Jo Benkow

Jo Benkow (born Josef Benkowitz, 15 August 1924) is a Norwegian politician and writer.

He was born in Trondheim, Norway but moved to the municipality of Bærum outside Oslo as a child. As a member of the tiny Jewish minority of Norway, he experienced first-hand prejudice while growing up. In 1942, he fled persecution by the Nazis occupying Norway, into Sweden and subsequently the United Kingdom. He returned after the war and took up photography as a trade.

In 1965 he was elected to the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, representing the Conservative Party. In parliament he soon became a leading figure, as party leader 1980–84, group leader of the Conservative Party in parliament 1981–85 and most notably becoming President (Speaker) of Parliament in 1985, a position he held until his retirement in 1993, after 28 years in parliament.

Benkow has served as president of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, taught international relations at Boston University, and has written books on human rights, modern monarchy in Norway, and other issues. His book "Olav" – "menneske og monark" ("Olav – Man and Monarch"), a product of several conversations with his friend King Olav V, was a huge bestseller.

He is also a much sought-after lecturer on issues concerning the Middle East and anti-semitism. In recent years he managed to create some controversy when he criticized former prime minister and party colleague Kåre Willoch, calling him "the most biased person in the country," on account of Willoch's views on the Middle East and his criticism of Israeli politics.ref|Aftenposten782946

He is the uncle of journalistic fraudster Bjørn Benkow [ [http://www.dagbladet.no/magasinet/2007/05/07/499914.html Juksemaker'n - portrettet - Dagbladet.no ] ] .

Books

*"Fra synagogen til Løvebakken" (1985); "From Synagogue to Parliament"
*"Folkevalgt" (1988); "Elected by the People"
*"Haakon, Maud og Olav. Et minnealbum i tekst og bilder" (1989); "Haakon, Maud and Olav. A Memorial Album of Text and Images"
*"Hundre år med konge og folk" (1990); "A Hundred Years with King and Nation"
*"Olav – menneske og monark" (1991); "Olav – Man and Monarch"
*"Det ellevte bud" (1994, with afterword by Elie Wiesel); "The Eleventh Commandment"

References

[http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article782946.ece Article in Aftenposten, May 2004] (in Norwegian) on the Norwegian Refugee Council and Kåre Willoch's visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.