Doctor, environmental minister, first woman prime minister of         Norway,  chair of the World Commission on Environment and         Development -- Gro Brundtland has left her mark as a world         leader on environmental issues.   She is a classic role model         for others to emulate.

Gro Harlem Brundtland was born in 1939 in Oslo, Norway.  She had  a very complex childhood, moving numerous times for  various reasons.   When she was ten,  her family  moved to the  United States  so that her father could attend New York University.  Here she learned to speak English.  From the time she was small, Gro Brundtland was encouraged to be independent and outspoken. It was instilled in her that there should be equality between the sexes.

In the early 1960s she attended medical school at the University of Oslo, following in her father's footsteps.  She was married in 1960 and received her medical degree in 1963 at the age of 24.  In 1964 her new family moved to the United States where Gro Brundtland was accepted at Harvard University to study public health.  After earning her master's  degree here,  she moved back to  Norway where she worked  as a medical officer in the Norwegian Directorate of Public Health until 1967.  In 1968 she began working as assistant medical director at the Board of Health in Oslo.  This position led to her initiation into politics.

With her upbringing, it was natural that Ms. Brundtland become a strong advocate of women's rights, especially pertaining to the choice to have an abortion.  It was her openness in this area that drew government attention to her.  The current prime minister, Trygve Bratelli, agreed with her views.  He asked her if she would become the new environmental  minister for the country,  a post no woman had ever previously held.   She also became the
main Labor Party spokesperson on abortion, and the laws were changed so that Norwegian women had the right
to choose for themselves whether to have an abortion when formerly it had been a panel of doctors who made the decision.

Brundtland discovered that she enjoyed politics.  In 1975 she was named deputy leader of the ruling party, which essentially meant she became the country's vice president.  The fact that 1975 was also the international Year of the Woman probably added to her acceptance in the government.

Her first major test as environmental minister (she kept this position in addition to that of deputy leader) came in 1977.   An explosion at an oil drilling platform in the North Sea caused major concerns for the country.   She went immediately to the site of the spill, leaving a social engagement to attend to what she considered a major event.  After reparations,  Brundtland spoke out for more  changes to prevent future  environmental disasters.  Her con-
cern was  noted by journalists,  and they began  to hint that  she might have the attributes  necessary to become
prime minister.

She argued against damming more rivers to produce hydroelectric power and against further drilling expansion in the North Sea.   Environmental issues had become prominent in the concerns of the voters of the country,  and in 1981  Gro Brundtland was  elected the country's  first woman prime minister.   At 42,  she was also  the youngest person to hold that office.   Her first attempt did not go very well and lasted only one year.

In 1983 the United Nations Secretary General asked her if she would chair the World Commission on Environment and Development.   It was the task of this committee  to evaluate the planet's  critical environmental and develop- mental problems and then provide possible solutions to them.  In 1984 she began to form the commission, choosing 21 representatives from all over the globe.  She realized the need to choose people from various disciplines in order to address the  problems properly.   She also made  sure that half the   representatives came  from the  developing countries of the world so that the poorer countries would have a voice in the outcome.

The commission held its first meeting in Switzerland in 1984.   Eight key issues were targeted for study:   energy, industry, population, food security, human settlements, international cooperation, decision-making systems,  and international  economic relations.   In this choice the  obvious need for an  interdisciplinary approach to environmental  issues  was  emphasized  (see Interdisciplinary Approach  for more information  on this aspect).   The commission decided to hold a series of meetings in various locations over the next two years. The meetings were attended by thousands of people who were concerned about the environment.   This demonstrated  that the issue was a global one that required joint efforts between  all the countries and cultures of the world.  The commission
also enlisted the aid of experts and academic institutions worldwide.   This request provided them  almost eighty reports on the key issues they had chosen to target.

The last meeting took place in Japan in 1987.  Here they drafted their proposal to address many of the world's problems.   The report was titled Our Common Future.   One of the proposals in this document called for a conference on development and the environment. This led to the Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992 where leaders from almost 200 countries met to discuss the issue.

Brundtland was elected a second time to be prime minister of Norway in 1986.   She named eight women to her cabinet, ensuring the presence of women in the government.   After a one-year  absence she was  also elected
prime minister again in 1990.

Since her  stint as chair  of this commission,  Gro Brundtland has travelled  worldwide  promoting environmental causes.  She has been a strong proponent of alternate energy sources to cut energy consumption.  She has been very vocal on population control and delivered the opening day speech at the UN Population Conference in Egypt in 1994.   She still speaks  about the issue of  poverty at every opportunity,  feeling that it is a major concern in environmental issues.

Gro Harlem Brundtland is an excellent example of an interdisciplinary person.  From being a doctor she went into politics  and  on  into  world  leadership  in the  environmental  movement.   She also promoted  interdiscipline in addressing the world's problems and has made a significant contribution to the environmental movement through her motivation to approach global issues in the only truly effective way:  through integration of numerous disciplines.