Erling Steen (6 March 1891 – 22 September 1961) was a Norwegian businessman,

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

leader and member of the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the German occupation of Norway, occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *As ...

in World War II.

Personal life

Steen was born in

Kristiania 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, an ...

as a son of Johan Steen (1856–1934) and Marie Eveline Gulbranson (1861–1942). He was a grandson of Emil Steen (1829–1884), a nephew of Emil Jr. and Christian Steen, and a first cousin of

Fredrik Fredrik or Frederik is a masculine Germanic given name derived from the German name '' Friedrich'' or Friederich, from the Old High German ''fridu'' meaning "peace" and ''rîhhi'' meaning "ruler" or "power". It is the common form of Frederick in N ...

, Nils and Emil Steen. His sister Sigrid married Hans Thomas "Hassa" Horn. In November 1916 Erling Steen married Helene C. Laurantzon, a wholesaler's daughter. The marriage ended in August 1940. In the same month he married Kathleen Ragnhild Collett, née Falsen and divorcee of

Johan Collett Johan Collett (22 March 1775 – 19 June 1827) was a Norway, Norwegian politician and Public administration, public administrator. He served as a member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly, Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll, Eidsvold in 1814. B ...

. This marriage ended in June 1949. The same month Steen entered his third marriage, this time to Alix Dorry Sophie Boyesen, née Theslöf and divorcee of diplomat Jens Boyesen. He resided at Lagåsen in Bærum.

Career

Steen finished his secondary education in 1910, graduated from Kristiania Commerce School in 1912 and underwent mercantile training in the United States, Germany and France. His education prepared him to enter as a partner in the family company

Steen & Strøm Steen & Strøm is a Scandinavian retail and real estate company that owns and operates 10 shopping centres in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. It has been a member of the International Association of Department Stores from 1940 to 1992, with various ...

, which he did in 1915. Together with Eyvind Strøm and Nils Steen, who entered the company too in the 1910s, he took it over in the 1930s. Erling Steen most notably served as chairman of the board from 1939 to 1961. He was also an important figure in enterprise organizations, chairing ''Oslo Manufakturkjøbmenns Forening'' (1928–1931), ''Manufakturkjøbmennenes Landsforbund'' (1930–1933), ''Oslo Handelsstands Forening'' (1933–1936), ''Norges Handelsstands Forbund'' (1936–1946) and the Norwegian branch of the

International Chamber of Commerce The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. ICC represents over 45 million businesses in over 170 countries who have interest ...

(1937–1948). He was also a deputy member of Oslo city council from 1931 to 1934. 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 endeavored to keep ''Norges Handelsstands Forbund'' from being usurped by the Nazis. His organization was one of forty-three to protest nazification attempts in May 1941, in a letter addressed directly to

Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official governatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Ger ...

Josef Terboven Josef Antonius Heinrich Terboven (23 May 1898 – 8 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and politician who was the long-serving ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Essen and the '' Reichskommissar'' for Norway during the German occupation. Terboven wa ...

. This protest of the 43 was met with harsh reactions; already on 12 June 1941 arrest orders were issued on Steen and fellow signatory

Henning Bødtker Henning Bremer Bødtker (14 August 1891 – 19 November 1975) was a Norwegian jurist and civil servant. He was the Attorney General of Norway from 1945 to 1962. Personal life He was born in Svelvik as a son of ship captain Jacob Bødtker (1847� ...

. On 18 June six more protesters were arrested, including Steen's fellow signatory from ''Norges Handelsstands Forbund'', Paul Christian Frank. Steen was imprisoned in

Møllergata 19 Møllergata 19 is an address in Oslo, Norway, where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here. This ...

(June to July 1941) and later in

Grini concentration camp Grini prison camp (, ) was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here. History Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft ...

(September 1941 to February 1943). Until his release in late February 1943, he served as an informal "director of personnel" in Grini concentration camp, in other words a liaison, administrator and leading figure in general. Three months later, Steen was subject to a new crackdown, this time regarding Steen & Strøm where he was chairman. As the company refused to abide by the trade policies of the occupiers, Steen & Strøm's wholesaling and retailing departments were shut down by the authorities. After the Second World War, Steen chaired the

Norwegian Red Cross The Norwegian Red Cross (''Norges Røde Kors'') was founded on 22 September 1865 by prime minister Frederik Stang. In 1895 the Norwegian Red Cross began educating nurses, and in 1907 the Norwegian Ministry of Defence authorized the organization ...

from 1947 to 1957 and the Aid to Europe/

Norwegian Refugee Council The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC; ) is a humanitarian, non-governmental organisation that protects the rights of people affected by displacement. This includes refugees and internally displaced persons who are forced to flee their homes as a res ...

from 1947 to 1958. He was also a member of the post-war press scrutiny committee from 1945 to 1946 and ''Statens økonomiske samordningsråd'' from 1935 to 1947. In business, he was a board member of Norges Varemesse from 1929 to 1932,

Bergens Privatbank Bergens Privatbank was a Norwegian commercial bank based in Bergen. It was established in 1855 and built a network of branches throughout the country. Jørgen Breder Faye was the first director and held the position until 1904. The bank merged with ...

from 1936 to 1950,

Vinmonopolet Vinmonopolet (), symbolized by Ⓥ and colloquially shortened to Polet, is a government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer and the only company allowed to sell beverages containing an alcohol content higher than 4.75% in Norway. As the arm of the ...

from 1945 to 1954, Bygg ditt Land from 1945 to 1950 Forsikringsselskapet Poseidon from and the

Norwegian Geographical Society The Norwegian Geographical Society (in Norwegian: Det norske geografiske Selskab) is a Norwegian learned society founded in 1889. Among the initiators was geologist Hans Henrik Reusch, who chaired the society from 1898 to 1903, and again from 19 ...

from 1945. He chaired the supervisory council of Forsikringsselskapet Ørnen. He served as

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

for

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

from 1946, and was promoted to consul-general in 1955. He was also an editorial committee member of ''

Norsk biografisk leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. It is part of the '' Great Norwegian Encyclopedia''. Origin The first print edition (NBL1) was issued between 1923 and 1983; it included 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. Kunnskapsforlaget to ...

''. He died in September 1961 and was buried at

Vestre gravlund Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen (station), Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a cremator ...

Orders and Decorations

* 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 ...

(17–11–1956) * Knight, First Class of the

(08–12–1947) * Badge of Honour of the Norwegian Red Cross * Officer of the Order of the Crown of Belgium * Gold Medal of the Belgian Red Cross (presented 25–05–1954) *

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

of Denmark * Cross of Merit of the Finnish Red Cross * Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

of France * Gold Medal of the French Red Cross *

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

of Germany * Decoration 1st Class of the German Red Cross * Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

of Great-Brittain * Knight 1st class (Gold Cross) of the

Order of George I The Royal Order of George I () is a Greek Order (distinction), order instituted by King Constantine I of Greece, Constantine I in 1915. Since the monarchy's abolition in 1973, it has been considered a dynastic order of the former Greek royal fami ...

of Greece * Decoration 2st Class of the Hellenic Red Cross * Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy (30–12–1952) * Gold Medal of the Italian Red Cross * Order of Merit of the Japanese Red Cross * Commander of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

of the Netherlands (20–08–1954) * Cross of Merit of the Netherlands Red Cross (22–04–1955) * Knight, First Class of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

of Sweden * Gold Medal of Merit of the Swedish Red Cross

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steen, Erling 1891 births 1961 deaths 20th-century Norwegian businesspeople Politicians from Oslo Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Presidents of the Norwegian Red Cross Knights of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Burials at Vestre gravlund