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Revision as of 01:40, 22 November 2009 by Lylefor (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Anders Sigurd Lange (5 September 1904 - 18 October 1974) was the founder of the Norwegian political party Anders Lange's Party (the predecessor to the current Progress Party). He was a charismatic right-wing public speaker who objected to high taxes, state-regulations and public bureaucracy.
Noted for his absurdities, he is described as a man who went his own ways. He was described as a "fascist" in the interwar era, and as a "fascist" and "racist" during the 1960s and 70s. He nevertheless early fell afoul of the Norwegian World War II Nazi leader Vidkun Quisling and was a noted member of the Norwegian resistance movement. While he wanted to preserve what was traditional, he also embraced the ideology of liberalism, at least in the economic sense. He was also an outdoors man, hunter and one of the first in Norway to discuss environmental issues.
Background, education and work
Anders Lange's family originated in Langenburg, Germany and later moved to Norway. Lange claimed to be closely related to the family Trygve and Brynjulf Bull of in Oslo as well as the famous author Jens Bjørneboe whom he despised.
Lange was the son of the doctor Alf Lange (1869-1929) and Anne Elisabeth Svensson (1873-1955). He received examen artium in Kristiansand in 1924, and worked within forestry for the next three years, only abrupted by one year when he graduated as a forestry technician at Oddernes forestry school in 1926. He worked as a plant nursery manager in Argentina the following years from 1927 to 1929.
1929-1945
Lange began his political career as secretary of the Norwegian coalition-organization Fedrelandslaget (Fatherland League), a position he held from 1929 to 1938. He functioned from 1929 to 1935 in Kristiansand, and from 1935 to 1938 in Oslo. In 1930 he also got married to Anne-Marie Bach-Evensen (1906-1967).
The league was founded by the then young industrialist Joakim Lehmkuhl who was later known as the founder of the clock manufacturer Timex Inc in the United States, and Lehmkuhl Industrier in Norway. Some of the driving forces for the creation of the league were polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen and former Prime Minister Christian Michelsen, who was also Lehmkuhl's father-in-law. The league was most active in the early years when a majority of the country's citizenship, feared a coup by the Bolsheviks, communists or socialists, which would have made Norway a Soviet state. The leam lost much of its importance after the Labour Party was democratized and their movement was no longer revolutionary. The league gained some notoriety in 1933 when some of its members lobbied for the nomination of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Anders Lange left the league in 1938 when its leadership was taken over by Vidkun Quisling and his followers in the Nasjonal Samling. From 1938 until the German invasion of Norway in 1940 he was the general secretary of the organisation Landsforeningen Norges Sjøforsvar ("Country Confederation the Naval Defense of Norway") which agitated for a stronger Norwegian defence, which to a degree had been neglected during the 1930s. During the Second World War, Lange was an active member of the Norwegian resistance movement against the German occupation, and was arrested numerous times by the Germans.
Post-war
During most of the postwar years Anders Lange traveled around, and agitated for more personal freedom, lower taxes and less bureaucracy. In his time, Lange was perhaps the most well-known agitator and a popular speaker in bourgeois circles.
From 1945 to 1947 he was secretary of the Norwegian Kennel Club., and after this started a dog kennel in Oppegård. In 1948 he also started to publish the "Dog magazine" (Hundeavisen), of which he himself was editor. In 1950, his marriage with Anne-Marie Bach-Evensen was dissolved, two years later, however, on 17 June 1952, he was remarried to dental secretary Karin Thurmann-Moe (1927-1978).
In 1962, his newspaper changed its name to "Anders Lange's Magazine" (Anders Langes Avis), which started to focus on anti-communism and opposition to established political parties, politicians as well as taxes. The magazine was also a supporter of the Apartheid-regime of South Africa. He created the youth organization "Anders Lange's Freedom Movement" (Anders Langes Frihetsbevegelse) of which its members popularly got the name "Lange's dog boys". In the mid-1960s the organization got some attention after some of its members which were young officers in the army attempted to enlist for the Vietnam War.
In 1961 Lange planned, through some articles in his newspaper, to establish a new political party called the "Independence Party" (Uavhengighetspartiet), and in 1964 layed out plans for the "Freedom Party" (Frihetspartiet). None of these parties became established though.
In January 1972 he unsuccessfully sought appointment as the broadcast manager of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
Anders Lange's Party
In 1973 he founded his own party with the long but informative name Anders Lange's Party for a Strong Reduction in Taxes, Duties and Public Intervention (commonly known simply as Anders Lange's Party). The protest movement was an immediate success, capturing 5% of the votes in the parliament election the same year. By that Lange secured himself a seat in the Norwegian parliament where he served until he died of heart failure the next year in Bærum, Akershus. After his death ALP was reformed by Carl I. Hagen, and evolved into the more moderate right-wing Progress Party, which today is the second largest political party in Norway.
Racism
Anders Lange was also controversial in that he, on several occasions, supported the apartheid in South Africa. He wrote several articles about this in his own newspaper "Hundeavisen" (later renamed "Anders Langes Avis"). In the same paper, on April the 16th, 1963 he called those who where against apartheid "traitors of the white race". He also talked about the dictator of Uganda as "the monkey Amin". His political partner Erik Gjems-Onstad was also a defender of apartheid through the 1960s, 70's and 80's.
References
- ^ Gudleiv, Forr. "Anders Lange – utdypning (NBL-artikkel)". Sore norske leksikon.
- Bratberg, Terje. "Lange – slekt fra Holstein". Store norske leksikon.
- ^ Meland, Astrid (8 April 2003). "I kinosalens mørke". Dagbladet.
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Andresen, Frode (09-01-1972). "Ansett meg som sjef". VG (in Norwegian). Oslo. p. 79. Retrieved 21-11-2009.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Lier, David Christoffer (6 October 2004). "Hvordan forholdt Norge seg til apartheid?". Fellesrådet for Afrika.