Per Ditlev-Simonsen
{{Short description|Norwegian politician (born 1932)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = DietlevSimonsen.jpg
| imagesize = 150px
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Per Ditlev-Simonsen
| order = 64th
| office = Mayor of Oslo
| term_start = 25 October 1995
| term_end = 29 August 2007
| deputy = Svenn Kristiansen
| 1blankname = Governing Mayor
| 1namedata = Rune Gerhardsen
Fritz Huitfeldt
Erling Lae
| predecessor = Ann-Marit Sæbønes
| successor = Svenn Kristiansen
| constituency =
| majority =
| office2 = Minister of Defence
| term_start2 = 16 October 1989
| term_end2 = 3 November 1990
| predecessor2 = Johan Jørgen Holst
| successor2 = Johan Jørgen Holst
| primeminister2 = Jan P. Syse
| constituency3 = Oslo
| office3 = Member of the Norwegian Parliament
| majority3 =
| term_start3 = 1 October 1981
| term_end3 = 30 September 1985
| predecessor3 =
| successor3 =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1932|06|12|df=y}}
| birth_place =Oslo, Norway
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = Norwegian
| party = Conservative
| spouse =
| relations = Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen Sr (grandfather)
Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen Jr (uncle)
John Ditlev-Simonsen (uncle)
| children = Cecilie Ditlev-Simonsen
| residence = Oslo, Norway
| alma_mater = Stanford University
| occupation = Shipping magnate
| profession =
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Per Ditlev-Simonsen (born 12 June 1932) is a Norwegian politician. He was the mayor of Oslo, representing the Conservative Party, from 1995 to 2007. He stepped down on 23 August 2007 following the Swiss bank-account scandal.
Ditlev-Simonsen was an officer of the Norwegian Royal Guards, and he later attended Stanford University getting a Master of Arts degree. After college, Ditlev-Simonsen became a partner in his father's shipping company Sverre Ditlev-Simonsen & Co (SDS) in 1955. He was a partner in the company until 1995.
Ditlev-Simonsen was a Member of Parliament from 1981 to 1985, serving in the Standing Committee of Finance. From 1989 to 1990 Ditlev-Simonsen was Minister of Defence in the Cabinet of Jan P. Syse.
Personal life
Ditlev-Simonsen was born in Oslo to ship owner Sverre Ditlev-Simonsen and Lily Kaurin. He was a grandson of Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen Sr, and nephew of Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen Jr. He was married to Benedicte Werring (d. 1990) from 1960, and to Turi Klaveness from 1992.{{cite encyclopedia|title=Per Ditlev-Simonsen |encyclopedia=Norsk biografisk leksikon|first=Bjarne |last=Kortsen |author-link= |editor=Helle, Knut |editor-link=Knut Helle |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo |url=https://nbl.snl.no/Per_Ditlev-Simonsen | language=Norwegian |access-date=27 August 2017}}
Swiss bank account tax probe
{{Wikinews|Mayor of Oslo resigns after tax fraud scandal}}
In August 2007, the presence of a hitherto unknown Swiss bank account was revealed. The revelation came after an acrimonious divorce involving his daughter, Cecilie Ditlev-Simonsen, the communications director of Norsk Hydro.{{cite web |url=http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1943016.ece |title=Mayor caught in tax probe |date=August 17, 2007 |author=Aftenposten |author-link=Aftenposten }} The account, which contained NOK 1.5 million had been inherited by Ditlev-Simonsen after his wife died in 1990, and he eventually admitted to not having paid the Norwegian wealth tax on it.{{cite web |url=http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1947969.ece |title=Mayor sorry but won't resign |author=Aftenposten |date=August 20, 2007}}
The revelation caused several opposition politicians to call for Ditlev-Simonsen's resignation. Erna Solberg, the head of the Conservative Party, asked that Ditlev- Simonsen refrain from active campaigning for his party ahead of the local elections scheduled for 10 September. Even if he had not resigned, the 75 year old Ditlev-Simonsen was set to retire after the election.{{cite web |url=http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1947232.ece |title=Oslo's mayor faces resignation demands |author=Aftenposten |date=August 20, 2007}} The incident was believed to be a cause of the Conservative's 4 percent drop in opinion polls, three weeks ahead of the election.{{cite web |url=http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1951245.ece |title=Voters abandon Conservatives |author=Aftenposten |date=August 22, 2007}}
References
{{Reflist}}
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{{succession box
| before=Ann-Marit Sæbønes
| title=Mayor of Oslo
| years=1995–2007
| after=Svenn Erik Kristiansen
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ditlev-Simonsen, Per}}
Category:Conservative Party (Norway) politicians
Category:Stanford University alumni
Category:Norwegian businesspeople