Ola Christian Christofersen (23 September 1866 – 24 September 1922) was a Norwegian newspaper editor. He was born in

Sørum Sørum was a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Sørumsand. Sørum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see ...

as a son of leather trader Martin Christofersen (1843–1925) and Caroline Mathea Johnsen (1833–1890). In 1897 he married wholesaler's daughter Olga Jensine Brodtkorb (1878–1920). His sister married roads director Andreas Baalsrud, making Christofersen as uncle of Terje Baalsrud and

Jan Baalsrud Jan Sigurd Baalsrud, MBE (13 December 1917 – 30 December 1988) was a commando in the Norwegian resistance trained by the British during World War II. Biography Early life Jan Baalsrud was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway and moved ...

. Christofersen finished his secondary education in 1886 and took the

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

's admission test in 1887. He then enrolled in 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- ...

, reaching the ranks of Premier Lieutenant in 1892 and Captain 1901. While studying at the Military Academy and later law (without graduating), he edited the Norwegian edition of '' Illustreret Konversationsleksikon'' and worked in ''Retsbladet''. He was hired as a journalist in ''

Ørebladet ''Ørebladet'' is a former Norwegian language, Norwegian newspaper, issued from 1891 to 1924. ''Ørebladet'' became defunct in 1924, when it was incorporated in the newspaper ''Tidens Tegn''. Among the journalists working for ''Ørebladet'' were ...

'' in 1891, and became chief editor in 1892. He also became the private secretary of

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...

in the same year, and as such Nansen's secretary during the 1893–1896 ''Fram'' expedition. From 1894 to 1897 he also worked 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 ...

''. He then became a journalist in ''

Aftenposten (; ; stylized as in the masthead) is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation as well as Norway's newspaper of record. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 daily copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen ...

'', being promoted to subeditor in 1899 and financial director in 1906. He was a close aide to chief editor Amandus Schibsted, and upon Schibsted's death in 1913 he was succeeded by Christofersen and Thorstein Diesen. Christofersen almost never wrote in the paper, but handled practical affairs. He was more of a pecuniary strategist than the politically inclined Diesen, leading to professional and personal disagreements during the First World War. Christofersen withdrew in 1919. Christofersen was a co-founder of Kristiania Journalist Club, which he chaired from 1895 to 1899 and 1904 to 1906. For his own partisan press he served as vice chairman of the

Conservative Press Association The Conservative Press Association (; shortened DKPF) was a Norwegian media institution whose stated objective was the furtherance of conservative daily newspapers. Amongst its members were editors, journalists, publishers and businesspeople who w ...

from 1903 to 1909. He was later a board member of the nationwide

Norwegian Press Association The Norwegian Press Association (; NP) is a Norwegian association for organizations and companies of the news media. History The Norwegian Press Association was established in 1910 for people with journalism as their main profession. its member ...

. He died in September 1922 in Kristiania.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christofersen, Ola 1866 births 1922 deaths People from Sørum Norwegian Military Academy alumni Fridtjof Nansen Norwegian newspaper editors Aftenposten editors