Eskil Pedersen

Pedersen is openly gay since coming out at the age of 18. Since that time, he has been a vocal proponent of LGBT rights, as well as being one of Norway's most high-profile LGBT person. He frequently appears in the annual Gay Pride through Oslo. When in April 2014, the Ecclesiastical Synod of the Church of Norway decided against the introduction of special liturgy for same-sex marriage, Pedersen called it a "shameful stain" on the Church. Pedersen, who is still a member, said he himself hopes to one day be legally married in the church.

In 2013 Pedersen compared Progress Party leader Siv Jensen to the evil antagonist Sauron from The Lord of the Rings. The comments were in the run-up to the 2013 parliamentary election, which Pedersen described as a "struggle between good and evil".

In May 2012, he publicly declared his intent to run for parliament by accepting a nomination by his local party chapter of Skien to the Telemark district list at the upcoming 2013 parliamentary election. He would seek the seat of retiring veteran Sigvald Hansen, however according to analysts he would face stiff competition to secure the party nomination. Among his challengers in the primary were health department state-secretary Robin Kåss and the recently elected mayor of Hjartdal Sven Løkslid. He was however quickly endorsed both by the AUF and his local Skien party chapter.

It soon became apparent that Pedersen would be a controversial choice, the Labour party chapters from Porsgrunn, Bamble and the eastern Telemark chapters vehemently opposed his nomination. This was partly due to him living and working in Oslo, but also because he was born in Skien, a city which was already represented in the parliament. Pedersen responded by vowing to relocate to Porsgrunn in Telemark should he be elected. On 24 November 2012 he lost the nomination to dark horse candidate Christian Tynning-Bjørnø. In March 2014, Pedersen announced his resignation, saying that he would not seek re-election as leader of the AUF.

The controversy flared up again in September 2012 due to comments by Brynjar Meling. Meling is a high-profile lawyer in the case and his office represents a few dozen of the affected, both AUF-members and relatives of the deceased. He claimed some of his clients questioned Pedersen's leadership of the organization but felt unable to communicate this publicly. Furthermore, Meling claimed that his clients felt that Pedersen's actions during the massacre should have consequences for his future career, and that they were frustrated by the AUF leadership's insistence that the organization as a whole was united behind Pedersen.

In September 2012 a mother who lost her son during the Utøya massacre, asked Pedersen to resign as AUF leader, citing that the plans for refurbishing Utøya "once more shows that he is not an adequate leader". The $10.4m refurbishing plans have been criticized by several leading Norwegian psychiatrists. One survivor of the massacre called the plans "Shocking and inhuman". In addition, other survivors and relatives have expressed frustration and that they find it difficult that AUF would be resuming its summer-camp and political activity on that site, with one mother who lost her daughter proclaiming: "one does not hold a barbecue on a graveyard".

Due to receiving an increased number of threats on SMS, Facebook, phone and in writing, Pedersen currently has a direct Police security alarm. In December 2012, a 40-year-old man was convicted of sending threatening text messages to Eskil Pedersen. He was fined the equivalent of approximately 700 USD, and given a suspended prison sentence. A Christian, Pedersen is a member of the Church of Norway.

On 22 July 2011 Pedersen survived the massacre on the Workers' Youth League summer camp at Utøya on 22 July 2011. Although leaders of AUF are never anonymous, his role in the aftermath as a representative for the organisation has caused a vast increase in media exposure, particularly in the months following the attacks. Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the attacks, stated that Pedersen was one of his three primary targets.

Pedersen is an outspoken opponent to the policies of the Progress Party. In May 2011 he pressed criminal charges against member of parliament Christian Tybring-Gjedde based on the a statement the latter made regarding integration in Groruddalen. The charges were dismissed by the police.

On 22 July, the day of the 2011 Norway attacks, Eskil Pedersen was present at the annual AUF summer camp on Utøya. As leader of the organization he was one of the assailant, Anders Behring Breivik's, stated targets, along with former prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, who was there that day but had left the island before the killer arrived. Breivik would later state that he had studied Pedersen's physical appearance and facial attributes to be able to recognize him during the attack.

Eskil Pedersen became the leader of AUF when he was elected t the post on 17 October 2010, narrowly defeating Åsmund Aukrust for the leadership. Pedersen succeeded Martin Henriksen who was later appointed senior advisor to the Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Lisbeth Berg-Hansen. Under Pedersens tenure as leader, the organization experienced a sharp upsurge in membership numbers, more than doubling in size from since 2003, and established itself as Norway's by far largest youth organization. He was reelected to a second term as leader in October 2012.

He has previously served as the leader of AUF in Telemark (2001–2004) and Oslo (2006–2008). He was elected deputy leader of AUF from 2006 to 2010. Pedersen has previously served as a board member in the Telemark branch of No to the EU, and has served as a political advisor to AUF on election campaigns and environmental matters. He also served as deputy member of the Oslo city council and between 2007 and 2011.

Eskil Pedersen (born 6 March 1984 in Skien) is a Norwegian politician and former leader of the Workers' Youth League (AUF) from 2010 to 2014, the youth organisation associated with Norway's leading Labour Party.