Tomm Kristiansen (1950 – 2022) died early today, the family informs NRK.
A wife and two adult children survive.
Kristiansen was known by many as the “Voice from Africa”, the calm voice of the south that spoke of hope in a continent often associated with disaster.
He was NRK’s Africa correspondent for two periods. First in Harare in Zimbabwe from 1990 to 1994, then in Cape Town in South Africa from 2002 to 2006.
– You are gripped by that continent. When you get there, you see everything you would like to see at home: you see openness, friendliness, generosity, unity and community. You miss all this as soon as you leave the continent, she told about the relationship with Africa in Lørdagsrevyen in 2013.
But Tomm Kristiansen was not just an African correspondent. He was, among other things, head of information at Storebrand from 1987 to 1990, editor of foreign affairs at NRK from 2001 to 2002, and communications consultant to President of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit from 2006 to 2008.
Tom Kristian was NRK’s Africa correspondent for eight years.
More to tell
A long career was partially interrupted from 2019 to 2021 with the podcast series Tom’s African Taleswho examined the highlights of the numerous reports.
But Kristiansen was also active until the end. Two weeks ago he published the book Africa in 200 pages, which was the 17th in a row. Just a few days earlier you talked about desert blues and Mandela songs Blues Asylet on NRK P2.
– What’s incredibly sad is that Tomm wasn’t finished. He had more to say and more he would have to say. We will not understand it now. But what we have is all he has given him of stories and understanding over the years. The fact that he published a book shortly before he died speaks volumes about his productivity and desire to tell stories, says NRK foreign affairs editor and former colleague Sigurd Falkenberg Mikkelsen.
Tomm Kristiansen in 2018.
Photo: Hege Bakken Riise / NRK
A message of hope and reunion
Two of the most notable cases Kristiansen worked on were the end of apartheid in South Africa from 1990 to 1994 and the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.
– I think Tomm’s message was that Africa as a continent was a rich place. It was a place of learning, a place where we could learn something, and it was a place where it belonged. Despite the brutality of all the conflicts he has faced, he has also brought out the peculiar ability in several African countries to hold a reunion later, says Sigurd Falkenberg Mikkelsen.
Kristiansen himself said so Aid News in 2019 a lot was in the offing. That even “non-stories” are only good stories of solutions:
– Not many years ago, Ethiopia was hit by a severe drought and three people died. For many, it’s nothing to write home about. But for those who know that thousands of people died in the latest drought, it is no wonder; why so few died this time In it lies a fantastic story about how a country managed to prepare itself, so that hardly any life was lost.
– I’m glad you got so many nice words
Many NRK colleagues are now mourning the loss of Kristiansen. Among them is longtime colleague Ingvild Bryn.
– I am happy that Tomm received so many nice words and applause for what he did while he was alive. Wherever he appeared with his books and lectures about him, he met a full house. He stayed until the end, he says.
Kristiansen has received numerous awards throughout her career. In 1995 you received the Great Journalist Award and in 2020 the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation Language Award.
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