Personal life
Breivik's father, Jens, was a Siviløkonom (Norwegian professional title, literally "civil economist"), who worked as a diplomat for the Royal Norwegian Embassy in London (and later Paris). His father currently lives in France as a pensioner and had no contact with his son after 1995. His mother, Wenche (née Behring), was a nurse. He has two half-brothers and two half-sisters, from the previous marriages of his parents. His parents divorced when he was one year old and his mother together with him and his half-sister moved from London back to Oslo.
Breivik grew up in the affluent west-end of Oslo. He attended Smestad Grammar School, Ris Junior High, Hartvig Nissen High School and Oslo Commerce School. He took online study courses on Small Business Management in a university. A former classmate has recalled that he was an intelligent student who often took care of people who were bullied. A former co-worker has described him as an "exceptional colleague" without racist tendencies, although a close friend of his stated that he usually had a big ego and would be easily irritated by those of Middle Eastern or Asian origin. Breivik was exempt from conscription in the Norwegian Army, and has no military training.
Breivik listed as one of his interests freemasonry and was himself a Freemason. He had displayed photographs of himself in Masonic regalia and was a member of St. Olaus T.D. Tre Søiler No. 8 in Oslo. After the attacks, his lodge said they had only minimal contact with him and Grand Master of the Norwegian Order of Freemasons, Ivar A. Skaar issued an edict immediately expelling him from the fraternity based upon the acts he carried out and the values that appear to have motivated them. His manifesto called for a revolution to be led by Knights Templar.
In late June or early July 2011, Breivik moved to the small rural town of Rena in Åmot, Hedmark county, about 140 km (86 miles) northeast of Oslo, where he operated a farming sole proprietorship under the name "Breivik Geofarm".". Immediately after the attack there was speculation that he could have used the company as a cover to legally obtain large amounts of artificial fertilizer and other chemicals for the manufacturing of fertilizer explosives. It soon became apparent a farming supplier sold Breivik's company six tonnes of fertilizer in May. Fertilizer can be used to produce fertilizer explosives. His manifesto revealed he used the company as a façade to acquire the chemicals without raising suspicion.
According to the newspaper Verdens Gang, Breivik had no previous history with the police, apart from traffic violations. According to the same source, Breivik had a Glock pistol, a rifle and a shotgun registered to his name. BBC News reported on 24 July that a Fall 2010 entry in his Manifesto stated, "I have now sent an application for a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle" (5.56mm).
2011 attacks
On 22 July 2011, Breivik went to Utøya island, the site of a Labour Party youth camp, posing as a police officer, and then opened fire on the adolescents present, reportedly killing at least 82.
He has also been linked with the bomb blasts which had taken place approximately two hours earlier in Oslo, killing at least 11. He was arrested on Utøya, and is currently in police custody. Following his apprehension, Breivik was characterized by officials as being a right-wing extremist.
Six hours before the attacks, Breivik posted a YouTube video urging conservatives to "embrace martyrdom" and showing himself wearing a wetsuit and pointing a Ruger Mini 14.
Beliefs
According to Reuters and the BBC, deputy police chief Roger Andresen described information found on Breivik's websites as "so to speak, Christian fundamentalist".
Writings
Breivik penned a 1,516-page manifesto titled 2083 - A European Declaration of Independence, under the pseudonym Andrew Berwick, which he emailed to 5,700 people hours before the attacks. In the foreword, he refers to the attacks as "(...) sacrifices made in relation to the distribution of this book, the actual marketing operation" In the document he describes his background and discusses his political viewpoints. "Berwick" details his preparation for the attacks including but not limited to: the preparation of ANFO, methods of acquisition of chemical precursors, and his mental state in the days leading up to the attacks. In the preface he says he devoted nine years of his life to writing the book, working full time during the last three. The text also copies sections of the Unabomber manifesto, without giving credit, while exchanging the words "leftists" for "cultural Marxists", and "black people" for "muslims. The Jerusalem Post, describes his "rambling" manifesto as a worldview encompassing Islamophobia, far-right Zionism, and "venomous attacks" on Marxism and multiculturalism.
Breivik utilized an array of internet forums to display his Islamophobic views and criticise immigration policies. In online debates he was a strong opponent of the idea that people of different cultural backgrounds can live alongside each other. In this context, he boasted about conversations with unnamed members of the organisation Stop the Islamification of Europe. He is reported to have written many posts on the Islam-critical website document.no. He also attended meetings of "Documents venner" (Friends of Document), affiliated with the website. Due to the media attention on his Internet activity following the 2011 attacks, document.no compiled a complete list of comments made by Breivik on its website between September 2009 and June 2010.
