Åse Kleveland is a Swedish-born Norwegian singer who started her music career in the 1950s. Best known for her dark, soulful voice, she released several studio albums, singles and EPs up to the early 1970s.
She was selected to represent her home country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 in Luxembourg City with the song "Intet er nytt under solen", which finished in 3rd place with 15 points, giving the country its then best result since it began participating in the Contest. She also broke tradition by becoming the first female competitor to wear a pantsuit for her performance rather than a dress.
She returned to introduce the country on camera at the 1980 Contest in The Hague and filled the role of presenter six years later in Bergen following Bobbysocks! giving the country its first ever win the previous year in Gothenburg, where she infamously suffered a wardrobe malfunction when her skirt got caught and ripped off, shocking the audience. While causing widespread disgust, she later admitted it had all been planned.
She later moved into the world of politics, being appointed the Minister of Culture from 1990 to 1996, and also filled the role of president of the Swedish Film Institute from 1999 to 2006.
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