Later Life
Lie remained active as a public commentator and in politics after his retirement from party politics, and even after his centenary. He led the losing campaign for Norwegian membership in the EEC in the early 1970s, and in 2000 he led a battle to prevent the privatisation of the national oil company Statoil. His preferred method of staying updated on current international events was through weekly readings of The Economist.
Influenced by the support he experienced from Jewish labour leaders in the United States, he was a supporter of the state of Israel, though he is highly critical of the Israeli government's current treatment of the Palestinians and to the settlement of the West Bank.
He wrote several books, among them the controversial memoir ...slik jeg ser det ("...the way I see it", 1975), in which he strongly attacked Gerhardsen. He also wrote a two-volume biography of his mentor Martin Tranmæl, Et bål av vilje and Veiviseren ("A Beacon of Resolve", 1988 and "The Pathfinder", 1991). In his latest book, released in 2008 at 103 years of age, being traditionally a strong proponent of cooperation with the United States, he called for enhanced security cooperation between the Nordic countries and argued Norway should buy the Swedish JAS Gripen aircraft instead of the US-made Joint Strike Fighter.
In 1970, after retiring as party secretary, he acquired a patch of woodland where he could resume his passion for forestry. For many years he spent his winters in the US state of Florida, but eventually moved back permanently to Norway. Lie was married twice – first to a companion from the labour youth movement, then to an American woman. He left three daughters, two by his first wife and one by the second.
Lie died on 25 May 2009, aged 103, after a long illness. He had been hospitalised six months earlier.
Read more about this topic: Haakon Lie
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