Andreas Claussen (4 July 1883 – 24 October 1957) was a Norwegian barrister, civil servant and politician for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Early life and career

He was born in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

as the son of hotelier Peter Albert Claussen (1854–1920) and Cecilie Ingbertine Debes (1852–1931). The family hotel, Hotel Britannia, was founded by his mother and her first husband. Claussen studied law after finishing his secondary education in 1902; graduating with the cand.jur. degree in 1907. He opened his own attorney's office in Trondhjem in 1910. In September 1916 he married Annie Amalie Schaanning (1892–1965). He was also a competitive

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

during his younger days, and later chaired the

Norwegian Skating Association The Norwegian Skating Association (, NSF) is the main skating authoritative body in Norway. It oversees speed skating, figure skating, short track speed skating on ice, and more recently inline and roller skating. The Norwegian Skating Associatio ...

from 1916 to 1918 and 1919 to 1922 as well as Trondhjems Skøiteklub. He was also a member of the Sports Committee of 1935, which prepared a merger between the sports confederations in Norway.

Career

From 1920 to 1922 he was a member of the national Housing Law Commission. In 1924, Claussen became a barrister with license to work with

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

cases. He served as a member of Trondheim city council from 1929 to 1931, representing the

. In 1931 he was appointed as the new

State Conciliator of Norway The National Mediator of Norway (, until 2012 ''Riksmeklingsmannen'') is a mediator's office of Norway. It is invoked in labour disputes, in other words when creation or revision of collective agreement, tariff agreements is disagreed upon. It was ...

. At the same time he continued his work as a barrister, from 1936 in companionship with Reidar Selmer.

World War II

In April 1940,

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

invaded An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives of co ...

and

occupied 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 ...

, and the regular political authorities were put out of the running. Johan Cappelen, County Governor of Sør-Trøndelag and later resistance member, set up the so-called Central Committee of Trondheim to administer the city, headed by Claussen together with Cappelen and

Ivar Skjånes Ivar Skjånes (5 March 1888, Kolvereid – 5 June 1975, Trondheim) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. Skjånes became mayor of Trondheim, the third largest city in Norway, in 1935. On 31 October 1940, during the German occupation ...

. The Central Committee was disbanded in the autumn by the Nazi authorities. Claussen continued as a barrister, but also became involved in resistance work. He was arrested on 3 August 1942 for "anti-German sentiments", and was incarcerated at

Grini Grini is a district in northeastern Bærum, Norway. Concentration camp The name Grini is best known from the concentration camp of the same name, but this camp lay further west and had no actual connection to the Grini area. History The name ...

two days later, and released six days before the liberation of Norway on

8 May 1945 Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

Post-war career

After the war he resumed his normal work, but his last day in office as State Conciliator of Norway was on 31 December 1945. He resigned in protest to the government's law about forced salary commission. He was succeeded by wartime resistance leader Paal Berg. In the meantime Claussen had negotiated the merger between the Norwegian Confederation of Sports and the Workers' Confederation of Sports. From 1947 to 1953 he worked as a public prosecutor in Trondheim District Court. In the same time period he also served a second term in the city council. He was a member of the board of

Trøndelag Teater Trøndelag Teater is a large theater in the city of Trondheim, in Trøndelag county, Norway. Trøndelag Teater stages large-scale dance and musical performances. History Originally built in 1816, the theater is the oldest stage in Scandinavia ...

as well as several private companies, including Trondhjem Cementstøperi, Trondhjems Kullkompagni, Trondhjems Preservering & Co. and Norske Forenede Forsikring. Claussen was decorated as a Commander with Star of the

Royal Norwegian 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 ...

. He survived a

sea plane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteristi ...

crash in 1948, in which

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

was involved as well, but died in October 1957 in Trondheim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claussen, Andreas 1883 births 1957 deaths Norwegian male speed skaters Norwegian sports executives and administrators Directors of government agencies of Norway University of Oslo alumni Politicians from Trondheim Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors 20th-century Norwegian people