Dag Berggrav (17 May 1925 – 3 May 2003) was a Norwegian jurist, civil servant and sports administrator. Known mostly for his long tenure at the

Norwegian Office of the Prime Minister The Norwegian Office of the Prime Minister (, abbreviated SMK) is a cabinet department that assists the Government of Norway, Cabinet of Norway and the Prime Minister of Norway in the leadership of the Cabinet and Government. It has since 2021 b ...

, he also held important positions in sporting life, including the vice presidency of the

International Ski Federation The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS (), is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. It was previously known as the International Ski Federation () until 26 May 2022 when the name was cha ...

Early and personal life

He was born in

Oslo 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 ...

as the son of bishop

Eivind Berggrav Eivind Josef Berggrav (25 October 1884 – 14 January 1959) was a Norwegian Lutheran bishop. As primate of the Church of Norway (Norwegian: ''Preses i Bispemøtet i Den norske kirke''), Berggrav became known for his unyielding resistance agains ...

and Kathrine Seip; and grandson of bishop Otto Jensen. He grew up in Tromsø and Oslo, where his father was bishop from 1928 to 1937 and 1937 to 1951 respectively. 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 ...

, he was held prisoner at

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress (, ) or Akershus Castle ( ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress has been the namesake and centre of the ...

from 20 December 1944 to the war's end in 1945. His father being a bishop, Dag Berggrav was a devout

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

as well.

Civil career

In 1950 Dag Berggrav graduated from 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 ...

with the

cand.jur. 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. After studying

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

in England for one year, Berggrav was hired as a deputy judge in

. He was then a secretary in the

Ministry of Justice and the Police The Royal Ministry of Justice and Public Security () is a Norwegian government ministry that oversees justice, the police, and domestic intelligence. The main purpose of the ministry is to provide for the maintenance and development of the basic ...

from 1951 to 1962, except for the years 1952 to 1954, when he worked in the

Numedal Numedal () is a valley and a traditional district in Eastern Norway located within the county of Buskerud. It traditionally includes the municipalities Flesberg, Nore og Uvdal and Rollag. Administratively, it now also includes Kongsberg. ...

district, first as deputy judge, then as acting district stipendiary magistrate. Having attended the

Norwegian National Defence College Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...

from 1958 to 1959, in 1960 he was hired in the

for the first time, on a one-year deputyship. He was hired on a permanent basis in 1962, and promoted to subdirector in 1966. From 1966 to 1969 he served as acting Secretary to the Council of State. He was promoted to under-secretary of state in 1974, and to permanent under-secretary of state in 1987. By that time the tasks of the Secretary to the Council of State has been transferred to the permanent under-secretary of state in the Office of the Prime Minister. Following his semi-retirement in 1992, Berggrav continued as an advisor for many years. He also chaired the from 1974 to 1992.

Sports career

Berggrav was an active

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fin ...

in the years 1931 to 1956. From 1964 to 1970 he was the president of the Norwegian Skiing Federation, and from 1965 to 1970 he was a member of the

Norwegian Olympic Committee The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports ( NIF), commonly known as the Norwegian Sports Confederation () is the umbrella organization for sport in Norway. It is the largest volunteering organization in Norway, ...

. From 1979 to 1983 he was the vice president of the

. He represented the clubs

Frigg Frigg (; Old Norse: ) is a goddess, one of the Æsir, in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wetl ...

and Heming in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berggrav, Dag 1925 births 2003 deaths Skiers from Oslo Norwegian male ski jumpers Norwegian sports executives and administrators University of Oslo alumni Norwegian jurists Norwegian civil servants Norwegian Lutherans 20th-century Lutherans 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen