Knut Erik Solem

In Loving Memory

Knut Erik Solem passed away in the company of family on Monday April 13th in
Toronto, Canada, 10 days before his 88th birthday. Born in Trondheim, Norway
he is pre-deceased by his parents Knut Hjalmar (Solem) of Trondheim and
Magna Amalie (Olson) of Vesteraalen, sister Eva (Waugh) of Trondheim and his
late wife Sylvi (Halaas) of Trondheim. He is survived by his daughter Birgitte
(Solem), son in law Raoul (Bhaneja) and his two grandchildren Will and
Imogen (Bhaneja) of Toronto.

A gifted young student with a sharp academic mind, Erik also had a passion
for jazz music which he inherited from his piano playing father. He could be
often found whistling a Thelonius Monk melody or playing the trumpet,
vibraphone or piano. His post-secondary educational journey took him from
the University of Oslo, to the University of Manitoba, The University of
Leicester and in 1968 he obtained his doctorate from Oxford University, St.
John’s College. In Manitoba he met his first wife, Alix (Sullivan), followed by
the birth of his treasured daughter, Birgitte. In the United States he taught at
Kansas State University and then worked at The United Nations as part of the
UN Secretariat. Settling in Ottawa to be close to his daughter, Erik would later
meet and marry his second wife, Daniele Koskas. In Ottawa he worked in
various capacities for the Canadian government including as founding
chairman of the Interdepartmental Committee for Futures and Forecasting at
the Department of National Defence (DND) and various projects with External
Affairs. From 1980-1983 he was president of the Canadian Nordic Society.
He taught and lectured widely in the US, Canada and Europe, wrote and
published extensively on political and economic integration as well as on
energy, science and technology, forecasting, long term planning, and
strategic questions. In 1994 he returned to Norway where he was appointed a
full professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU),
Trondheim, from which he eventually retired as Professor Emeritus of Political
Science. In Trondheim he would meet and marry Sylvi, and together they
would experience many adventures, including time in Vienna while he worked
at IIASA, the International Institute of Applied System Analysis. During his
three decades based back in Norway he reconnected with friends and family,
developing special bonds with many of his students and co-workers at NTNU.
He also spent time advising the Norwegian Government on Cabinet and
departmental levels as well as private companies on strategic issues of
educational competence, labor market and socio-economic change. As his
wife Sylvi’s health declined over a decade, another side of Erik emerged, that
of a devoted caregiver, who visited her regularly in care, until her passing in
2020. During the pandemic it became evident that Erik was suffering his own
cognitive challenges and after hospitalization, Birgitte made the decision to
bring him back to his adopted home country, Canada, (he always retained his
Canadian citizenship) for his final chapter. It was during this time that father
and daughter reconnected and a new bond was formed after many years and
many lives, apart.

The family would like to thank all of those who helped with Erik’s transfer from
Norway to Canada, his many friends all over the world who stayed in touch
over the years and most recently the staff at Chartwell Grenadier, who cared
for him in his final eighteen months of life. In lieu of flowers please consider a
donation to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada. A celebration of life will be
held in the summer, outdoors and with music.