Gunhild A. Stordalen (born Gunhild Melhus, January 15, 1979) is a Norwegian physician, philantrophist, and environmentalist, married to hotel tycoon Petter Stordalen. She is well known for her commitment to climate change issues, women's health and animal welfare. She is the co-founder and chairman of The Stordalen Foundation. Today she works as a post-graduate doctor at a public health clinic in Oslo in addition to serving on the board of several commercial and nonprofit organizations.
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Gunhild A. Stordalen, the daughter of a doctor and a civil engineer, was born in Haugesund and raised in the sparsely populated hamlet of Muggerud outside Kongsberg. According to an interview with Dagbladet in 2010[1] she grew up in an anti-materialistic and pacifist household and was involved with environmental issues from an early age.[2]
Gunhild Stordalen graduated from Kongsberg secondary school in 1998. She enrolled at the medical faculty of the University of Oslo in 2000, and joined the medical research program. She received her M.D. (cand.med.) title in 2007. During her time at University she worked with sexual awareness information for youths (Medisinernes Seksualopplysning) as well as an expert panelist[3] on NRKs radio program Juntafil, a show with 250 000 listeners that answers young Norwegians sometimes very explicit sexual questions. Stordalen also worked as a model during her time at University[4]
In 2007 Gunhild Stordalen enrolled in the Ph.D-program at the Institute of Pathology Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet and in 2010 she defended her doctoral thesis Molecular studies on bone with focus on fracture healing in experimental osteoporosis in the field of pathology and orthopedics. (see bibliography).
In addition to her duties as a doctor, Stordalen holds directorships on several boards:
Gunhild Stordalen has stated that her goal is to “change the world”,[5] and together with Petter Stordalen she founded the couple’s philanthropic foundation, The Stordalen Foundation.
The Stordalen Foundation focuses primarily on climate change and Gunhild Stordalen has written several op-eds on the subject,.[6][7] The Stordalen foundation focuses on 4 separate areas:
In addition to the work her work through the Stordalen Foundation, Gunhild Stordalen is an Earth Hour ambassador[12] for Norway.
Growing up among animals has made Stordalen a staunch proponent of animal welfare. She refused to do an interview with Elle until they changed their policy on their use of fur[13] and has spoken out against the fur industry on several occasions,[14] she has also contributed at catwalk shows for the Norwegian Animal Welfare Alliance.
Being a high-profile female physician she has advocated on a number of female health issues, she was the spokesperson The Norwegian Heart and Lung Patient Organization (LHL) campaign to raise awareness of heart conditions affecting women.[15] She has also educated the public on numerous occasions about the subject of her thesis, osteoporosis.[16]
Gunhild and Petter Stordalen’s romance has been one of Norway’s most publicized relationships since it became public in 2006.[17] On New Years Eve 2008 Petter Stordalen proposed on top of Aspen Mountain. The NOK 35 million (approx. USD 5 million) wedding was held in Morocco on June 12, 2010, making it Scandinavia’s most expensive wedding, outspending the Crown Princess of Sweden.[18] The lavish treatment of the guests included chartering an airplane[19] and renting all the rooms of La Mamounia, one of the world’s finest luxury hotels. The ceremony was officiated by Sir Bob Geldof[20] in front of 240 of Norway’s most prominent celebrities,[21] from finance and the arts. The wedding received press attention normally reserved for royal weddings; Norway’s largest news website, VG Nett, had a protocol for the public to leave their greetings.[22] Her wedding dress, designed by Donatella Versace, is displayed at the Norwegian Museum of Art Industry[23]