Ivar Tor Aspengren (1 February 1917 – 23 June 2004) was a Norwegian laborer, trade unionist and politician for the Labour Party. He

led A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

the

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (, LO) is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national unions affiliated to the LO have almo ...

from 1969 to 1977. He was born in

Nydalen Nydalen is a neighbourhood in the Nordre Aker borough in northern Oslo, Norway. History In the late 19th century, the banks of the Akerselva River were dotted with various industrial buildings, Nydalen included. However, a transformation soo ...

, Aker as a son of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrant Gothard Aspengren (1876–1925), who worked at

Christiania Spigerverk Christiania Spigerverk is a steel company which was founded in Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while ...

, and cleaner Thora Aspengren (1881–1961). His father died from a working accident when Tor Aspengren was eight years old. Nonetheless, he started working there at age 14, and remained there from 1931 to 1948. He joined the local trade union Norwegian Union of Iron and Metal Workers already in 1931. He also practiced workers sports in Nydalen AIL. In 1947 he became board chairman of the

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

branch of the Union of Iron and Metal Workers. He was hired to work for the union in 1949. From 1949 to 1951 and 1959 to 1979 he was also a central board member of the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party (; , A or Ap; ), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party (, DNA), is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Norway, political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centre-left of the political spectru ...

. In October 1958 he succeeded Josef Larsson as chairman of the Union of Iron and Metal Workers, where he remained until 1966. From 1966 to 1969 he was the deputy leader of the

national trade union center Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on ...

, and from 1969 to 1977 he was their leader. He was board chairman of Norsk Arbeiderpresse from 1965 to 1981 and ''Statens Industrifond'' from 1977 to 1987, board member of

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around th ...

Aktietrykkeriet Aktietrykkeriet was a Norwegian printing and publishing company active from 1884 to 2014. Aktietrykkeriet was founded in 1884 by Christian Holtermann Knudsen under the name ''Arbeidernes Aktietrykkeri'' and eventually became part of the newspap ...

and

Norsk Jernverk Norsk Jernverk is a former Norwegian industrial company which was founded in 1946 in Mo i Rana, fully owned by the Norwegian government. The production started in 1955. In 1985, it acquired the steel company Christiania Spigerverk, which was later ...

and from 1978 to 1987 a member of the

Labour Court of Norway Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

. From 1988 to 1991 he was a representative in Oslo city council. He was married to Palma Myklebust (1913–1996), and he died in June 2004 in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspengren, Tor 1917 births 2004 deaths Trade unionists from Oslo Norwegian people of Swedish descent Labour Party (Norway) politicians Politicians from Oslo