The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) is sad to announce the passing away of Mari Louise Holmboe Ruge (born 20 July 1934) on 7 November 2025 in Oslo.
In 1959, Mari Ruge was one of PRIO’s founders, together with Johan Galtung, Ingrid Eide and Erik Rinde. She co-founded PRIO (initially as the Department of Conflict and Peace Research at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Oslo) at the age of 25, after returning from Columbia University in New York, where she would complete an MA in sociology in 1960.
Mari Holmboe Ruge played a central role in PRIO’s first decade. She worked as a Research Assistant, analysing, administering, advocating peace research and building the foundations for a knowledge-based global order. She took care of and befriended multiple guests from countries around the world.
In 1965, Ruge and Galtung co-published the widely cited article “The Structure of Foreign News” in the Journal of Peace Research, which had been established in the previous year as PRIO’s main academic outlet. The jointly written article analysed the factors that determine how events become “news”. It became a classic in media studies and later laid the foundation for the field of peace journalism. Ruge and Galtung also co-authored a seminal Journal of Peace Research article on “The Patterns of of Diplomacy”.
Mari Holmboe Ruge obtained an M. Phil. (mag.art.) degree in political science at the University of Oslo in the late 1960s. In 1973, she worked in the administration of the Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities (Norges allmennvitenskapelige forskningsråd; NAVF), where she partook in establishing research agendas for women, social science data and clinical psychology.
After a decade at NAVF Mari Holmboe Ruge took a position as Principal Officer at the Ministry of Local Government, with responsibility for research on work environment, and served as Norwegian representative on the board of the International Labour Organization.
Her final position was as Administrative Director for Project Alternative Future (since 1996 known as ProSus) – a research initiative focusing on sustainable development. She stayed in that role until her retirement.
Throughout her adult life Mari Ruge was active in the Norwegian and international peace movement, notably through the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Her commitment to peace research cut across all her engagements throughout her career. Mari took special interest in younger scholars, encouraging them to follow their interests. She leaves behind a legacy that will continue to inspire for generations.
Mari Holmboe Ruge was married to IT specialist and teacher Herman Ruge, who passed away in 2019. PRIO’s warmest thoughts are with their three children – Lotte, Ellen and Christian.
Nina Græger, PRIO Director, on behalf of Mari’s friends at PRIO
