Egil Monn-Iversen

Norwegian composer, conductor and pianist Egil Ragnar Monn-Iversen was born in Oslo on 14 April 1928.

Amongst a series of positions in the Norwegian music, film, TV, theatre and comedy businesses, he was chairman of Norwegian National Opera and Ballet from 1981 until 1996, and was given the nickname The Godfather because of his huge influence on Norwegian culture.

He founded the vocal group The Monn Keys, was head of music at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and was conductor for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986.

He died in Oslo on 7 July 2017, aged eighty-nine.