World Library and Information Congress: 71st IFLA General Conference and Council
"Libraries - A voyage of discovery"
August 14th - 18th 2005, Oslo, Norway
Plenary Speaker
Hilde Frafjord Johnson
Minister of International Development, Norway

Photo: C.F. Wesenberg
Hilde F. Johnson is Norway's Minister of International Development, a post she has held twice: from 1997 to 2000, and since 2001.
She represents the Christian Democratic Party, which is currently part of a coalition government together with the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. Before taking up her Cabinet post, Johnson was a member of the Norwegian parliament for five years, during which she sat on the Enlarged Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs. Ms. Johnson is Co-chair of the Global Coalition for Africa. She has been a key facilitator in the Sudan peace negotiations, and has chaired the Sudan Committee of the IGAD Partners Forum.
Ms. Johnson has also served on advisory groups in the World Bank, and is the founder of the Utstein Group, a consultation group of six like minded donor countries. In 2003, she was awarded the "Commitment to Development Award" by the Center for Global Development and Foreign Policy in Washington, D.C.
Hilde F. Johnson was born in 1963 in Arusha, Tanzania. She holds a graduate degree in anthropology from the University of Oslo.
Date: Wednesday, 17th August
Time: 12.45-13.45
Title: Culture, knowledge and power