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‘Trailblazing’ minister Mona Røkke dies at 73

Former Norwegian justice minister Mona Røkke has died, aged 73. The veteran politician, who first entered parliament in 1977, had fought cancer several times during her lifetime.

Published: 15 July 2013 12:48 CEST

'Trailblazing' minister Mona Røkke dies at 73

Mona Røkke (R) with Prime Minister Kåre Willochs in 1981. Photo: Scanpix

The conservative MP and later justice minister and county governor retired in 2010 after a long career in politics, but remained active in her party Høyre.

Party leader Erna Solberg on Monday hailed her as a feminist trailblazer and said Røkke had helped shape the party's politics during the 1970s and 1980s.

"She has had a strong political voice all these years, and she was the most high profile woman in politics during the 1970s and 1980s," Solberg told the NTB news agency.

Røkke, a trained lawyer, entered parliament in 1977 and joined the parliamentary justice committee. In 1981, she was appointed justice minister by Prime Minister Kåre Willochs. She went on to be county governor in Vestfold for more than two decades before retiring.

In 1986, she published the autobiography "No time for tears", which detailed her time in the Storting and in government, but also laid bare the scars of a life spent battling recurrent cancer.

Norwegian media on Monday had no information about the cause of the veteran politician's death.

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Norway's PM says country is ready to recognise a Palestinian state

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told reporters that such a decision would need to be taken in close coordination with “like-minded countries”.

“Norway stands ready to recognise the state of Palestine,” Støre told a joint press conference with Sanchez.

“We have not set a firm timetable,” Støre added.

In November, Norway’s parliament adopted a government proposal for the country to be prepared to recognise an independent Palestinian state.

Norway also hosted Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at the beginning of the 1990s, which led to the Oslo Accords.

Sanchez is currently on a tour of Poland, Norway and Ireland this week to drum up support for the recognition of a Palestinian state, according to a Spanish government spokesperson.

Speaking alongside Støre, Sanchez said Spain was “committed to recognising Palestine as a state, as soon as possible, when the conditions are appropriate, and in a way that can have the most positive impact to the peace process.”

On March 22nd, Spain issued a statement with Ireland, Malta and Slovenia on the sidelines of an EU leaders summit, saying they were “ready to recognise Palestine” in a move that would happen when “the circumstances are right”.

Last week, Sanchez told reporters travelling with him on his Middle East tour that he hoped it would happen by the end of June.

Støre on Friday said that he welcomed Sanchez’s initiative to consult among countries to “strengthen coordination”.

“We will intensify that coordination in the weeks to come,” Støre said.

The Spanish leader has repeatedly angered Israel with his outspoken comments since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The war in the Gaza Strip erupted after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,634 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

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