Leif Edward Edwardsen (20 December 1922 – 13 August 2002) was a Norwegian diplomat. He was born in

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...

, and finished his secondary education in 1942. During the Second World War he studied before the university was closed; he then worked as a journalist in ''

Morgenbladet is Norway's oldest daily newspaper, covering politics, culture and science, now a weekly news magazine primarily directed at well-educated readers. The magazine is notable for its opinion section featuring contributions exclusively from Norweg ...

'' among other things. After the war he studied at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, whence he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in 1948. He started working for the

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Norwegian or ''Utenriksdepartementet''; or ''Utanriksdepartementet''; UD) is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway. It was established on June 7, 1905, the same day the Parliament of ...

in 1949. He served as a vice consul in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, embassy secretary in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and charge d'affairs in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. In 1962 he became an assistant secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1967 he became an embassy counsellor in Belgium. He was the Norwegian ambassador to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

from 1970 to 1973, to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

from 1976 to 1983, to

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

from 1983 to 1987 and to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

from 1987 to 1990. After that he worked part-time in ''

Sandefjords Blad ''Sandefjords Blad'' is a newspaper published daily in Sandefjord, Norway, except on Sundays. It is available in Norwegian language only. Sandefjords Blad is a private company, owned by Mecom with a circulation of 14,780 copies (2004) and 50 empl ...

'', and lived in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

. He died in August 2002.

References

1922 births 2002 deaths People from Mandal, Norway Columbia University alumni Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian civil servants Norwegian expatriates in Brazil Norwegian expatriates in Egypt Ambassadors of Norway to Portugal Ambassadors of Norway to Ivory Coast Ambassadors of Norway to Hungary 20th-century Norwegian journalists {{Norway-diplomat-stub