Kaltham Alexander Lie (born 1967)

Translator's Note: This is a machine-assisted translation completed on May 30, 2025. While care has been taken to maintain accuracy, this translation has not yet undergone human review or validation.

Lie was born and raised in Iraq and came to Norway as a political refugee. He was among the first individuals with a Muslim background to come out publicly as gay in Norway, which led to a range of reactions, both positive and negative.

In our interview with Lie, he speaks about growing up in Iraq and how difficult it was to live openly as himself there. As a young man, he joined the military and served during both the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War. In 1990, after eleven years in the military, he left his home country. He arrived in Norway in 1992.

In an excerpt from the interview, Lie describes the venue Gamle Enka in Oslo, which served as a gathering place for him and others with immigrant backgrounds.

The full interview is available in our reading room. Skeivt Arkiv met Kaltham Alexander Lie in Oslo, April 2019.