Tim Greve (20 February 1926 – 27 April 1986) was a Norwegian historian, biographer, civil servant, diplomat and newspaper editor.

Personal life

Greve was born in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

on 20 February 1926, as the son of consul Arent Wittendorph Greve (1892–1950) and Anna Gade (1900–1977). His brother Egil Gade Greve was a notable businessman, and Tim Greve was also a distant descendant of Arent Jansen Greve. In 1954 he married jurist Marit Nansen, daughter of architect

Odd Nansen Odd Nansen (6 December 1901 – 27 June 1973) was a Norway, Norwegian architect, writer, and humanitarian. He is credited with being a co-founder of UNICEF and for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of Jews in the early years of World War II. Bi ...

and granddaughter of Eva and

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 ...

. They resided at Fornebu in Bærum, incidentally in the road ''Fridtjof Nansens vei''.

Career

Greve attended the Nansen Academy, and then studied history at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

, graduating in 1952. He was attached to the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

from 1951 to 1974. He served as Norwegian delegate to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and to the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

(OECD), and was later secretary for the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Halvard Lange Halvard Manthey Lange (16 September 1902 – 19 May 1970) was a Norwegian politician and diplomat, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1946-1963 and again from 1963-1965. He was also the longest serving Foreign Minister to date, h ...

. Holding office from 1956 to 1960, he was the first political secretary (today known as political advisor) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was two years at the Norwegian embassy in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, and later served as Secretary for the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

. He then returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as assistant secretary from 1966 to 1967 and deputy under-secretary of state from 1967 to 1974. He served as Director for the

Norwegian Nobel Institute The Norwegian Nobel Institute () is located in Oslo, Norway. The institute is located at Henrik Ibsen Street 51 in the center of the city. It is situated just by the side of the Royal Palace. History The institute was established in 1904 in Kr ...

from 1974 to 1977 and Secretary for the Norwegian Nobel Committee. He was chief editor for the newspaper ''

Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...

'' from 1978 to 1986. In 1978, two long-serving co-editors Oskar Hasselknippe and Vegard Sletten resigned, but Greve had Andreas Norland as a co-editor. During Greve's period as editor-in-chief ''Verdens Gang'' became the largest newspaper in Norway, surpassing ''

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 ...

'' in 1981. Reportedly, Greve was not genuinely content with this development. He viewed sensationalist journalism, which reached the front page of ''Verdens Gang'' now and then, with dismay. From 1982 he chaired the Broadcasting Council. He was succeeded by Helge Seip on 1 January 1986. Greve wrote several books. His biography of his wife's grandfather, polar explorer and

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

laureate

, was published in two volumes in 1973 and 1974. He wrote two volumes on

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 ...

in Bergen, ''Bergen i krig I-II'' (1978–1979), and a book on espionage in Norway prior to the war, ''Spionjakt i Norge'' (1982). From 1982 to his death he was the deputy board chairman of the

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade a ...

. Greve was decorated Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1968 as well as Commander, First Class of the Danish

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 ...

. He also received the '' Bundesverdienstkreuz'' from

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. He died in April 1986 in Oslo, from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

Select bibliography

* ''Det Norske Storting gjennom 150 år III''. (1964) * ''Riksrevisjonen 1816–1966''. (1966) * ''Fridtjof Nansen I-II''. (1973–1974) * ''Bergen i krig I-II''. (Bergen, 1978–1979) * ''Spionjakt i Norge''. (1982) * ''Verdenskrig''. (''Norge i krig, volume 3''. Oslo, 1985)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greve, Tim 1926 births 1986 deaths Writers from Bergen University of Oslo alumni Historians of World War II Diplomats from Bergen Norwegian expatriates in France Norwegian expatriates in Germany Norwegian newspaper editors Verdens Gang people Norwegian male writers Norwegian male biographers Deaths from cancer in Norway Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Commanders First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog 20th-century Norwegian biographers