Geir Lippestad (born 7 June 1964) is a Norwegian lawyer, politician and social activist. He is known for his involvement in several high-profile legal cases, and for starting the political party Sentrum in 2020. As a criminal appellate lawyer, he first became known in 2001 when he acted as defence counsel following the murder of Benjamin Hermansen. In 2011 he became known internationally for being the lead counsel for the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, Anders Behring Breivik. Since 2011 Lippestad has expanded his law-firm, handling several high-profile cases, as well as speaking at public events. He is also noted for being an outspoken proponent of progressive causes; from 2013 to 2020 he was chairman of the left-wing think tank Agenda. From 2015 to 2019, he was a member of the Oslo City Council, representing the Labour Party. He later left the Labour party to form a new political party called Sentrum. Early life and education Geir Lippestad was born 7 June 1964 in Hønefoss, in the Ringerike district in Buskerud county. His family name originates from Lippestad farm in Tomter in Østfold. His great grandfather Carl Thorvald Lippestad left the farm and relocated to Oslo at the end of the 19th century. Lippestad's parents, originally from Nordstrand in Oslo had moved to the village of Heradsbygd outside of Hønefoss, where his father worked as an engineer. When Lippestad was six years old, the family of five moved back to Nordstrand. After finishing high school he enrolled in the University of Oslo, studying law. He obtained the cand.jur. degree in the autumn of 1990. Legal career After graduating and receiving his law degree in 1990, Lippestad was employed at a small law-firm in Harestua, a small rural town outside of Oslo. Later he moved to the Association of Norwegian Insurance Companies, where he worked as a legal counsel. Afterwards he, along with a colleague, started a private law-firm based in Nedre Slottsgate street in down-town Oslo. It was while working here that Lippestad first came to the national spotlight, when he represented Ole Nicolai Kvisler, who was later convicted of participation in the racially motivated murder of Benjamin Hermansen in 2002. Kvisler received a 17-year prison sentence. Three years later, Lippestad left the firm when he was appointed secretary-general at the National Association of the Hearing Impaired (), Lippestad applied to this position due to his daughter Rebekka, who