‘Perfectly fine’ to remove Holberg statue, says prizewinner

Scholar awarded prestigious Holberg Prize supports rethinking statue of Norwegian philosopher

British scholar Paul Gilroy, who was awarded the 2019 Holberg Prize for “pioneering research” in cultural science and critical race theory, has said he welcomes discussions around Ludvig Holberg’s statue.

His words come after more than 4,000 Norwegians signed a petition to remove statues of British prime minister Winston Churchill and Norwegian philosopher Ludvig Holberg from public spaces in Bergen. Holberg, a prolific author and thinker of the enlightenment, is venerated as the father of modern Danish and Norwegian literature, but he was also an investor in the slave trade.