Skjønsberg Gate

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Tor Vangen Skjønsberg (born April 27, 1903 in Kristiania , † September 8, 1993 in Oslo ) was a Norwegian lawyer , business manager and politician who was actively involved in the Grimelundskretsen and Hjemmefronten resistance movements against the German occupation of Norway after the Weser Exercise company and after was Minister for Shipping in the first government of Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen during World War II .

Life

Studies, lawyer and resistance fighter

Skjønsberg, son of the director Gunnar S. Skjønsberg and his wife Gudfrid "Frida" Othilie Vangen, grew up in Kristiania and, after attending school in 1922, began studying law and social economics at the University of Oslo , which he received in 1927 as Candidatus juris (Cand. Jur .) completed. In 1931 he began working as a legal advisor at the private bank Bj. Faye-Schjøll & Co. , whose office manager he became that same year. He later became a co-owner of this company. In 1936 he married Else Henriksen, daughter of the shipping company owner Gustav Severin Henriksen and his wife Elise "Lisken" Dall.

In the Second World War Skjønsberg was actively involved in the resistance movement against the German occupation of Norway after the company Weserübungen. In the autumn of 1940 he began providing economic support to government officials who were threatened with dismissal if they did not join the fascist Nasjonal Samling of Vidkun Quisling . Eventually he was given responsibility for the transfer of funds between the government and Hjemmefronten , so that he was considered the "finance minister" of the home front.

At an early stage he advocated a joint leadership of the resistance movements and was one of the main initiators in contacting Prime Minister Johan Nygaardsvold 's government in exile in London . As a result, the Grimelundskretsen (short form: Kretsen ) was actually recognized in 1943 as the civilian leadership of the home front. Skjønsberg later became a member of the KK Coordination Committee (Coordination Committee) , the leading body in the fight against Nazification. In autumn 1943 he also became a member of the illegal press council, which coordinated the publication of the illegal newspapers of the resistance, and in December 1943 also a member of the council of Milorg (Militær organisasjon) , the largest Norwegian resistance group during World War II. When the home front leadership HL (Hjemmefrontens Ledelse) was founded in the spring of 1944 , it was a matter of course that he should also be a member of this leadership group.

Together with Tore Gjelsvik and Alf Sanengen he was the driving force in the fight against the labor service and also the author of numerous slogans in the fight against the Nasjonal Samling. In October 1944 he narrowly escaped arrest by the Secret State Police by fleeing to Sweden . However, he returned before the end of the war to continue his fight against the German occupying forces.

In recognition of his activities in the resistance movement, the Norwegian Polar Institute named the Skjønsbergskarvet mountain range in Antarctica after him in 1967 .

Ministers, economic managers and other engagements

After the end of the Second World War, Skjønsberg became Minister for Shipping (Skipsfartsminister) in the first government of Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen on June 25, 1945 and held this position in the all-party government (Samlingsregjeringen) until November 5, 1945.

He then withdrew from politics and became a member of the boards of various major commercial companies. He was a member of the board of directors for 30 years, including 20 years as chairman of the board of the energy supply company Hafslund ASA, where he distinguished himself in particular through his cooperation with employee representatives. He was also a board member of the Frydenlund Bryggerier brewery , Dyno Industrier , the Norsk Jernverk ironworks , the shipping company NAL (Den norske Amerikalinje) and the daily newspaper Verdens Gang .

His great interest in contemporary history and its dissemination was also evident in his work as first chairman between 1950 and 1955 of the security and defense policy umbrella organization Folk og Forsvar as well as for the Norges Hjemmefrontmuseum in Akershus fortress founded in 1970 .

Background literature

C. Guhnfeldt: Bomb Gestapo-hovedkvarteret , 1995

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gustav Henriksen in Norsk biografisk leksikon
  2. ^ Norwegian Ministry of Shipping. Councilor of State 1942-1945
personal data
SURNAME Skjønsberg, gate
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Skjønsberg, Tor Vangen (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian politician, minister and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH April 27, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Kristiania
DATE OF DEATH September 8, 1993
Place of death Oslo