Knut Einar Eriksen (born 31 July 1944) is a Norwegian historian. He was born in

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neig ...

, and took the cand.philol. degree in 1969. He was an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the '' North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is ...

at the

University of Tromsø The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway ( Norwegian: ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet''; Northern Sami: ''Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta'') is a state university in Norway ...

from 1975 to 1982, and a professor from 1982 to 1986. In 1989 he was appointed as a professor at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. He is a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, 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 Unive ...

, and from 1988 to 1990 he chaired the

Norwegian Historical Association The Norwegian Historical Association ( no, Den norske historiske forening, HIFO) is a Norwegian historical organization. The Association was founded in 1869 by Michael Birkeland and Ludvig Ludvigsen Daae. It works to promote historical research an ...

. Among his most important publications is ''DNA og NATO. Striden om norsk NATO-medlemskap innen regjeringspartiet 1948–49'', which was released in 1972 and explores objections to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

membership within the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the cent ...

(DNA). In 1987 he wrote ''Frigjøring'', volume eight of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

work ''Norge i krig'', with Terje Halvorsen. In 1998 he released a two-volume history on surveillance in Norway, ''Den hemmelige krigen: overvåking i Norge 1914–1997'', together with

Trond Bergh Trond Bergh (born 16 September 1946) is a Norwegian economic historian, and researcher at the Department of Innovation and Economic Organisation of the BI Norwegian Business School. Life and work Bergh was born in Tvedestrand, and took the can ...

. With the publication of the latter work he became involved in an unusual case. Former secretary of the

Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs ( no, Finanskomiteen) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to economic policy, monetary and credit policy, the financial and credit system ...

Haakon Bingen Haakon Bingen (22 September 1918 – 16 March 2002) was a Norwegian economist and civil servant. History He was born in Trøgstad, and studied economy at the University of Oslo. When the university was closed during the occupation of Norway by ...

sued Eriksen and Bergh as well as the publishing house

Cappelen Akademisk Forlag Cappelen Damm AS is a Norwegian publisher established in 2007. The present company resulted from the merger of J.W. Cappelens Forlag, founded in 1829, and N.W. Damm & Søn, founded in 1843. Cappelen Damm is jointly owned by the Bonnier Group a ...

, because the second volume of ''Den hemmelige krigen'' contained information that portrayed Bingen as a close friend of communist

Peder Furubotn Peder Furubotn (29 August 1890 – 28 November 1975) was a Norwegian cabinetmaker, politician for the Communist Party and resistance member during World War II. Early and personal life Furubotn was born in Brekke, Sogn og Fjordane, the son ...

. In late 1999 the

Supreme Court of Norway The Supreme Court of Norway ( Norwegian Bokmål: ''(Norges) Høyesterett''; Norwegian Nynorsk: ''(Noregs) Høgsterett''; lit. ‘Highest Court’) was established in 1815 on the basis of section 88 in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway, w ...

found that this was not true, and circulation of the book was forbidden, until the reference to Bingen had been amended. Bingen was also awarded in costs.

References

1944 births Living people People from Sarpsborg 20th-century Norwegian historians Academic staff of the University of Tromsø Academic staff of the University of Oslo Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters {{Norway-historian-stub