Gustav Natvig-Pedersen (18 August 1893 – 27 May 1965) was a Norwegian philologist, educator and politician for the Labour Party. A school teacher and headmaster during his professional career, he served in Stavanger city council from 1922 to 1964 and three terms in the

Norwegian Parliament 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 ...

; during one of these terms he was

President of the Storting 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 ...

. He made his mark in

language politics Language politics is the way language and linguistic differences between peoples are dealt with in the political arena. This could manifest as government recognition, as well as how language is treated in official capacities. The topic covers ma ...

Early life and education

He was born in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

as a son of sailmaker Johan Pedersen (1857–1941) and his wife Johanne Christine Natvig (1863–1940). He briefly attended the

Norwegian Military Academy The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway. History The Commander- ...

, but graduated with the cand.philol. degree in 1919. In the same year he was hired as a school teacher in Stavanger. He was also a standing military officer, and held the rank Premier Lieutenant from 1920.

Political career

He was elected to Stavanger city council for the first time in 1922, and was re-elected successively throughout the rest of the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

. He chaired his local party chapter from 1925 to 1926 and 1935 to 1936, and was a member of the Labour Party national board from 1936 to 1939. From 1926 to 1928 he was a member of the city school board. He was also board chairman of the local party newspaper '' Den 1ste Mai'' from 1927 to 1936. He was elected to the

from the Market towns of Vest-Agder and Rogaland counties in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

. Among the political cases during this period, Natvig-Pedersen made a mark in the language issue. He was one of the people behind the orthographic reform of 1938, which implemented a converge between

Nynorsk Nynorsk (; ) is one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language (''Landsmål''), parallel to the Da ...

and

Bokmål Bokmål () (, ; ) is one of the official written standards for the Norwegian language, alongside Nynorsk. Bokmål is by far the most used written form of Norwegian today, as it is adopted by 85% to 90% of the population in Norway. There is no cou ...

. He issued the orthographic dictionary ''Norsk rettskrivingsordliste'' in 1938 together with

August Lange Christian August Manthey Lange (28 April 1907 – 6 August 1970) was a Norwegian educator, non-fiction writer and cultural attaché. Personal life Lange was born in Kristiania, the son of politician and Nobel Laureate Christian Lous Lange (1 ...

; the book was reprinted ten times. In the next year, Natvig-Pedersen followed with a textbook in Norwegian Bokmål. He later served as a member of the Norwegian Language Committee from 1953 to 1962, and in 1959 he issued a new version of ''Norsk rettskrivingsordliste'' together with Kjølv Egeland. 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 was imprisoned by the Nazis. He was first arrested in March 1942 for boycotting the Nazi creation, the Teachers Union, together with a large number of other teachers, including Kjell Bondevik. He sat at Grini for one day, later at

Jørstadmoen Jørstadmoen is a village in Lillehammer Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located along the river Gudbrandsdalslågen, about northwest of Lillehammer. The village has a population (2021) of 661 and a population density Pop ...

and

Kirkenes (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami; , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsu ...

. He was then released, only to be arrested again on 8 March 1943. He was imprisoned at Grini later that month, and in May he was transferred to Sachsenhausen. After the

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

he returned to his teaching job, the Norwegian Parliament and Stavanger city council. He was re-elected to Parliament twice; in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

and

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

. From January 1949 to January 1954 he served as the

. He spent the rest of his professional career as headmaster at St. Svithuns School, having left

Stavanger Cathedral School Stavanger Cathedral School (''Norwegian language, Norwegian: Stavanger katedralskole'') is an upper secondary school in the city of Stavanger, Rogaland county, Norway. It is spread over two areas; the traditional Kongsgård and the school's new b ...

in 1946. He also held a number of cultural offices. He was a board member of

Stavanger Museum Stavanger Museum is a museum of natural and cultural history established in 1877, located in the Norwegian city Stavanger. The museum's collections consist of several departments: the department of zoology, the department for cultural history (whi ...

from 1935 to 1958 and chair from 1958 to 1965, deputy board member of the

Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

from 1947 to 1950, board member of

Rogaland Teater Rogaland Teater is a theatre in Stavanger, Norway. Background The theatre building was built in 1883 on a parcel of '' Kannik prestegård''. It was designed by architect Hartvig Sverdrup Eckhoff, and initially held close to 500 seats. The buil ...

from 1953 to 1965 and chair of

FK Vidar FK Vidar is an association football club from Stavanger, Norway. They currently play in the 3. divisjon, the fourth highest level in the Norwegian football league system. Club history The club was founded on 18 April 1906. FK Vidar played their ...

. He was a member 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 1948 to 1965, and also held a few industrial positions: member of the Vest-Agder and Rogaland railway committee from 1938 to 1959 and chair of Norsk Jernverk from 1946 to 1964. In 1962 he was decorated as a Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. He was also a Knight of the Monegasque Princeps et Patria order from 1950. He retired as a headmaster in 1962, and left Stavanger city council in 1964. He died in May 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natvig-Pedersen, Gustav 1893 births 1965 deaths Norwegian educators Politicians from Stavanger Labour Party (Norway) politicians Presidents of the Storting Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Vice presidents of the Storting 20th-century Norwegian philologists Members of the Storting 1936–1945 Members of the Storting 1945–1949 Members of the Storting 1950–1953