Erik Anker (15 October 1903 – 15 August 1994) was a

Norwegian 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 *The Norwegian language, including ...

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the ...

and businessperson.

Early life and Olympics

He was born in

Berg, Østfold Berg is a former parish and municipality which now forms part of Halden municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The rural municipality was (together with Idd) was merged with the city of Halden on January 1, 1967. History Berg was the main paris ...

as a son of

Johan Anker Johan August Anker (26 June 1871 – 2 October 1940) was a Norwegian sailor and yacht designer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1928 Summer Olympics. Personal life He was born at Refne in Berg, Ø ...

. He was a brother of

Christian August Anker Christian August Anker (9 August 1840 – 30 September 1912) was a Norwegian industrialist. He played an important role in the early mining industry in Norway and was also a pioneer in the wood-processing industry. He was born at Halden in Østf ...

, and a stepson of

Nini Roll Anker Nini Roll Anker (3 May 1873 – 20 May 1942) was a Norwegian novelist and playwright. Her books often concerned the lives of women within different social classes as well as the women's rights movement and the rights of the working class. P ...

. He was married to Swedish citizen Eva Esther Laurell. In sailing he represented the

Royal Norwegian Yacht Club The Royal Norwegian Yacht Club ( no, Kongelig Norsk Seilforening, KNS) is a yacht club in Oslo, Norway. The club was founded in 1883 as country-wide organisation with affiliated local yacht clubs. In 1884, it was granted the right for member ...

. At the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

he won the gold medal as crew member of the Norwegian boat ''Norna'' in the 6 metre class event. The crew was Johan Anker, Erik Anker, Crown Prince Olav of Norway and

Håkon Bryhn Håkon P. Bryhn (14 August 1901 – 15 December 1968) was a Norwegian sailor who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spe ...

. Anker later chaired the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club from 1949 to 1951, and became an honorary member in 1977. He was also a board member of the Scandinavian Sailing Federation. He finished his secondary education in 1922. He studied at the business school in

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, , ; german: Neuenburg) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel, situated on the shoreline of Lake Neuchâtel. Since the fusion in 2021 of the municipalities of Neuchâtel, Corcelles-Cormondrèche, Peseux, and Valangin, ...

until 1924, then studied economy at

Ecole libre des sciences politiques , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

from 1924 to 1925. He worked as an accountant and salesman in Agence des Pays du Nord in Paris between 1924 and 1929, and then, while also studying chemistry in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

he was a director of Societé Belge du Titane from 1929 to 1935. In 1935 he returned to Norway as director of exports in Norsk Aluminium Co.

Business executive

In 1937 he became director in Titan Co in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 1 ...

. From 1950 he was the chief executive, and also chairman of sister corporation in Europe until his retirement in 1969. He chaired

commerce council from 1945 to 1956, and chaired local committees to administer bridge and railroad building. He was also

vice consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

for

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

in Østfold county from 1949 to 1959. 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 the ...

he eventually fled to

neutral Sweden Swedish neutrality refers to Sweden's former policy of neutrality in armed conflicts, which was in effect from the early 19th century to 2009, when Sweden entered into various mutual defence treaties with the European Union (EU), and other Nordic ...

, and worked in the industry office of the

Norwegian legation in Stockholm The Norwegian Legation in Stockholm played a significant role during the Second World War. Until 9 April 1940 the legation consisted of four persons, and at the end of the war about 1,100 persons were connected to the legation. Refugee cases were ...

from 1944 to 1945. He was decorated with the

Defence Medal 1940–1945 The Defence Medal 1940–1945 () is the award rewarded to those military and civilian personnel who participated in the fight against the German invasion and occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The Defence Medal 1940–1945 can be awarde ...

. He chaired Studieselskapet for Norsk Industri (1948–1951), the

Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research The Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research ( no, Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Forskningsråd) or NTNF was the first of five research councils established in Norway. It existed from 1946 until the end of 1992, when the f ...

(1968–1973, formerly board member 1950–1960) and

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around the world ...

(1970–1974, board member since 1968). He was deputy chair of

Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK), or simply Store Norske, is a Norwegian coal mining company based on the Svalbard archipelago. It was formed in 1916, after a Norwegian purchase of the American Arctic Coal Company (ACC). The company ...

(1945–1954), board member of

Federation of Norwegian Industries The Federation of Norwegian Industries ( no, Norsk Industri) is an employers' organisation in Norway, organized under the national Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise. It was established on 1 January 2006 as a merger of the Federation of Norweg ...

(1956–1964) and the Norwegian

International Chamber of Commerce The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization A business entity is an entity that is formed and administered as per corporate law in order ...

branch. He was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; 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 ...

(1960), Knight of the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium ...

and Officer of the Belgian Order of the Crown. In 1973 he was promoted to Commander of the Order of St. Olav. He died in 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anker, Erik 1903 births 1994 deaths People from Halden Sportspeople from Fredrikstad Norwegian male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors of Norway Sailors at the 1928 Summer Olympics – 6 Metre Olympic gold medalists for Norway Olympic medalists in sailing Norwegian expatriates in Switzerland Norwegian expatriates in France Norwegian expatriates in Belgium 20th-century Norwegian businesspeople Knights of the Order of Leopold II Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics