Ola Skjåk Bræk

Ola Skjåk Bræk (4 February 1912 in Eidsvoll – 26 December 1999 in Trondheim) was a Norwegian banker and politician for the Liberal Party. He was Minister of Industry in 1972–1973.[1]

Ola Skjåk Bræk
Minister of Industry
In office 18 October 1972 – 16 October 1973
Prime Minister	Lars Korvald
Preceded by	Finn Lied
Succeeded by	Ingvald Ulveseth
Personal details
Born	4 February 1912 Eidsvoll, Norway
Died	26 December 1999 (aged 87) Trondheim, Norway
Citizenship	Norwegian
Nationality	Norwegian
Political party	Liberal Party (Norway)
Spouse(s)	Ebba Ingeborg ("Ingeborg") née Wergeland
Children	Lise Skjåk Bræk, Gudmund Bræk, Leif Bræk
Parents	Gudbrand Olsen Bræk, Elisabeth Hansdatter née Fischer
Education	Candidate of Law
Alma mater	University of Oslo
Occupation	Banker
Known for	Banking, politics

Skjåk Bræk was born in Eidsvoll, the second child of the local banker Gudbrand Bræk and his wife Elisabeth Fischer. Gudbrand Bræk managed Eidsvoll Sparebank, the local savings bank, and was also a co-founder of Bøndernes Bank. Ola studied law at the University of Oslo and earned his cand.jur. degree in 1935. He married Ingeborg Wergeland, a noted peace activist. Among their children is Lise Skjåk Bræk, a fashion and costume designer. Ola Skjåk Bræk moved to Ålesund in 1950 to assume the presidency of Aalesund Nye Kreditbank, a savings and loan bank for the coastal region which eventually became merged into Sunnmørsbanken. He worked in this area - with leave for his time in the cabinet - until 1979, when he retired and moved to Trondheim.

He served in the position of deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Møre og Romsdal during the terms 1965–1969 and 1973–1977. He became Minister of Industry in the coalition cabinet formed by Lars Korvald after Trygve Bratteli resigned his cabinet after a referendum defeated his proposal for Norway to join the European Union. Skjåk Bræk ended up on the anti-EEC side, and as such stayed in the Liberal Party after the party split in 1972. He played an active role in the post-World War II economic development in Western Norway and took political and professional interest in the appropriate use of Norway's natural resources.[1]

Ola Skjåk Bræk published his memoirs Hva brast så høyt? (ISBN 82-90330-50-2) in 1990, expressing several concerns about Norwegian economic policy.

References

1. Kjølås, Harald. "Ola Skjåk Bræk (utdypning)". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2010-09-04.

• "Ola Skjåk Bræk" (in Norwegian). Storting.