Sissel Marie Rønbeck became engaged in politics when she was in her teens. She worked for the youth organisation of the Labour Party in 1970-1972 and was chairman of the organisation in 1975-1977. Later she held different leading positions within the Labour Party. She was a member of the Storting in 1981-1993; a cabinet minister in 1979-1981, 1986-1989 and in 1996-1997. When she left the Storting in 1993, she became deputy director of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Riksantikvaren). Sissel Rønbeck has been a member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 1994.
The biographical sketches of the Norwegian Nobel Committee members were written by Sølvi Glendrange and edited by Øyvind Tønnesson. They are based on the following sources:
– Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (Norwegian Biographical Encyclopaedia), Oslo 1923-1983
– Hvem er Hvem? (The Norwegian “Who’s Who”), several editions
– Aschehoug og Gyldendals Store Norske Leksikon (The Norwegian National Encyclopaedia), Kunnskapsforlaget, 2nd and 3rd edition, Oslo 1989/1995-1999
– Kunnskapsforlagets Nettleksikon (the Web Encyclopedia of Kunnskapsforlaget, www.kunnskapsforlaget.no), Oslo 1999