Petter Eide

Who is Petter Eide?

Petter Eide is a Norwegian activist.

He is known to the Norwegian public as Secretary General of the Norwegian branch of Amnesty International from 2000 to 2007, the Norwegian branch of Care International to 2008 and Norsk Folkehjelp from 2008 to 2010. He left the organisation with immediate effect 10 December 2010. According to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, his resignation was due to a dispute with the board on future priorities of the organisation.

With a teacher's education from 1983 he started his career in the school system. From 1986 to 1991 he worked as political secretary for the Socialist Left Party, and from 1992 to 1994 in Nei til EU. In 1994 he also took the cand.polit. degree at the University of Oslo. He worked in Geelmuyden.Kiese from 1997 to 2000.

In January 2006 he criticized the government of Norway for not following the example of the new German Chancellor Angela Merkel in opposing the Guantanamo Bay policy decision of the United States.

In August 2009 he was strongly criticized in Norwegian papers for firing a Palestinian local employee of his organisation.