Tomm Kristiansen (1950 – 2022) died early today, the family informs news. He is survived by a wife and two grown children. Kristiansen was known to many as the “Voice from Africa”, the calm southern voice that spoke of hope on a continent often associated with disaster. He was news’s Africa correspondent for two periods. First in Harare in Zimbabwe from 1990 to 1994, then in Cape Town in South Africa from 2002 to 2006. – You are gripped by that continent. When you get there, you see everything you would like to see at home: You see the openness, the friendliness, the generosity, the togetherness and the community. You miss all this as soon as you have left the continent, he told about the relationship with Africa in the Lørdagsrevyen in 2013. But Tomm Kristiansen was not just an Africa correspondent. Among other things, he was head of information at Storebrand from 1987 to 1990, foreign affairs editor at news from 2001 to 2002, and communications adviser to Salva Kiir Mayardit from 2006 to 2008, who later became South Sudan’s president. Tomm Kristiansen was Africa correspondent for news for eight years. More to tell A long career was partially concluded from 2019 to 2021 with the podcast series Tomms Afrikanske tellerlinger, which went through the highlights from the many reports. But Kristiansen was also active right to the end. Two weeks ago, he published the 200-page book Africa, which was the 17th in a row. Just a few days earlier, he talked about desert blues and Mandela songs in BluesAsylet on news P2. Tomm Kristiansen in 2018. Photo: Hege Bakken Riise / news – This was very sad news. Tomm Kristiansen was a knowledgeable, dedicated and fantastically committed journalist and storyteller who, over many years as a foreign correspondent, presenter and most recently through the podcast series “Tomm’s African stories”, conveyed knowledge about an entire continent through his intimate stories, says Vibeke Fürst Haugen, head of broadcasting at news. Broadcasting manager Vibeke Fürst Haugen. Photo: Philippe Bédos Ulvin / news She says Kristiansen was an important voice for news. – What is incredibly sad is that Tomm was not finished. He had more to tell and more he should have said. We won’t get that now. But what we have is all he has given of stories and understanding over the years. The fact that he published a book just before he died speaks volumes for his productivity and desire to tell stories, says foreign affairs editor at news and former colleague Sigurd Falkenberg Mikkelsen. Foreign affairs editor at news and former colleague of Kristiansen, Sigurd Falkenberg Mikkelsen. Photo: Juliane Kravik / news A message of hope and reunification Two of the most important issues Kristiansen worked on were the end of apartheid in South Africa from 1990 to 1994, and the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. – I think Tomm’s message was that Africa as a continent was a rich place. It was a place of learning, a place we could learn something from, and it was a place he belonged in. Despite the brutality of all the conflicts he covered, he also brought out the peculiar ability in several African countries to bring about a reunion afterwards, says Sigurd Falkenberg Mikkelsen. Kristiansen himself told Bistandsaktuelt in 2019 that a lot was in the perspective. That even “non-stories” are only good stories about solutions: – Not so many years ago, Ethiopia was hit by a severe drought, and three people died. For many, it is nothing to write home about. But for those who know that thousands of people died in the last drought, one has to wonder; why did so few die this time? In it lies a fantastic story about how a country has managed to prepare itself, so that almost no lives were lost. Faith An important part of Kristiansen’s life was his Christian faith, something he wrote several books about. One of them is When God changed his mind – Fifty years that changed the church, published in 2021, and which he wrote together with priest and theologian Trond Bakkevig. Theologian and priest Trond Bakkevig was a close friend and collaborator of Kristiansen. Photo: news – He was a good friend. He was a pious person, and had an old love for the house of worship. He was very concerned with how we presented ourselves as a church, and he also wrote a book about Jesus in his time. This was a very important part of his identity, says Bakkevig. Faith was also one of the common denominators with Kristiansen’s close friend, peace prize winner and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. – Glad that he got so many good words. Many colleagues at news are now mourning the loss of Kristiansen. Among them is long-time colleague Ingvild Bryn. Presenter of Dagsrevyen and long-time colleague at news, Ingvild Bryn. Photo: Ole Kaland – I am happy that Tomm received so many good words and applause for what he did while he was alive. Wherever he appeared with his books and lectures, he met full houses. He stood to the end, she says. Kristiansen received several awards throughout his career. In 1995 he received the Great Journalist Award, and in 2020 he received the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s language award.
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