Trond Hegna (2 October 1898 – 20 January 1992) was a Norwegian author,

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and editor. He served as a member of the

Norwegian Parliament 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 ...

from Rogaland from 1949 to 1965.

Biography

He was born in

Kristiania 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, an ...

(now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Hans Hegna (1863–1945) and Birthe Buttingsrud (1876–1956). He attended

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian language, Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

. He studied economic and social economics 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 ...

where he became Cand.philol. in 1923. While a student, he became a member of the Norwegian Labour Party organization for students (''Den Socialdemokratiske Studenterforening''). It was here the paper and the organization ''

Mot Dag (, 'Towards Day') was a Norway, Norwegian political group. The group was active from the 1920s to the early 1930s and was first affiliated with the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party until 1925. After World War II, many of its former members were ...

'' was founded in 1921, and Hegna was involved from the beginning. He edited the paper between 1926 and 1928, remaining throughout its existence a central contributor, and was chairman for the

Norwegian Students' Society Norwegian Students' Society () is Norway's oldest student society. The Norwegian Students' Society was established during 1813 in Oslo, Norway. Two years after the Royal Frederick University (today named the University of Oslo) was founded, 18 of ...

in 1924 and 1926. Between 1924 and 1925 he was editor-in-chief in '' Rjukan Arbeiderblad''. When ''Mot Dag'' became a part of the Communist Party of Norway (NKP) in 1927, Hegna also became the editor for ''

Norges Kommunistblad was a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. History was started on 5 November 1923 as the official party newspaper from the Communist Party of Norway, Communist Party, which was established that year after a split from the Norwegian Lab ...

'' in a period. He left the party in 1929 along with most of the members of ''Mot Dag''. Between 1932 and 1936 he was also one of the editors of ''

Arbeidernes Leksikon (''The Laborers' Encyclopedia'') is a Norwegian language, Norwegian encyclopedia published in six volumes in the 1930s. It was the first reference book in Norwegian language, Norwegian to have a pronounced class bias, and the first encycloped ...

''. When ''Mot Dag'' was dissolved in 1936, Hegna again became a member of the Norwegian Labour Party. Between 1939 and 1940 he was the editor of ''

Vestfold Arbeiderblad ''Vestfold Arbeiderblad'', often referred to as simply as ''VA'' and for a long period just ''Vestfold'', was a daily newspaper published in Tønsberg, Norway. History and profile The paper was established in 1909 under the name ''Vestfold Arbeid ...

'', and in 1940 he became editor of '' 1ste Mai'' (now ''Rogalands Avis'') in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

. During the

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

, the newspaper was closed after publishing the headline "Ingen nordmann til salgs!" (No Norwegian for sale!). In September 1940, Hegna was arrested and imprisoned in

Grini concentration camp Grini prison camp (, ) was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here. History Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft ...

until 1943. After the liberation of Norway at the end of

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 ...

, he again became editor of ''1ste Mai'', a position he held until 1958. He was a member of

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

from 1945 to 1955, and was represented at the

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

between 1950 and 1965, for a period leader of the Standing Committee on Finances and Customs . He was in the national board of the Labour Party between 1949 and 1953 and deputy chairman of the party group at Stortinget from 1958. Hegna was one of many ''Mot Dag'' members that became influential in the Labour Party after the second world war, but in a contrast to many of these, Hegna was active in the left wing of the party, among other things against Norwegian membership in the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

in 1972, but he chose to remain with the party. Hegna also wrote several books, among these books about 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 ...

, about

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

, and also served as a translator of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

books. In 1983 he published the autobiography ''Min versjon''.

Personal life

In 1939, he married Ragna Høyland (1913-1973). Hegna is the grandfather of Norwegian comedian Anne-Kat Hærland.

Biography

Personal life

References

Other sources

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