize select authors;[4][5][6] the Fritt Ord Award (Norwegian: Fritt Ords pris), the Fritt Ord Honorary Award (Norwegian: Fritt Ords honnør) and the Press Prizes for Russia and Eastern Europe (Norwegian: Pressepriser for Russland og Øst-Europa).
History
The owners of the kiosk chain Narvesen wanted to transform his chain of newspaper and magazine retailers to an institution, and on 1 January 1975 the company was taken over by the newly created foundation Fritt Ord at the same time it merged with the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) company Norsk Spisevognselskap, who offered services within catering to the railway. Fritt Ord got 59% ownership in the newly formed company while NSB got 41% ownership.
The dividends from the company made it possible for Fritt Ord to perform a number of tasks related to freedom of expression, including support for the Institute of Journalism and the Freedom of Expression Prize as well as a number of grants to numerous persons and institutions, domestically and internationally.
In 1995 NSB sold its shares in Narvesen and the company was listed on Oslo Stock Exchange. As a result of this Fritt Ord reduced its ownership in Narvesen to 34% in 1999 and in 2000 Narvesen was merged with Reitangruppen to form ReitanNarvesen. In 2001 Fritt Ord sold its ownership in the company to the Reitan Family. As a result of the capital freed from the sale of Narvesen, Fritt Ord has acquired holdings in Morgenbladet (30,5%) and A-Pressen (10,1%).[7]
Economic power to stop David Irving in 2008
The organization was criticized by some for obstructing rather than furthering freedom of speech when it threatened the Norwegian Festival of Literature with withdrawing financial support if the British historian David Irving was allowed to speak at the festival. In October 2008 Fritt Ord's director, Erik Rudeng, demanded that its logo be removed from the webpages of the Norwegian Festival of Literature because Irving had been invited to give a lecture on his concept of truth at the festival. Irving's invitation was withdrawn only a few days later. Rudeng on his side defended the decision by stating that Fritt Ord only sponsored the literature festival in 2008 and thus it was high time their logo was removed when the program for 2009 was presented.[8] This prompted some commentators to address the paradox of a self-proclaimed "free speech" organization which involves itself in a campaign to stop a controversial voice like that of David Irving from being heard in Norway.[9]
Talking about Epstein undermines democracy
In August 2025, Hadia Tajik was selected to become a board member.[10]
In NRK in February 2026, she claimed regarding the Jeffrey Epstein revelations that "The Norwegian Police Security Service pointed out that one of the threats we face now are anti-state actors or anti-state extremists, and I can promise you that these actors are hiding in such scandals, they use them as weapons against the integrity of individual politicians and against our democratic institutions, because they will undermine the legitimacy of our democracy. And I think it would be very interesting if an actor like the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, could also make analyses of how much anti-state actors have exploited this type of scandal to cast doubt on the integrity of our democratic institutions. Because it is something that can harm us in the long term."[11]
Board Members
The list of Board Members include the year 2022,[12]plus some others.
Known members
2 of the 10 of the members already have pages here:
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| Bård Vegar Solhjell | Norwegian Bilderberger politician |
| Hadia Tajik | "Crown princess of the Labour Party" supported by Gro Harlem Brundtland at the time she was selected a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2016. Believes people talking about Jeffrey Epstein are undermining democracy. |
References
- ↑ https://frittord.no/en/home
- ↑ Geir Ramnefjell, Fritt fram i Fritt Ord?, Dagbladet
- ↑ Fjordman foreslo nazi-løsning, Dagbladet
- ↑ NTB (8 November 2012 Fritt Ords Honnør til Nina Johnsrud Dagbladet, Retrieved 28 June 2013
- ↑ Emil Flatø (20 February 2013): Det skal ikke være lov å kalle romfolket «parasitter» og «brunsnegler» Dagbladet, Retrieved 28 June 2013
- ↑ the Press Prizes for Russia and Eastern Europe
- ↑ https://www.webcitation.org/5ihrxfaYo?url=http://www.medieregisteret.no/database/dbprogs/?1=1&eid=2781
- ↑ https://www.webcitation.org/5ihrZ0O3D?url=http://www.aftenposten.no/kul_und/article2699557.ece
- ↑ https://www.webcitation.org/5ihrmyJqg?url=http://www.aftenbladet.no/debatt/medieblikk/927176/Ikke_fullt_saa_Fritt_Ord.html
- ↑ https://www.document.no/2026/02/11/hadia-tajik-inn-i-styret-for-fritt-ord-2/
- ↑ https://steigan.no/2026/02/tadjik-i-fritt-ord-uenig-med-meg-da-er-du-en-statsfiende-som-ma-overvakes/
- ↑ https://frittord.no/nb/om/styre
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