Birger Martin Bergersen (25 July 1891 – 14 July 1977) was a Norwegian anatomist and politician for the Labour Party. He notably served as a professor (1932–1947) and rector (1938–1945) of ''Norges tannlegehøgskole'', Norway's ambassador 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 ...

(1947–1953), Norwegian Minister of Education and Church Affairs (1953–1960) and chairman of the

International Whaling Commission The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is a specialised regional fishery management organisation, established under the terms of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) to "provide for the proper conservation ...

Early life and education

He was born in

Kvæfjord Municipality Kvæfjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Central Hålogaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the v ...

as a son of teacher Hans Christian Bergersen (1835–1925) and his wife Ingeborg Kristine Heitmann (1848–1938). He finished his secondary education in 1909, and was hired as a journalist in ''

Social-Demokraten ''Social-Demokraten'' () was a Swedish daily Social Democratic newspaper, belonging to the Swedish Social Democratic Party. The paper was founded in 1885 by Axel Danielsson and August Palm. Palm also edited the paper from 1885 to 1886. Another ...

'' in 1910. He took a teacher's education in 1915, and after working one year as a teacher, he enrolled 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 ...

to study medicine. After two years he switched to

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

, and he graduated with the

cand.real. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree in 1925. His advisor for the master's degree was

Kristine Bonnevie Kristine Elisabet Heuch Bonnevie (8 October 1872 – 30 August 1948) was a Norwegian biologist. She was the first woman to graduate with a science doctorate in Norway (and the second woman overall), Norway's first woman professor, a women's rights ...

, and his thesis was translated, shortened and issues in the German journal ''Zeitschrift für Zellforschung und mikroskopische Anatomie'' in 1926. Bergersen was a board member of the

Norwegian Students' Society Norwegian Students' Society () is Norway's oldest student society. The Norwegian Students' Society was established during 1813 in Oslo, Norway. Two years after the Royal Frederick University (today named the University of Oslo) was founded, 18 of ...

, and worked part-time as a curator and assistant at the university and its palaeontological museum.

Academic and diplomatic career

Shortly after graduating, he was hired as a

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

at ''Norges tannlegehøgskole''. He conducted further studies, mostly at the Swedish Veterinary College, and took the

dr.philos. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree in 1932 with the thesis ''Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Haut einiger Pinnipedien''. This would be the pinnacle of his academic writings. He was appointed as a professor of anatomy at ''Norges tannlegehøgskole'' in the same year, and served as vice rector from 1933 to 1937. In 1938 he was made

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of ''Norges tannlegehøgskole''. In 1942 he had to flee 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 ...

because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and 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 ...

. In London he worked for the Norwegian Ministry of Provisioning and Reconstruction. Formally, he still held the position of rector, but only until 1945. In 1947 he left as professor as well, as he had become the Norwegian ambassador to

. Bergersen was also an activist, from the 1930s onwards, against the unsustainable hunting of

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

s in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

. This led to the creation of the

, where Bergersen was the first chairman. He chaired ''Hvalrådet'' from 1936 to 1954. He 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 1936, the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

from 1955 and the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), originally founded as the Lyceum of Natural History in January 1817, is a nonprofit professional society based in New York City, with more than 20,000 members from 100 countries. It is the fourth-oldes ...

from 1960. He was an honorary member of the Norwegian Dental Association from 1950 and the Swedish Dental Society from 1956.

Political career

Bergersen had been a member of Oslo city council from 1934 to 1940, and briefly in 1945 after the war's end. In December 1953, while still serving as ambassador, he joined the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

Oscar Torp Oscar Fredrik Torp (, 8 June 1893 – 1 May 1958) was a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. He was party leader from 1923 to 1945, and mayor of Oslo in 1935 and 1936. In 1935 he became the acting minister of defence in the govern ...

as Minister of Education and Church Affairs. He served until April 1960, remaining in the post well into the

Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet was the cabinet of Norway from 22 January 1955 to 28 August 1963. The government was led by Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen, marking his third term in said role. The cabinet was defeated in a motion of no-confidence in ...

. In 1960 he was replaced with

Helge Sivertsen Helge Sivertsen (12 June 1913 – 21 December 1986) was a Norwegian school administrator and elected official. He was best known as a champion discus thrower in the 1936 Summer Olympics. Biography He was born at Mandal in Vest-Agder, Norway. He w ...

. Bergersen was also a board member of the

Norwegian Maritime Museum The Norwegian Maritime Museum () is located at Bygdøynesveien on the Bygdøy peninsula, on the western side of Oslo, Norway. The Norwegian Maritime Museum is situated near several other museums, including the Fram Museum; the Kon-Tiki Museum; th ...

from 1928 to 1967, of the Oslo municipal cinema from 1935 to 1940 and

Kommunenes Filmcentral Kommunenes Filmcentral was a film distributor in Norway. It was established in 1919 when Kommunale Kinematografers Landsforbund, an association of municipal-owned cinemas, bought the private-owned Nerliens Filmbureau. It distributed films by Univ ...

. He was a deputy board member of

Norsk Film Norsk Film was a Norwegian film production company established in 1932 and disestablished in 2001. It was located in Bærum, with studio facilities at Jar A jar is a rigid, cylindrical or slightly conical container, typically made of glass, c ...

, and sat on the supervisory board of

Oslo Sporveier AS Oslo Sporveier is a defunct municipal owned company responsible for public transport in Oslo, Norway. It was created in 1924 to take over the city's two private tram companies. In 1927 its started with bus transport, including from 1940 to 1 ...

. Since 1930 he was married to Benedicte Nicolaysen (1897–1981). He died in July 1977 in Oslo.

Select publications

* ''Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Haut einiger Pinnipedien'', Ph.D. dissertation, 1931 * ''Om vern og utnyttelse av landpattedyr og fugl på Svalbard og Jan Mayen'', 1938 * ''Liv og utvikling. Trekk fra biologiens historie'', 1966 * ''Modningsår'', 1969 * ''Hva USA skylder Hitler'', 1973

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergersen, Birger Martin 1891 births 1977 deaths People from Kvæfjord University of Oslo alumni 20th-century Norwegian zoologists Norwegian anatomists Rectors of universities and colleges in Norway Norwegian people of World War II Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Ambassadors of Norway to Sweden Labour Party (Norway) politicians Politicians from Oslo Government ministers of Norway Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters 20th-century Norwegian journalists Ministers of education of Norway