Rear admiral Louise K. Dedichen recently attacked Resett’s editor, Lurås, in a contribution in the Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten. The contribution was written together with professor Janne Haaland Matlary. This is, however, about Dedichen.
In Aftenposten, it is said among other things, that Lurås’ contribution is «thoroughly conspiratorial» and «bullshit towards women». In the Defence, it is about soldiers and not about men and women, according to the radar couple.
Was Dedichen herself allocated by sex quota?
Regarding this, it is interesting to glance at a case from 2008. Then, Dedichen was employed as leader of the Defence’s High School. The problem was, however, that she was not the most qualified applicant. She was not even nominated top three by the military professional authorities. She had little operative experience, just one year on board a frigate as administrative officer, a purely administrative function.
A victory in the struggle for equality
One may deduce from reactions at the time that behind the employment of Dedichen, there were female politics. Politicians regarded the employment to be a victory in the struggle for equality. Assistant Director in the Ministry of Defence, Ann Kristin Salbuvik, said,
– We are extremely pleased with the promotion of Bastviken. All the girls are proud today. (Editorial note, Dedichen’s earlier name was Dedichen Bastviken).
One could also read in the preparatory work of the Ministry of Defence that the Secretary General thought that «commodore Dedichen was not the best qualified, but that it might be positive for the Defence Forces if a woman was appointed».
A case for the legal system
Originally, the Defence Forces had recommended Øyvind Kirsebom Strandman for the job, but the Minister of Defence, Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen, chose to ignore the professional military recommendation and changed it, which led to Strandman feeling unjustly surpassed and he brought action.
The Local Court supported the Ministry of Defence but in the Court of Appeal, Strandman won. The Ministry of Defence was sentenced to pay 700.000 Nkr in compensation, as well as costs amounting to 650.000 Nkr. The verdict said that Dedichen was not as well qualified, or nearly as well qualified, as Strandman and consequently, the employment contradicted the Law of equal rights.
The State then appealed the sentence to the Supreme Court and eventually got consent.
Severe criticism of the sentence in the Supreme Court
The law magazine, Lov og Rett (8/14), criticised the sentence severely in an article written by the solicitors Arvid R. Ødegård and Kari Bergeius Andersen. The two accused the Court of «shooting before they drew the target».
They especially point to the fact that documents from the employment process clearly show that even the Ministry of Defence did not consider Dedichen best qualified and that a woman was preferred for the position. The Supreme Court additionally performed the feat of putting greater emphasis on statements made six years after the employment than on the information provided during the employment process. This broke with judicial precedent.
Judge Skoghøy took dissent, pointing to the fact that it is no qualification according to the law of equal rights to be a woman.
During a lecture at the conference Security Divas in 2016, Dedichen said,
– Women ought to stick together, establish networks and encourage each other. That is essential to succeed in environments dominated by men. Therefore, Security Divas is a perfect arena to women who aim upward in security.
The employment of Dedichen as leader of t High School of the Defence Forces underpins the point of Lurås; Can we be sure that The Defence Forces becomes better by employing more women? Or, are there other, more important considerations than the ability to defend the country in a crisis?
Dedichen became, through the possibly quota based employment, the first female in this country at general/admiral level. A few years later, she was among the applicants for the position as the new Chief of Defence.
Did admiral Dedichen feel personally hit by what Lurås wrote?
Translated to English by Lars Hoem