Rolf Otto Andvord (31 October 1890 – 8 March 1976) was a Norwegian jurist and diplomat.

Biography

He was born in

Sør-Aurdal Sør-Aurdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ba ...

as a son of Kristian Andvord (1855–1934), a chief physician, and Ebba Blomstedt (1860–1953). He was a nephew of ship-owner Rolf Andvord. He was married to the banker's daughter Ingrid Anna Kristina Sten from 1930 to 1936. His daughter Ingegjerd married the business magnate

Harald Løvenskiold Harald Løvenskiold (9 February 1926 – 28 January 1994) was a Norwegian landowner and businessperson. Personal life He was born in Aker, Norway, Aker as a son of landowner Carl Otto Løvenskiold (1898–1969), Carl Otto Løvenskiold, member of L ...

. His second daughter Anita married Ulf Ander. Upon finishing his secondary education in 1909, he enrolled in law studies in 1910 and graduated with a

cand.jur. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree in 1915. He thereupon 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 1921 he became

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

at the Norwegian legation in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, and soon after secretary at the Norwegian legation in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and he was also assisting secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked at the Norwegian legation in

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 ...

. From 1935 he served as ambassador to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, with additional accreditation to

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. He also served as a consul-general in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. Before the war he also took part in several

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

meetings. In 1941 he was sent to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, with a side mission in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. In 1942 he was given the rank of ambassador to the Soviet Union. From 1946 to 1948 he was the permanent under-secretary of state () in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 1948 to 1958 he was the Norwegian ambassador to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and from 1958 to 1961 in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He was decorated with the Grand Cross 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 1946. He also received the Grand Crosses of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

, the French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, the Spanish

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

, the Peruvian Order of the Sun, the Order of Homayoun and the Order of Merit of Chile. He was a Commander of the

Portuguese Order of Christ The Military Order of Christ is a Portuguese honorific order. It is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910, it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Order of the Kni ...

, the

Order of St Alexander The Order of St Alexander () was the second highest Bulgarian order during the Kingdom of Bulgaria. It was established by Knyaz Alexander I and named after his patron saint (Alexander Nevsky). History The order was established with a decree on ...

and the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

, and a Grand Knight of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

. He also received the Haakon VII Anniversary Medal in 1955 as well as the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...

and the King Christian X's Liberty Medal. In 1964 he published his memoirs. He died in March 1976 in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

War Effort

During his stay in Moscow, in service as Ambassador, he became a spy for the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

, and conveyed information about the western allie's operations. As a spy, according to author

Alf R. Jacobsen Alf Reidar Jacobsen (born 21 February 1950) is a Norwegian journalist, non-fiction writer, novelist, crime fiction writer and biographer. Jacobsen was born in Hammerfest. He has worked as a journalist for the newspapers ''Finnmark Dagblad'', '' ...

, he would have contributed little additional beyond what KGB knew from other sources. The same writer points argued that Andvord praised Soviet society, and did, not even in retrospect, reflect on the extent of suffering and terror endured by the Russian and Ukrainian peoples under

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

and his regime, which he served in secrecy. He mentioned in his memoirs how the authorities managed to convey to him a large shipment of Bordeaux wine, via Argentina and Siberia, in a heated wagon so as not to damage it. His most valuable contribution to Soviet intelligence would have been in the post-war years, when he served as under-secretary in the ministry of foreign affairs.

References