Max Jarl Hermansen (born 30 May 1960) is a Norwegian anti-Muslim activist, former teacher and officer. He has authored books about military history, and became known in 2015 as the leader of Pegida Norway.[1]

Biography

Hermansen grew up as a military brat in Northern Norway, to a father who had served in the Sixth Norwegian Antarctic Expedition.[2] Max Hermansen later received hovedfag, equivalent to master's degree, in history,[3] and was a naval military officer in the Royal Norwegian Navy, retiring at the rank of orlogskaptein, equivalent to lieutenant commander, in the Norwegian High Command.[4][5] He was the publisher of the naval military publishing company Sjømilitære Samfund from 2008, until he was forced to resign in 2013 due to his vocal opposition to the Norwegian monarchy.[1][6] He was also a teacher at Sogn Upper Secondary School, and was described as "Norway's most active republican".[7] In 2014 he became teacher in social studies at Kuben Upper Secondary School and Etterstad Upper Secondary School, but was replaced after a short time following complaints from students due to his views on Islam.[3] He resigned his position as teacher in early 2016 after a deal with the Oslo education agency, with a final agreement of 1,2 million kr while being banned from applying to teacher positions for five years.[8] Hermansen also ran a used bookstore in Grünerløkka, which he closed in February 2015 after it was vandalised with grafitti.[9]

Political activism

In January 2015, Hermansen gained much media attention for leading a march of 200 people in Oslo against Muslim immigration, inspired by the German Pegida movement.[10][11][12][13] Later the same month, it was announced that he was no longer wanted at his part-time job as teacher at the Oslo Training Office for Service and Transport, due to his "statements and views on Islam".[14]

Hermansen has also been active in the minor Democrats political party, and was its top candidate for the parliamentary election in Oslo in 2017.[15] He was however expelled from the party in 2019, after new statutes disallowed members who were also active in far-right activist organisations.[16] After Pegida failed to take lasting hold in Norway, with rapidly decreasing numbers of participants[17][18] despite numerous demonstrations,[1] he has later been an activist of Stop Islamisation of Norway (SIAN).[19]

Bibliography

  • D-dagen 1944 – og norsk innsats. Skorpionen. 2004. ISBN 9788299704908.
  • Hardt styrbord – glimt fra norsk sjøkrigshistorie. Sjømilitære Samfund. 2008. ISBN 9788299770309.
  • Da Marinen fikk Sanitet - sanitetsinspektøren i Sjøforsvaret 1994-2003. Sjømilitære Samfund. 2012. ISBN 9788299770330.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Berntzen, Lars Erik (2019). Liberal Roots of Far Right Activism: The Anti-Islamic Movement in the 21st Century. Routledge. p. 174. ISBN 9781000707960.
  2. ↑ Kristoffersen, Tor Kjetil (28 March 2015). "Ann-Cathrin er hjertevennen til «Norges største rasist»". iFinnmark (in Norwegian).
  3. 1 2 "Elever klaget på Pegida-talsmann". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 14 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Ny bok". Sjømilitære Samfund (in Norwegian). 20 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "Foreslår å avskaffe verneplikten". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). NTB. 26 February 1998.
  6. ↑ Norheim, Astrid Dalehaug (10 January 2015). "Frykter norsk marsj kan vinne på terroren". Dagen (in Norwegian).
  7. ↑ Barth-Heyerdahl, Lars (18 June 2010). "Max kaller apanasjen for «sosialtrygd»". TV2 (in Norwegian).
  8. ↑ Eggesvik, Olav (6 July 2016). "Max Hermansen fikk sluttpakke på 1,2 mill". Aftenposten (in Norwegian).
  9. ↑ Jor, Eira Lie; Estensen, Monica Bring (22 February 2015). "Pegida-Hermansen stenger butikken etter «nazisvin»-hærverk". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian).
  10. ↑ Bjerve, Gunnhild B. (12 January 2015). "Marsj mot muslimsk innvandring samlet nær 200". Sunnmørsposten (in Norwegian). NTB.
  11. ↑ Kristiansen, Bjørn S. (12 January 2015). "- Nei, jeg syns ikke det er grunnlag for å skille mellom islamister og muslimer. Vi må tørre å diskutere den totalitære ideologien islam". Dagbladet (in Norwegian).
  12. ↑ Yttervik, Linn K.; Lohne, Jenny (12 January 2015). "Pegida Norge: Varsler ukentlige marsjer mot «muslimsk innvandring og islamsk påvirkning»". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian).
  13. ↑ Norheim, Astrid Dalehaug (12 January 2015). "Marsjerte mot islamsk påvirkning". Dagen (in Norwegian).
  14. ↑ "Norsk Pegida-leder Max Hermansen mister deltidsjobb". NRK (in Norwegian). 23 January 2015.
  15. ↑ Stenerud, David (14 March 2017). "Max Hermansen listetopp for Demokratene". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). NTB.
  16. ↑ Skår, Kari Løberg (28 October 2019). "Flere koblinger mellom Demokratene og SIAN". NRK (in Norwegian).
  17. ↑ "Pegida sees 'complete failure' in Norway". The Local. 10 February 2015.
  18. ↑ "Pegida i Norge i full oppløsning". NRK Trøndelag (in Norwegian). 24 March 2015.
  19. ↑ Lepperød, Trond; Solberg, Trine (29 August 2020). "Flere personer pågrepet under Sian-markering i Oslo - politiet måtte avbryte". Nettavisen (in Norwegian).
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