Classic Desert Island Discs - Jens Stoltenberg

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2022

⏱️ 36 minutes

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Summary

Jens Stoltenberg is the Secretary General of NATO and a former Prime Minister of Norway. Although he was born into a political family in Norway, he grew up thinking he would become a statistician, before turning to a career in politics. He served as the Prime Minister of Norway twice. During his second term, Norway experienced one of the darkest days in its recent history, when 77 people were murdered in a bomb attack in Oslo and a mass shooting on a nearby island. Before becoming the Secretary General of NATO, a post he has held since 2014, he spent time as a UN Special Envoy on climate change. His term in office as Secretary-General has been extended until September 2023. DISC ONE: Lift Me by Madrugada and Ane Brun DISC TWO: No Harm by Smerz DISC THREE: So Long, Marianne by Leonard Cohen DISC FOUR: Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen DISC FIVE: Make You Feel My Love by Ane Brun DISC SIX: Til Ungdommen by Ingebjørg Bratland DISC SEVEN: Free Nelson Mandela by The Special A.K.A. DISC EIGHT: From Up Here by Ingrid Olava BOOK CHOICE: A statistics textbook LUXURY ITEM: A pair of skis CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Til Ungdommen by Ingebjørg Bratland Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor (First broadcast in 2020) Photo credit: NATO

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:04.6	Lauren LeVernier, we're taking our Easter breaks so until we're back on air,
0:08.5	we're showcasing a few programs from our archive,
0:11.4	as usual the music's been shortened for rights reasons.
0:14.4	This week's guest is the Secretary General of NATO, Yen Stoltenberg.
0:18.8	I cast him away in 2020.
0:40.9	My cast away this week is the Secretary General of NATO, Yen Stoltenberg.
0:45.8	His commitment to and skill at diplomacy has defined his public life.
0:50.3	In an age of fee-briled politics and politicians, he's known for his cool head.
0:55.6	He's the first Norwegian to become Secretary General, a role he's held since 2014.
1:00.5	Before that, he was the Prime Minister of Norway, twice.
1:03.7	His second term in office included what he calls the darkest day of his life,
1:08.4	when 77 people were murdered in a bomb attack in Oslo and a mass shooting on a nearby island.
1:14.3	His response was to call for more openness and more democracy, but not naivete.
1:20.7	Despite being born into a political family, he says it's unlikely that his schoolmates
1:25.4	would have earmarked him as world leader material.
1:28.0	He didn't learn to read until he was 10.
1:30.0	He soon caught up though, the first book he went for was a 900-page count of the Siege of Leningrad.
1:35.8	He's also a former anti-war activist who once opposed his own country's membership of NATO.
1:41.1	Now that he runs the 71-year-old Alliance, he says,
1:44.6	I'm attracted by bringing countries together, working together,
1:48.3	and especially in uncertain times, I think it's even more important
	...

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