In his writings he displays admiration for the English Defence League, expressing an interest in starting a similar organization in Norway, and writing that he had advised them to pursue a strategy of provoking overreaction from "Jihad Youth / Extreme-Marxists" which in turn might draw more people to join the organization. The Norwegian Defence League, already existed and had stated its aim as 'working against the intolerant and barbaric attitude that is growing in some parts of extremist groups in Norway; include, but are not limited to, denial and repression of women's rights, abuse of small children, so-called honor killings, homophobia, anti-Semitism and the continuing support to those responsible for terrorist acts.' Some editorialists criticized the EDL and other anti-Muslim groups in this context. Dagens Næringsliv writes that Breivik sought to start a Norwegian version of the Tea Party movement in cooperation with the owners of document.no, but that they, after expressing initial interest, ultimately turned down his proposal because he did not have the contacts he promised.
Politics
In his manifesto, Breivik describes himself as an economically liberal, revolutionary cultural conservative.According to Oslo reporter Goran Skaalmo, Brievik considers his act to be the "ultimate gift of love" to his country, and believes he should be "applauded and celebrated" for his "marketing plan", which he believes to be a step for himself along his path towards becoming the "perfect knight".
More in his manifesto, he claims that the European Union is a project to create "Eurabia" and describes the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia as being authorized by "criminal western European and American leaders".
Jerusalem Post also described him as pro-Israel and strongly opposed to the Islamisation of Europe. In the manifesto, he considered himself "a real European hero", "the savior of Christianity" and "the greatest defender of cultural-conservatism in Europe since 1950". Breivik wanted to see European policies on multiculturalism more similar to those of Japan and South Korea, which he said are “not far from cultural conservatism and nationalism at its best”.
Breivik was previously a member of the Progress Party (FrP), which promotes libertarian, conservative and right-wing populist viewpoints, and its youth wing FpU. According to current FpU leader Ove Vanebo, Breivik was active early in the 2000s, but left the party in 2007 as his viewpoints became more extreme. In his manifesto, he describes running for the Oslo city council in the 2003 election as a candidate of the party without being elected. This he describes as a "crossroads phase", deciding if he would follow the path of "conventional politics" to further his goals. He eventually "lost all faith" in the Progress Party.
PCCTS, "Knights Templar" order
During interrogation, Breivik has claimed he is part of an "international Christian military order", that "fights" against "Islamic suppression". The order is allegedly called the "Knights Templar", and according to his manifesto has an estimated 15 to 80 "ordinated knights", and an unknown number of "civilian members". The order, whose full name is the "Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici", or PCCTS, was allegedly founded in London in April 2002, as a "re-founding" of the millenia-old crusader organisation. The organisation was supposedly founded to take political and military control over Western Europe, with its members being armed as an "anti-Jihad crusader-organisation". The organisation reportedly was founded by nine members: two Englishmen, a Frenchman, a German, a Dutchman, a Greek, a Russian, a Norwegian, and a Serb. The main initiator apparently was the Serb, whom Breivik claims to have visited in Liberia, and whom Breivik refered to as a "war hero". Breivik said that his own code name was "Sigurd Jorsalfar", reminiscent of a twelfth-century Norwegian king and crusader and that his "mentor" was "Richard Lionheart". Breivik asserted that Norway had "4,848 traitors" who had to die.
In his manifesto, Breivik wrote that [the PCCTS, Knights Templar is....not a religious organisation but rather a Christian 'culturalist' military order.
Religion
On his Facebook profile, Breivik describes himself as a Christian. In his manifesto, Breivik describes himself as a "moderately religious" Protestant (pg. 1398) who supports "a reformation of Protestantism leading to it being absorbed by Catholisism[sic]". Police reports describe Breivik as a "Christian fundamentalist". (He himself has not used this term.)
Influences
Breivik identified himself in a multitude of social media services as an admirer of, among others, Winston Churchill, Max Manus, and Dutch politician Geert Wilders, whose political party he described on the website of the periodical Minerva as one among the few that could “truly claim to be conservative parties in their whole culture”. On Twitter he paraphrased philosopher John Stuart Mill: "One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests.
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