Ole Martin Siem (6 January 1915 – 3 November 1996) was a Norwegian businessman and

World War II resistance During World War II, resistance movements operated in German-occupied Europe by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation to propaganda, hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. In many countries, r ...

member. He was born in

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

as a son of naval commander Ole Siem (1882–1979) and Marie Augusta Ursin Holm (1888–1961). The family moved to

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

, where Siem finished secondary education in 1933. He took his education in shipping engineering at the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology ( Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was ...

, graduating in 1938. He also worked one year at Trondhjems Mekaniske Verksted. In February 1939 he married Inger Aagaard (1916-2012); they are the parents of industrialist

Kristian Siem Kristian Siem (born February 7, 1949) is a Norwegian businessman. He is chairman of Subsea 7 and Siem Industries, a formerly-listed company with ownership interests in the oil and gas industry and shipping. Life and career He worked for Fred Olse ...

. His sister married diplomat Thore Boye, a son of Thorvald Boye, in 1945. When

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 ...

reached Norway with the

Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

, Siem fought for his country in the Battle of Hegra Fortress. After the conventional Norwegian armed forces capitulated, Siem returned to his job at

Akers Mekaniske Verksted Akers mekaniske Verksted (often abbreviated ''Akers mek. Verksted'' or ''Akers Mek.'') was a workshop, later a shipyard which was established in Fossveien by the Aker River in Oslo in 1841. In 1854 the company moved to Holmen on the west side of ...

. While working there he became an informant for the secret intelligence organization RMO, which was established in 1942. His information on the

Port of Oslo Oslo Port Authority () is a kommunalt foretak (municipal enterprise), and accountable to the Municipality of Oslo. For many years, Oslo Havn KF was known as ''Oslo havnevesen (OHV)'' but was renamed on June 8, 2004, to its current name. As of 2 ...

became especially important for Norwegian ship saboteurs, such as

Max Manus Maximo Guillermo Manus DSO, MC & Bar (9 December 1914 – 20 September 1996) was a Norwegian resistance fighter during World War II, specialising in sabotage in occupied Norway. After the war he wrote several books about his adventures and ...

, Gregers Gram and Roy Nielsen. When the leader of RMO, A.K. Rygg, had to flee the country in the autumn 1943, Siem took over the leadership together with Sigurd Sverdrup. Among the results of Siem's information was the sabotage towards SS ''Donau''. After the war Siem continued at Akers Mekaniske Verksted, except for a period between 1946 and 1950. In this period he worked for Westfal-Larsen & Co. In 1965 he was promoted to director-general of Akers Mekaniske Verksted. He resigned due to a controversial case involving

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, when a group of gunboats produced in

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

for the Israeli navy circumvented

de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

's export boycott and sailed to Israel. He then became executive in Fred. Olsen AS from 1970–72, CEO of

Saga Petroleum Saga Petroleum ASA was a Norwegian upstream petroleum company established in 1972 that was acquired by Norsk Hydro in 1999. In October 2007 it was made part of Statoil. The company was the only fully private oil company in Norway. It had part ...

from 1972 and 1973 and board chairman of

Timex Corporation Timex Group USA, Inc. (formerly known as Timex Corporation) is an American global watch manufacturing company founded in 1854 as the Waterbury Clock Company in Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1944, the company became insolvent but was reformed into ...

from 1973 to 1978. Siem was decorated as a Commander of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 1969. He died in November 1996 in Oslo. Siem helped Israel retrieve missile boats purchased and then embargoed by French president Charles de Gaulle in a Christmas Eve raid at

Cherbourg Harbour Cherbourg Harbour (French: ''rade de Cherbourg''; literally, the "roadstead of Cherbourg") is a harbour situated at the northern end of the Cotentin Peninsula, on the English Channel coastline, in Normandy, northwestern France. With a surface ...

in 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siem, Martin 1915 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Norwegian businesspeople 20th-century Norwegian engineers Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian resistance members People from Tromsø People from Horten