Bjørn Olsen
Bjørn Olsen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Minister of Cybria | |
| In office 1 January 1930 – 1 January 1942 | |
| Leader of the Cybrian Labor Party | |
| In office 12 November 1929 – 1 January 1942 | |
| State Minister of Justice | |
| In office 1 January 1926 – 1 January 1929 | |
| Member of the Cybrian State Parliament | |
| In office 1 January 1915 – 1 January 1942 | |
| Constituency | Vornholm County |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bjørnsterne Gerhard Olsen 3 February 1891 Kedense, Cybria, Kingdom of Delkora |
| Died | 7 May 1952 Eldenvard, Cybria, Delkora |
| Nationality | Delkoran |
| Political party | Cybrian Labor (1929-1952) Agrarian Workers' Party (1915-1929) |
| Spouse(s) | Sille Olsen (m. 1914-1921) Maren Olsen (m. 1925) |
| Alma mater | University of Cybria (B.A.) |
| Occupation | Politician |
Bjørnsterne Gerhard Olsen (1891-1952) was a Cybrian Labor Party politician who served as first minister of the Delkoran state of Cybria from 1930 to 1942. A lifelong radical who started his political career as a member of the Cybrian State Parliament for the Agrarian Workers' Party, Olsen, with the help of Mette Elvensar, succeeded in orchestrating a takeover of the Cybrian Labor Party, the state's chapter of National Labor, by the AWP and subsequently reorganized it as a firmly leftist party.
As first minister, he introduced a major expansion of social security services in the state, land reform, and devolution of power to local governments. Olsen was an important ally of Chancellor Sofia Westergaard, and ensured the successful implementation of her government's policies in Cybria. He is considered one of the most influential first ministers in Delkoran history, and his success in implementing his program later helped inform the New Kingdom economic reforms of the 1960's and 70's.
Early life
Olsen was born in 1891 in the municipality of Kedense in eastern Cybria. His parents owned a small farm that had been in the family for generations but struggled to make it profitable, resulting in Olsen living much of his early childhood in severe poverty. In school, he developed a reputation as an intelligent and outspoken young man but also a troublemaker, and was routinely disciplined for talking back to teachers and getting into fights.
In 1908, Olsen was accepted into the University of Cybria, where he began studying economics. It was around this time that he began reading leftist political theory and became an active member of the Communist Student Union. He was known to be disruptive in classes, challenging what he believed to the university's biased curriculum and getting into heated debates with professors. He was a regular contributor to the student newspaper, publishing articles criticizing university administrators for giving preference to the children of wealthy parents in the school's application process and suppressing students' freedom of speech by restricting on campus demonstrations.
Upon graduating in 1911, Olsen worked various odd jobs in Eldenvard, including as a carpenter, substitute teacher, and custodian. Although he had a disdain for electoral politics, he and several KSU associates decided to run for municipal council on an independent list in 1912 to challenge the city's corrupt National Labor political machine. After weeks of intense campaigning, and just days before the election, their list was removed from the ballot on a technicality following a successful challenge by the local NL. Disgusted, Olsen relocated to the town of Vornholm later that year.
In Vornholm, Olsen worked as a journalist for the local newspaper, covering politics. He became involved with the Agrarian Worker's Party, an upstart far-left party that advocated for land reform and government aid for struggling farmers. He met his first wife Sille while organizing with the party; the two married in 1914. The following year, he stood for election to the Cybrian State Parliament on the AWP list, winning a seat.
Legislator
In the State Parliament, Olsen proved to be a fiery orator. In his maiden speech, he called for Cybria to put an end to poverty by providing a job guarantee and instituting a living wage. He was a vocal opponent of the state's discrimination against its Traveller minority.
With the outbreak of the Divide War in 1916, Olsen took part in anti-war organizing efforts in Cybria and elsewhere, helping to coordinate a major demonstration in Norenstal. Taking advantage of his visibility as a state legislator, he spoke out against Delkoran involvement and called for Cybria to refuse to supply manpower or resources for the war.
Olsen was often frustrated by the Cybrian Labor Party, which was at the time dominated by corrupt party bosses from the large cities who were resistant to progressive policies. He reflected in personal writings that, "Even our most moderate proposals are routinely blocked by a cabal of thieves who claim to be our allies yet are really no better than the basest Conservative." Still, with the AWP struggling to make an electoral breakthrough that would position it for government, Olsen and others in the party began considering the possibility of using an entryist strategy to take over Labor.