Steinar Bastesen (26 March 1945 – 18 February 2024) was a Norwegian politician, fisherman and whaler. He was first elected to the Norwegian Storting in 1997 as an independent candidate, and in 1999 broke out and founded the Coastal Party (). He headed the party from its founding until March 2005, when disparity among the members forced him to give up his leadership. Bastesen kept his seat in the Storting until the 2005 election six months later.
Life and career
Steinar Bastesen was born on the island of Dønna to fisherman Ingvart Meyer Bastesen and housewife Karly Edvarda, . He first participated in whaling with his father in 1953, aged 8, and bought his first whaler ship in 1971 when he was 26. Later the same year he received an award from the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue for rescuing people on a wrecked ship with his whaler ship during a severe storm. In 1997, Canadian anti-whaling activist Paul Watson claimed in an NRK interview that Bastesen had threatened to kill him. Bastesen vehemently denied the allegation and sued NRK for defamation of character by letting the interview air. Bastesen won in the Oslo District Court but lost in 2002 in the appeal court, which found that Watson's accusation was of journalistic interest.
In 1998, Bastesen said that the whale Keiko, known from the Free Willy films, should be killed and the meat sent to Africa as foreign aid. This was his response to hearing that millions of dollars were being spent on preparing the whale for returning to the wild.
Health issues and death
Bastesen had struggled with health issues for the last decades of his life, which he later said were the result of an unhealthy lifestyle, excessive drinking, and overworking himself. In late 2001, he suffered a series of strokes that left him hospitalized for several months; during the first few weeks it was unclear if he would survive, and he eventually made a full recovery. In 2009, he again suffered a minor stroke while celebrating his 64th birthday and recovered quickly. Soon after, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and he made a full recovery. Bastesen exercised and changed his lifestyle to avoid further health issues, losing .
Bastesen died in a drowning accident near his home on 18 February 2024, at the age of 78.
See also
- Hans Bauge