Hans Håkon Balstad (12 September 1904 – 30 September 1964) was a Norwegian

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

who served as the

Governor of Svalbard The governor of Svalbard () represents the Norwegian government in exercising its sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago (Spitsbergen). The position reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, but it maintains all Norwegian interests in ...

from 1945 to 1956. He was the longest-serving person in the position.

Biography

Balstad was born on 12 September 1904 in

Grue Municipality Grue is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Solør. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kirkenær. ...

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 also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. His father, Stein Balstad, was an author. He finished a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

in 1928 and then worked as an assistant for a judge for one year. He was a clerk for the Ministry of Church Affairs in 1929 and rose to the position of assistant secretary in 1934. He also was the secretary of the Norwegian Writers' Association from 1930 to 1940. 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 held a high position in the Ministry of Trade, after fleeing the German conquest and evacuating with the rest of the government on 7 June 1940 to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. After the war, Balstad was appointed towards the end of 1945 to be the first post-war

(''Sysselmann''), a remote archipelago in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

. He moved there soon after with his ''fiancée'' and future wife, Liv Balstad, who subsequently wrote a popular account of her life in Svalbard, titled ''Nord for det øde hav'' (North of the desolate sea). Due to Svalbard's small population (which was a few hundred when he was named Governor), in addition to Governor, Balstad also served as

notary public A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...

, police chief, judge, and county commissioner. Most of the buildings of Svalbard had been destroyed by the Germans in the war, with only "three or four" houses left according to Balstad's wife, and thus the primary focus of his first years as governor was reconstruction. Among the buildings destroyed was the governor's residence, and thus Balstad and his wife lived several years in a "dilapidated... Swedish barracks, with rats under the floorboards and derelict furniture, which housed all government services as well", according to the book ''Transit 'Norden' och 'Europa. Attempts to get assistance from the Norwegian government were unsuccessful, and thus he hired a private architect to build a new governor's residence, which was completed in 1950 in

Longyearbyen Longyearbyen (, , "Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlements, northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000, and the capital and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard. It stretches along the foot of the left bank ( ...

. Balstad was described as "respected and popular among the population of Svalbard". Frank Illingworth in '' Country Life'' called him a "roaring bull of a man with a fabulous capacity for raw liquor", while an article in ''

The Contemporary Review ''The Contemporary Review'' is a British biannual, formerly quarterly, magazine. It has an uncertain future as of 2013. History The magazine was established in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals intent on promoting their v ...

'' noted him to be "barrel-chested, with a bellowing voice and a pet husky". The newspaper ''

Nordlys ''Nordlys'' is a Norwegian newspaper published in Tromsø, covering the region of Troms, and the largest newspaper in Northern Norway. History and profile ''Nordlys'' was founded in 1902 by Alfred Eriksen, who also was its first editor-in-ch ...

'' described him as "a very pleasant and sociable man who had won many friends both abroad and at home". Balstad ending up serving 11 years as Governor of Svalbard, having the longest service in the position before being succeeded by Odd Birketvedt and returning to Norway. After he returned, he became a judge for the Kristiansand District Court. In his last years, he was very ill and he died on 30 September 1964, at the age of 60, while on a trip to

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balstad, Håkon 1904 births 1964 deaths People from Grue, Norway University of Oslo alumni 20th-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian civil servants Governors of Svalbard