Gustav Adolf Sjaastad (6 April 1902 – 7 May 1964) was a Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Labour Party. He served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 1954–1955 and Minister of Industry from 1955–1959, and also as County Governor of Nord-Trøndelag from 1959–1964.

Early life and career

He was born in

Skogn Municipality Skogn is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1962. The municipality was located to the south and southwest of the L ...

as a son of farmer Olaf Herman Sjaastad (1869–1944) and Marta Fostad (1870–1933). He enrolled as a student in 1922, and graduated 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 1926. He opened an attorney's office in

Namsos Namsos may refer to: Places *Namsos Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *Namsos (town) Namsos is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative center of Namsos Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. ...

in 1927. From 1933 he was a barrister, with access to work with

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

cases. He was a member of the executive committee of the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

Namsos Municipality (Norwegian language, Norwegian) or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is t ...

from 1927 to 1934, representing 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 ...

, whose local party chapter he chaired from 1927 to 1931. In 1935 he opened a lawyer's office 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 ...

. 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 was a 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 ...

. He was arrested in December 1940 for "spying", and was imprisoned until May 1941 at

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 ...

. In February 1944 he was arrested for the second time, this time for being involved in an illegal newspaper. He was imprisoned at Møllergata 19 again, before being transferred 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 from May 1944 to the war's end on 8 May 1945.

Political career

From 1945 to 1954 he was a legal consultant for the Workers' National Trade Union (named

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (, LO) is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national unions affiliated to the LO have almo ...

from 1957). He also became a member of several public committees in 1946 and 1947, including ''Arbeidstvistkomiteen av 1946'', ''Ferielovkomiteen'' and ''Pris- og rasjonaliseringskomiteen''. From 1954 to 1955, during

Torp's Cabinet Torp's Cabinet governed Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard a ...

, Sjaastad was the

. Upon the cabinet change to

Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet was the cabinet of Norway from 22 January 1955 to 28 August 1963. The government was led by Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen, marking his third term in said role. The cabinet was defeated in a motion of no-confidence in ...

in 1955, he became Minister of Industry and held that post until 1959. He was elected to the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

from

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a counties of Norway, county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Sør-Trøndelag ("South Trøndelag") county as well as the county of Nordl ...

in 1958, and until 1959 his seat in parliament was taken by Hans Mikal Solsem. Sjaastad was not re-elected in 1961. His career ended with the post of County Governor of Nord-Trøndelag, which he held from 1959 to 1964. He died in May 1964. Sjaastad was a member of the board of

Nord-Trøndelag Elektrisitetsverk Nord-Trøndelag Elektrisitetsverk or NTE is a power company serving northern Trøndelag county in Norway and owned by the local governments of 19 municipalities that it serves. NTE is one of the largest producers of electricity in Norway, with an ...

from 1959 to 1964,

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, 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 th ...

from 1946 to 1955, Folla from 1959 to 1964, Mosjøen Veveri from 1960 to 1964 and

Det Norske Teatret Det Norske Teatret ()Moe, Jens. 2011. ''My America: The Culture of Giving''. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, p. 133. is a theatre in Oslo. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg and Edvard Drabløs. It opened in 19 ...

. He was chairman of the board of Fylkesbilene from 1959 to 1964 and

Tiden Norsk Forlag Tiden Norsk Forlag is a Norwegian publishing company owned by Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. It publishes fiction and general literature. History Tiden was founded in 1933 by the Norwegian Labour Party. In 1936 it bought Fram Forlag. In the early years ...

from 1947 to 1954. He was decorated as a Commander 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 ...

in 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sjaastad, Gustav 1902 births 1964 deaths People from Namsos People from Levanger 20th-century Norwegian lawyers Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Labour Party (Norway) politicians Politicians from Nord-Trøndelag Government ministers of Norway County governors of Norway Norwegian trade unionists Order of the Polar Star Ministers of justice of Norway Ministers of trade and shipping of Norway Members of the Storting 1958–1961