Erling Sven Lorentzen (28 January 1923 – 9 March 2021) was a Norwegian shipowner and industrialist. He founded

Aracruz Celulose Aracruz Celulose S.A. was a Brazilian manufacturer of Pulp (paper), pulp and paper, founded in May 1972. In 2009 it merged with Votorantim Celulose e Papel, VCP and was renamed Fibria. The new company maintained its headquarters in São Paulo, a ...

in 1968. He was the widower of Princess Ragnhild, the eldest child of King

Olav V of Norway Olav V (, ; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of ...

. In addition to being a Norwegian princess, his wife was in the

line of succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest Collateral descendant, collateral line. The Bil ...

and occupied the 18th place at the time of her birth. Erling Lorentzen was a member of the Lorentzen family of shipping magnates.

Life and career

Lorentzen 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 Øivind Lorentzen (1882–1980) and Ragna (née Nilsen; 1885–1976). He worked for the Norwegian Independent Company 1, a British military unit, during

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 ...

. He owned 28% of

, which he sold for approximately US$1.7 billion in July 2008. His family was in the merchant marine business, and the Lorentzens had a line from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

to the east coast of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. In the early 1950s, Erling planned a visit to Brazil to meet with his representatives. At the time, they transported

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas, also referred to as liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, Butane, ''n''-butane and isobutane. It can also contain some ...

from the Gulf of Mexico to Brazil. On the way to Brazil, Erling learned that Esso wanted to sell its gas distribution company in Brazil. So instead of visiting their representatives, Erling sought to know more about such a company that was for sale, which would expand the LPG transportation business. When Lorentzen bought the company, Erling moved to Brazil permanently. The company grew considerably, but Lorentzen sold it in 1972. After the sale, he started other businesses, such as

Marriage and children

Lorentzen married Princess Ragnhild, elder granddaughter of the then-reigning

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

, on 15 May 1953 in

Asker Asker (), also called Asker proper (''Askerbygda'' or ''gamle Asker'' in Norwegian), is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway, located approximately 20km southwest of Oslo. From 2020 it is part of the ...

, Norway. He was thus the brother-in-law of

King Harald V Harald V (, ; born 21 February 1937) has been King of Norway since 1991. A member of the House of Glücksburg, Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the line of succ ...

Queen Sonja Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the ...

and Princess Astrid. The couple had three children: * Haakon Lorentzen (born 23 August 1954), married Martha Carvalho de Freitas (born 1958) on 14 April 1982, and had three children, all born in Rio de Janeiro: ** Olav Alexander Lorentzen (born 11 July 1985), married Ingrid Kraus de Andrade Nogueira (born 1988) on 4 December 2021, and has one son: *** Salvador Lorentzen (born 1 April 2023). ** Christian Frederik Lorentzen (born 23 May 1988) married Mariah de Oliveira Pedrosa (born 1991) on 19 March 2022, and has one son: *** Thomas Lorentzen (born December 2022). ** Sophia Anne Lorentzen (born 28 June 1994). * Ingeborg Lorentzen (born 27 February 1957), married Paulo César Ribeiro Filho (born 1956) on 4 June 1982, and has one daughter: ** Victoria Ragna Lorentzen Ribeiro (born 19 December 1988), married Felipe Sampaio Octaviano Falcão on 9 August 2014, and has two children: *** Frederik Sven Lorentzen Falcão (born 28 September 2016). *** Alice Eva Lorentzen Falcão (born 21 October 2022) * Ragnhild Alexandra Lorentzen (born 8 May 1968), married Aaron Matthew Long on 21 November 2003, and has two daughters. ** Alexandra Joyce Lorentzen Long (born 14 December 2007). ** Elizabeth Patricia Lorentzen Long (born March 2011).

Honours

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Southern Cross The National Order of the Southern Cross () is a Brazilian Orders, decorations, and medals of Brazil, order of chivalry founded by List of monarchs of Brazil, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, Pedro I on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate ...

* : Knight Commander of the

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 ...

References

External links

Lorentzen Family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorentzen, Erling 1923 births 2021 deaths Businesspeople from Oslo Norwegian company founders Erling Naturalized citizens of Brazil Norwegian expatriates in Brazil Brazilian businesspeople Harvard Business School alumni Norwegian military personnel of World War II Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Order of Saint Olav Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch Norwegian emigrants to Brazil