Gunnar Sethil (28 November 1872 – 20 March 1941) was a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the Labour Party.
He was born at Sethil in Brandval as a son of crofter Martin Olsen Sethil (1827–1891) and Karen Bjerkerod (1834–1918). He graduated from Jønsberg Agricultural School in 1892.[1] In his early career he worked as a forest and construction laborer.[2] From 1902 to 1905 he chaired the local trade union Kristiania Sten- og Cementarbeiderforening. From 1904 to 1906 he was a central board member of the Labour Party; he was also a city council member in Kristiania from 1904 to 1920.[1]
He was a manager in the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions from 1906 to 1907, and a member of its secretariat from 1903 to 1920 and 1923 to 1927. He was the deputy chairman of the union Norwegian Union of General Workers from 1908 to 1918,[2] when he stepped down together with chairman Richard Hansen. After 1918, they were a part of the social democratic opposition in the labour movement.[3] Still, he did not leave the Labour Party.[4] He served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from Grunerløkken during the terms 1916–1918[5] and 1919–1921.[1]
