Gunnar Jahn (10 January 1883 – 31 January 1971) was a Norwegian jurist, economist, statistician, politician for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and resistance member. He held several important positions, such as Norwegian Minister of Finance and Customs from 1934 to 1935 and in 1945, chair of the

Norwegian Nobel Committee The Norwegian Nobel Committee () selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will. Five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament. ...

from 1941 to 1966 and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Central Bank of Norway Norges Bank (, , ) is the central bank of Norway. It is responsible for managing the Government Pension Fund of Norway, which is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, as well as the bank's own foreign exchange reserves. History The histor ...

from 1946 to 1954.

Life and work

He was born in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, the son of director Christian Fredy Michael Jahn (1837–1914) and Elisabeth Wilhelmine Wexelsen (1853–1930). He was a grandson of

Vilhelm Andreas Wexelsen Vilhelm Andreas Wexelsen (5 June 1849 – 9 July 1909) was a Norwegian bishop and politician for the Liberal Party (Norway), Liberal Party. He served five terms in the Storting, Norwegian Parliament, was Norwegian Ministry of Church Affairs ...

, a grandnephew of Marie Wexelsen and a first cousin of

Per Kvist Per Kvist was the artist name of Vidar Wexelsen (4 April 1890 – 23 May 1947), a Norwegian revue writer, entertainer, stage actor, film actor and children's writer. Personal life Wexelsen was born in Overhalla Municipality as a son of vica ...

. He finished his secondary education at

Trondheim Cathedral School Trondheim Cathedral School (, Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Nidrosiensis'') is an upper secondary school located next to the Nidaros Cathedral in the center of Trondheim, Norway. History There is great dispute regarding the actual founding date of ...

in 1902 graduated from 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 ...

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 in 1907. He worked as a deputy judge in

Lofoten Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. T ...

before enrolling at the university again; he graduated in economics in 1909. He was hired in

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...

in 1910. In April 1911 he married Martha Larsen Jahn. From 1913 he was a teacher at Kristiania Commerce School and the university, jobs he left in 1918 and 1920 respectively. From 1917 to 1919 he worked in ''Rasjoneringsdirektoratet'', and from 1919 to 1920 he was the director there. In 1920 he became director of Statistics Norway. 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 1927. From November 1934 to March 1935 he was the Minister of Finance and Customs in Mowinckel's Third Cabinet. He became a member of the

in 1937, and chairman from 1941 to 1966. In 1940 he was a member of the

Administrative Council Administrative Council () was a part of Council of State (Kingdom of Poland), Council of State of the Congress Poland. Introduced by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815, it was composed of 5 ministers, special nominees of the Tsar, Ki ...

, which tried to maintain Norwegian political governance despite the German invasion and

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 ...

. He marked himself as a strong proponent of resistance to Germany, and was a member of the central leadership of the resistance: " Kretsen" and Hjemmefrontens Ledelse. He was arrested by the Nazi authorities on 25 October 1944, and incarcerated 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 ...

until 8 December. He was then sent to

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 ...

, where he sat until the liberation of Norway. After the German surrender, he saw himself as a candidate to become Prime Minister of Norway, but Hjemmefrontens Ledelse chose Paal Berg as their candidate. He instead became Minister of Finance and Customs of the Norwegian interim government, Gerhardsen's First Cabinet, on 25 June. He remained so until 4 November the same year, and also served on the Board of Governors in the

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States; it is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers lo ...

and the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

in 1945. He then headed the

from 1946 to 1954. He presided over the

International Statistical Institute The International Statistical Institute (ISI) is a professional association of statisticians. At a meeting of the Jubilee Meeting of the Royal Statistical Society, statisticians met and formed the agreed statues of the International Statistical ...

from 1947 to 1951, and was an honorary member. As the Chairman of the Nobel Committee, he delivered the Presentation Speech to The Nobel Peace Prize 1947 to the Quaker Friends Service Council (British) and American Friends Service Committee (http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1947/press.html). He was also a member of the Liberal Party's national board for some time. He died in January 1971 in Oslo.

U Thant controversy

In 1965, UN Secretary General

U Thant Thant ( ; 22 January 1909 – 25 November 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian as well as Asian to hold the positio ...

was informed by the Norwegian Permanent Representative to the UN that he would be awarded that year's

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

and asked whether or not he would accept. He consulted staff and later replied that he would. At the same time, Jahn, who was Chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize committee, lobbied heavily against giving U Thant the prize and the prize was at the last minute awarded to

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

. The rest of the committee all wanted the prize to go to U Thant, for his work in defusing the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

, ending the war in the Congo, and his ongoing work to mediate an end to the Vietnam War. The disagreement lasted three years and in 1966 and 1967 no prize was given, with Jahn effectively vetoing an award to U Thant.

References

External links

A collection
of digitized materials related to Jahn's association with

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling ( ; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist and peace activist. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topics. ''New Scientist'' called him one of the 20 gre ...

.
Presentation Speech to The Nobel Peace Prize 1947
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jahn, Gunnar 1883 births 1971 deaths Politicians from Trondheim Norwegian jurists Norwegian economists Norwegian statisticians University of Oslo alumni Directors of government agencies of Norway Governors of the Central Bank of Norway Ministers of finance of Norway Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Chairpersons of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters People educated at the Trondheim Cathedral School