On the occasion of the opening of the Norwegian Culture Days on February 17, 1991, the Norwegian Parliament President Jo Benkow visited Wiesbaden. At a festive reception in the town hall, he and his wife signed the city's Golden Book.

Born Josef Elias Benkowitz into a Jewish family in Trondheim on August 15, 1924, Benkow initially worked as a photographer before being elected to parliament for the conservative Norwegian Høyre party in 1965.

Between 1980 and 1984, he was chairman of his party and between 1981 and 1985, when he took office as Speaker of Parliament, he was leader of the parliamentary group. Benkow retired from politics in 1993.

He died on May 18, 2013.