Johannes Gerckens Bassøe (23 April 1878 – 30 July 1962) was a Norwegian jurist and civil servant. He is known as the first

Governor of Svalbard The governor of Svalbard ( no, Sysselmesteren på Svalbard) represents the Norwegian government in exercising its sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago (Spitsbergen). The position reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, but it mai ...

, assuming office in October 1925, although there had been an Acting Governor since August. Bassøe was later County Governor of

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...

and

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered ...

Career

Bassøe was born in

Råde Råde is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Karlshus. The parish of ''Raade'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The neighbourin ...

, and graduated from the University with the cand.jur. Degree in 1901. He had brief spells as a jurist in both

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

Ålesund Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrativ ...

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...

and

Gjøvik is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Toten Toten is a traditional district in Innlandet county in the eastern part of Norway. It consists of the municipalities Østre Toten and Vestre ...

before being hired as a secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Shipping and Industry in 1905. In 1913, this ministry was restructured, and Bassøe went to the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

. He was promoted to assistant secretary in 1914, but left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1916 when the Ministry of Trade was re-established. On 4 September 1925 he was appointed as Norway's first permanent

, holding office to 1933. Assistant secretary Edvard Lassen had been Acting County Governor since August 1925, when the ceremonial Norwegian takeover of Svalbard had taken place. When Bassøe arrived at Svalbard in October 1925, though, the Norwegian administration of the archipelago was barely developed. Bassøe was not given his own office building, nor a private house. He spent the winter in a

Barentsburg Barentsburg (russian: Баренцбург) is the second-largest settlement in Svalbard, Norway, with about 455 inhabitants (). A coal mining town, the settlement is almost entirely made up of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians. History Rijpsburg, ...

radio outpost that belonged to Televerket. The Mine Superintendent of Svalbard, Hans Merckoll, spent the winter in mainland Norway, leaving only Bassøe as an official representative. Most of the local infrastructure was provided by the mining company

Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK), or simply Store Norske, is a Norwegian coal mining company based on the Svalbard archipelago. It was formed in 1916, after a Norwegian purchase of the American Arctic Coal Company (ACC). The company ...

. Bassøe was also County Governor of Troms from 1928 to 1938 and County Governor of Vestfold from 1938. During the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

, which lasted from 1940 to 1945, Bassøe was eventually found unacceptable by Nazi authorities. He was replaced by Halvor P. Hektoen in 1942, and after two years Christopher A. Lange took over. Following the liberation of Norway on 8 May 1945, Bassøe was reinstated. He retired in 1948. Bassøe was decorated as a Grand Officer of the Italian Order of the Crown and a Commander, First Class of the Swedish Order of the North Star. He died in 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassoe, Johannes Gerckens 1878 births 1962 deaths Norwegian jurists County governors of Norway Governors of Svalbard People from Råde Commanders First Class of the Order of the Polar Star