Bank manager for the footmen

“Economic and social development from below”, was the justification when Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Yunus began making charitable microloans to the poor during the famine in Bangladesh in 1974. The economics professor felt he needed to do more than just teach. In 1983, he founded the Grameen Bank to provide microloans to the poor who were not creditworthy in other banks. Yunus is considered the father of microfinance. He has contributed to financial inclusion being seen as a human right today.

Gunnar Berge was the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2000 to 2002. He remains the only committee chairman from Stavanger. During his tenure, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Kim Dae-Jung in 2000, Kofi Annan in 2001, and Jimmy Carter in 2002.

Berge began his career as a Norwegian record worker at Rosenberg Mechanical Industries in Stavanger, where he was employed from 1957 to 1966. He later transitioned into full-time politics.

He served as Minister of Finance from 1986 to 1989, Minister of Local Government and Labour from 1992 to 1996, and Director of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate from 1997 to 2007. Berge stepped down as chairman of the Nobel Committee in 2002 following weak election results in the 2001 parliamentary elections. This was in accordance with the rules and regulations governing the selection of committee members by political parties.