Wenche Frogn Sellæg (born 12 August 1937) is a Norwegian handball player, physician and politician for the Conservative Party. She was Minister of Environmental Affairs 1981–1983, Minister of Justice 1985–1986, Minister of Social Affairs 1989–1990 and a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1985 to 1993.[1][2]
She played 42 matches as goalkeeper for the Norwegian national handball team from 1959 to 1968.[3] Her clubs were Namsos IL, Molde HK and Frigg Oslo. She held various board positions in Frigg, and from 1967 to 1971 she was a board member of the Norwegian Confederation of Sports.[4] From 1967 to 1969 she sat on the European Council's Committee on Women and Sport. Later reprising her board membership in the Confederation of Sports from 1987 to 1989, she also sat on another European Council committee, this time the Committee of Experts on the Organisation of Health Care for the Chronically Ill from 1996 to 1998.[1]
Sellæg pursued her career as a physician further, becoming a specialist of gastroenterology in 1980. After two years at Namdal Hospital she became assistant chief physician in 1975.[1] She married dentist Johan Sellæg in 1976.[5] They resided in Overhalla Municipality.[4]
Political career
Sellæg then entered national politics. In the Conservative Party's landslide election in 1981, she was elected deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway for Nord-Trøndelag. She was later elected as a full representative in 1985 and 1989. Serving until 1993, she was deputy chair of the Standing Committee on Justice for the last three years.[1]
Within her party, Sellæg chaired Namsos Conservative Party from 1974 to 1975, sat in the Conservative Party's central board and executive committee from 1982 to 1990, led its political platform committee from 1987 to 1989, served as the Conservative Party's deputy leader from 1988 to 1990, and lastly chaired its electoral committee from 1992 to 1994.[1]
Board memberships and later career
She was also a member of the Arts Council Norway from 1977 to 1985, the Sports Council from 1977 to 1981, the Museum Council from 1978 to 1982, the board of the National Gallery of Norway from 1980 to 1981, the Norwegian Directorate of Labour from 1983 to 1985 (deputy chair), the Defense Council from 1985 to 1986, Det interdepartementale polarutvalg from 1985 to 1986 (leader). She led the committee that produced the Norwegian Official Report 1987: 9 on working hours reform.[1]
In businesses and organizations, she was a board member of Den norske Creditbank from 1983 to 1987, supervisory council member of the Norwegian Bible Society from 1987 to 1993, supervisory council and corporate council member of Vinmonopolet from 1994 to 1996, and deputy board member of Sparebanken Midt-Norge from 1995 to 2005.[1]
