Arvid Gilbert Hansen (5 May 1894 – 24 January 1966) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician for the Labour and

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

parties.

Early life and Labour Party career

He was born in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

as a

tinsmith A tinsmith is a historical term for a skilled craftsperson who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession was also known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profe ...

's son. He spent his entire youth in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, before moving to Stavanger where he took the

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1913 as a private candidate. He then studied philology for two years at the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

, but quit the studies. He had joined Norges Socialdemokratiske Ungdomsforbund in 1910, and was secretary from 1915 and acting editor of ''

Klassekampen (Lit. translation: ''"The Class Struggle"'') is a Norwegian daily newspaper in print and online. Its tagline is "The daily newspaper of the Left". The paper's net circulation was 33,265 in 2022, and it has around 111,000 daily readers on paper ...

'' in 1916. He then chaired the organization for one year. From 1917 to 1919 he was editor-in-chief of the Labour Party newspaper '' Akershus Social-Demokrat'', and from 1921 to 1923 he edited the party's ideological periodical ''

Det 20de Århundre ''Det 20de Århundre'' ("The Twentieth Century") was a periodical published by the Norwegian Labour Party. It was based in Oslo. History and profile Its purpose was to print background articles on ideology and issues. For news, the party had a ful ...

''. From 1921 to 1928 he was married to Mirjiam Rathus (who subsequently married Henry Wilhelm Kristiansen).In 1923 he took over ''Klassekampen'' again, returning to Norges Socialdemokratiske Ungdomsforbund to strengthen the left wing there. He was also involved in socialist schooling. He wrote several books and pamphlets in this period. ''Haandbog i lags- og studiearbeidet'' (with

Reinert Torgeirson Reinert Torgeirson (7 December 1884 – 30 November 1969) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician for the Labour and Communist parties. He was also an active poet, playwright and novelist. Biography Torgeirson was born in Ålesund in Mø ...

, 1916) was the first handbook of its kind. ''Skolen, kirken og dogmerne'' (1915) and ''Kampen for religionsfrihet'' (1918) were critical to the religious situation. Also in 1923 he wrote the propagandistic history book ''Den røde ungdom i kamp og seier. Norges kommunistiske ungdomsforbund gjennem 20 aar'' together with

Eugène Olaussen Ansgar Eugène Olaussen (27 December 1887 – 22 January 1962) was a Norwegian newspaper editor, educated as a typographer, and politician. As a politician he started in Young Communist League of Norway (, and notably edited ''Klassekampen (1909� ...

and

Aksel Zachariassen Aksel "Azach" Zachariassen (16 November 1898 – 6 August 1987) was a Norwegian politician, newspaper editor, secretary and writer. Biography He was born in Porsgrunn as a son of ship captain Aksel Zachariassen (1853–1927) from Luleå and Karen ...

Communist Party career

In 1923 the communists in the Labour Party broke away to form the Communist Party, and Hansen became a leading figure. Except for the period 1924 to 1926, he avidly followed

Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

. He edited the magazine ''

Proletaren ''Proletaren'' (meaning ''The Proletarian'' in English) was a Norwegian periodical published by the Communist Party. History and profile ''Proletaren'' was started in September 1923 during the fraction in-fighting in the Labour Party which res ...

'', then the newspaper ''

Norges Kommunistblad was a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. History was started on 5 November 1923 as the official party newspaper from the Communist Party of Norway, Communist Party, which was established that year after a split from the Norwegian Lab ...

'' in 1929 (before it went defunct) and then '' Arbeideren'' from 1929 to 1931. From 1931 to 1935 he stayed in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

where he educated Scandinavians in the party line. In 1936 he returned to Norway to edit ''

Arbeidet ''Arbeidet'' ("The Work") was a Norwegian newspaper, published in Bergen in Hordaland county. History and profile ''Arbeidet'' was started in Bergen as a socialist newspaper on 6 December 1893, by a grouping called . It was the first socialist ...

''. From 1937 the work became harder as the Communist Party prioritized ''Arbeideren'' financially. Johanna Bugge Olsen took over as editor in 1938. During the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany 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 ...

from 1940 to 1945 Hansen was exiled in Sweden. In 1949 he was notably excluded from the Communist Party, as a supporter of the former party leader

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 s ...

who had fallen from grace.

Later life

He continued releasing books. In 1949 he edited ''Boligreising i Norge og andre land'' and in 1953 he wrote ''Boligkooperasjon i Norden'', both on the

housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...

question. In 1960 he wrote a book about laborers in Norwegian poetry, ''Arbeideren i norsk diktning fra Wergeland til i dag''. Hansen was married five times. He died in January 1966 in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Arvid G 1894 births 1966 deaths Norwegian newspaper editors Norwegian magazine editors Labour Party (Norway) politicians Communist Party of Norway politicians Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Norwegian non-fiction writers Politicians from Kristiansand 20th-century Norwegian non-fiction writers