
Reidar Omang (26 November 1897 – 15 October 1964) was a Norwegian historian, librarian and archivist.
Early life and education
Reidar Omang was born in
Kristiania
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...
(now Oslo), Norway. His father,
Simen Oscar Fredrik Omang (1867-1953), was a noted botanist. Omang took
matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...
from the
Skien
Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...
public school in 1916. He took his
Cand.mag. degree at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...
in 1924 and
Cand. philol. in 1930.
Career
Teaching career
He was a teacher in
Telemark
Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...
at
Kviteseid
Kviteseid is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Vest-Telemark and Upper Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kviteseidbyen. Other villages in Kviteseid ...
from 1918 to 1919 and at
Skien
Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...
from 1919 to 1920. From 1923 to 1935 he was employed at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...
Library. During 1928–1935, he was also chief of the Manuscript Collection. From 1928 to 1945, he was librarian at the
Norwegian Royal Palace. In 1935, he was appointed chief of the Foreign Ministry archives. a position he had until 1960.
World War II
During the
Nazi occupation of Norway
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the World War II, Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the Norwegian Campaign, German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi G ...
, he led the evacuation of documents from the Foreign Ministry archives to
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. In 1941 he went to
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and worked in the
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Norwegian or ''Utenriksdepartementet''; or ''Utanriksdepartementet''; UD) is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway. It was established on June 7, 1905, the same day the Parliament of ...
until liberation. He also edited several governmental documents on Norway, including treatises on
Norway's relation to Sweden, on the
Altmark Incident
The ''Altmark'' incident (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Altmark''-affæren; German language, German: ''Altmark-Zwischenfall'') was a naval incident of World War II between British destroyers and the German tanker German tanker Altma ...
, and on the relation between the
government-in-exile
A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...
and the resistance movement. After the war, Reidar Omang published the two volume series ''Norsk utenrikstjeneste'' from 1955 to 1959. From 1961 he served as
national archivist, a position he held until his death in 1964. Reidar Omang was a member of the
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway.
History
The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...
from 1957. He was also knighted by first class of the Royal
Order of St. Olav
The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav.
Just be ...
.
Tor Ragnar Weidling:''riksarkivar'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref>
Selected works
*''Regjeringen og hjemmefronten under krigen'' (1948)
*''Norges forhold til Sverige under krigen 1940–45'' (3 bd., 1947–50)
*''Altmarksaken 1940'' (1953)
*''Norge og stormaktene 1906–14'' (1957)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omang, Reidar
1897 births
1964 deaths
20th-century Norwegian historians
Librarians from Oslo
Norwegian archivists
Academic staff of the University of Oslo
Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters