The Norwegian Organisation for Sexual and Gender Diversity (Norwegian: FRI – foreningen for kjønns- og seksualitetsmangfold) is the oldest, largest and preeminent Norwegian member organization representing the interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons in Norway. It originated as the Norwegian branch of the Danish Circle of 1948 (now LGBT Danmark) in 1949 and later became an independent organization. It was Norway's first gay rights organization, and campaigned against the criminalization of sexual relations between men (sexual relations between women were never criminalized because women were then not considered to have an independent sexuality). It eventually expanded its focus to include all LGBTIQ+ rights. Membership is open to anyone who supports the organization's goals. It was known as the National Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People (Norwegian: Landsforeningen for lesbiske, homofile, bifile og transpersoner; LLH) until 2016. Inge Alexander Gjestvang became president of the organization in 2020. The organization cooperates with the Government of Norway, and receives substantial public funding for its activities. Internationally it cooperates with its British counterpart Stonewall and is a partner of the Global Equality Fund of the United States Department of State. It has around 5,000 members and its central secretariat has around 20 employees. History The organization originated as the Norwegian branch of the Danish Circle of 1948 (now LGBT Danmark), which accepted two representatives in Norway in 1949. The Norwegian branch of the Danish association was formally inaugurated on 20 May 1950, thereby becoming the first Norwegian organization for gays and the start of organized work for gay rights in Norway. In 1953, the organization's name was changed to Det norske forbundet av 1948 (DNF 48). At this time, homosexuality was a criminal offence in Norway, in addition to being a psychiatric diagnosis. The organization worked in secrecy out of concern for criminal prosecution and discrimination. It would take 15 years before someone began to openly represent the organization: Karen-Christine Friele (Kim), who from 1965 was the openly lesbian editor of DNF's first journal, OSS (English: US). In 1968, Kim Friele took over as leader of DNF 48, and from 1971 to 1989 she acted as secretary general of the organization. In 1976, DNF 48 was split into factions, one of the factions becoming Fellesrådet for homofile organisasjoner (English: Joint council for gay organizations). The factions were again united when LLH was created 29 November 1992. At the national