Asbjørn Eide: key obituary facts
Is Asbjørn Eide dead? Yes. Asbjørn Eide died on October 14, 2026, at age 93.
Cause of death: Asbjørn Eide's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Asbjørn Eide known for?
He was a Norwegian jurist and human rights expert.
More about Asbjørn Eide
Born: 11 February 1933.
Place of birth: Eksingedalen.
Gender: male.
Occupation: jurist.
Nationality: Norway.
Education: University of Oslo.
Spouse: Wenche Barth Eide.
Children: Espen Barth Eide.
Asbjørn Eide, a Norwegian human rights scholar, died on October 14, 2026, aged 93.
Born in Eksingedalen, he studied at the University of Oslo and built his career across law and social science research. His scholarship and specialist work focused especially on the rights of Indigenous peoples and minorities, issues on which he held significant assignments in Norway and within the United Nations system.
Eide helped establish the Human Rights Project at the Peace Research Institute Oslo with Torkel Opsahl; the project later became the Norwegian Institute of Human Rights. He went on to become founding director of the Norwegian Center for Human Rights at the University of Oslo. From 1971 to 1975, he served as secretary-general of the International Peace Research Association. Elected in 1981 to the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, he remained a member until 2003, winning re-election several times as its only Nordic member. In that role, he developed studies and advocated for the creation of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations. Eide was regarded as one of Norway’s foremost human rights experts. He was married to Wenche Barth Eide, and their son was Espen Barth Eide.