Birth Name: | Ann-Mari Katharine Thomassen |
Birth Date: | 18 April 1964 |
Birth Place: | Hamarøy, Norway |
Occupation: | Schoolteacher |
Office: | Member of the |
Term: | 2001–2017 |
Alma Mater: | University of Tromsø |
Ann-Mari Katharine Thomassen (born 1964) is a Sámi politician and a schoolteacher. A member of the Norwegian Sámi Association and the Sámi Parliamentary Council, she has served as a member of the Sámi Parliament of Norway from 2001 to 2017.[1] [2] Thomassen has been a strong supporter of the requirement for Sámi educators to be employed in Oslo's Sámi kindergarten.[3]
Born on 18 April 1964 in Hamarøy Municipality, Ann-Mari Katharine Thomassen was brought up in various places in Skånland Municipality., she lived in Sandmark and Renså.[4]
After primary school in Trondenes, she attended high school in Harstad and Narvik (1980–1985). She completed her education as a teacher at the University of Tromsø (1995), specializing in Sámi (1996). Since 1995, Thomassen has taught in Skånland Municipality and in the neighboring Tjeldsund Municipality. In 1989, she became a committee member of the Sámi association Inna ja Biras, serving as its leader from 1992 to 1994.[2] She also serves on a number of other boards and committees, including the Sandstrand School Choir, Stuornjárgga Sámiid Duodji, the Santor sports association and the Bygdeutviklingsselskap building development company.[4]
Thomassen lives with her partner Sten Jakob Olsen. She has four children: Tom (1986), Henrik (1994), Maja (1998), and Sina (1999). She is fluent in Sámi and Norwegian.