Øivind Sven Lorentzen (14 October 1882 – 9 May 1980) was a Norwegian shipping magnate.

Pre-war life and career

He was born in

Holmestrand is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Holmestrand. The town was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). ...

as a son of ship-owner Hans Ludvig Lorentzen (1839–1904) and Thala Margrethe Bredrup (1847–1941). His family lived in Argentina and Brazil between 1890 and 1895. Lorentzen

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

his secondary education in 1901, and studied shipbuilding at

Berlin Institute of Technology The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

from 1901 to 1906. In April 1908 he married Ragna Nilsen (1885–1976), a daughter of

Peder Nilsen Peder Nilsen (22 February 1846 – 25 July 1921) was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. Nilsen was born at Tønsberg in Vestfold, Norway. He was trained as an engineer. Nilsen graduated from the Norwegian Military College in ...

. In 1923 they had 5 sons and one daughter: Hans Ludvig Ph.D.; Per Arne; Ingjerd Ragna; Oivind Harald; Erik Finn; and

Erling Lorentzen Erling Sven Lorentzen (28 January 1923 – 9 March 2021) was a Norwegian-Brazilian shipowner and industrialist. He founded Aracruz Celulose in 1968. He was the widower of Princess Ragnhild, the eldest child of King Olav V of Norway. In additio ...

, who went on to marry

Princess Ragnhild of Norway Princess Ragnhild, Mrs Lorentzen (Ragnhild Alexandra; 9 June 1930 – 16 September 2012), was the eldest child of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. She was the older sister of King Harald V and Princess Astrid. She was the fi ...

, and had the children Haakon, Ingeborg and Ragnhild Lorentzen. He became a partner in his father's company Lorentzen & Co in 1908. In 1914 Lorentzen was behind the acquiring of Norway's first

motor ship A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by t ...

, MS ''Brazil''. The vessel was bought by Fred. Olsen & Co. already at the end of the year, but Lorentzen became manager for the ship's South America service, organized through Den Norske Syd-Amerika Linje. In 1920 Lorentzen advanced to CEO of Den Norske Syd-Amerika Linje, a position he left in 1938 to further his own shipping business. Partly, the conflict was grounded in Lorentzen's engagements outside of Den Norske Syd-Amerika Linje. When being hired in Den Norske Syd-Amerika Linje, he had left his family company, but continued working with the company Sobral (founded 1915). When Sobral bought four vessels in 1936, Lorentzen offered to participate with these vessels in the ventures of Den Norske Syd-Amerika Linje, but it was rejected. He instead founded the Northern Pan-American Line (Nopal Line) with his son as CEO. This company trafficked Northern Brazil and the US.

War and post-war life

In 1939 he was hired as Director of Shipping, leading ones of the directorates under the

Norwegian Ministry of Provisioning The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Industrial Provisioning ( no, Provianteringsdepartementet) was a Norwegian ministry that existed from 1917 to 1922. It was established on 26 August 1916, during the first World War. It ceased to exist on 31 October 1 ...

. In 1940, Norway was entangled in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and the state reorganized the country's shipping into

Nortraship The Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission (Nortraship) was established in London in April 1940 to administer the Norwegian merchant fleet outside German-controlled areas. Nortraship operated some 1,000 vessels and was the largest shipping company ...

. Lorentzen became director of Nortraship, but stayed in the United States, whereas

Ingolf Hysing Olsen Ingolf Hysing Olsen (3 April 1883 – 12 August 1961) was a Norwegian shipowner. He was born in Bergen. He chaired the Nortraship London office from 1940 to 1948. He was decorated Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The M ...

was the director in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where most of the Norwegian administration-in-exile sat. The war years saw disagreements, especially between Lorentzen and

Arne Sunde Arne Toralf Sunde (6 December 1883 – 30 July 1972) was a Norwegian politician, Olympic shooter and army officer. He is best known for his participation in the 1940 Norwegian Campaign, his participation in Nygaardsvold's Cabinet during its 19 ...

and

Hilmar Reksten Hilmar August Reksten (29 October 1897 – 1 July 1980) was a Norwegian shipping magnate. In the autumn of 1973 he was counted among the world's richest men, possessing a fleet worth about £300,000,000. At his death in 1980, all was lost; he ...

. The actions of Øivind Lorentzen and his son Per were scrutinized by a government committee between 1943 and 1945, and was exonerated. Hysing Olsen took over as director after the war. Lorentzen instead continued his career in South American shipping. He officially retired in 1959. His eponymous company existed until 1987. Lorentzen was also a co-founder and first chairman (1947–1957) of the humanitarian organization . He was also involved in a lengthy court case. In 1950 his company Sobral sued the former CEO and board of the shipyard Moss Værft & Dokk. Sobral claimed that Moss Værft & Dokk neglected their contract agreement regarding the construction of two vessels during the war. First, claimed Sobral, Moss Værft & Dokk had instead used their capacity on arming whaling vessels. The two vessels had been delayed, and when they were completed, they had been taken over by ''Kriegsmarine'' as

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s. The court case lasted several years, reaching the

court of appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

in 1954. He was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in 1938. He was promoted to Commander with Star after the war. He died in May 1980Obituary and death announcement in ''Aftenposten'' 10 May 1980 No. 213, p. 19; death announcement in ''Aftenposten'' 14 May 1980 No. 219 p. 27 and 19 May 1980 No. 223 p. 11. in Norway, 97 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorentzen, Oeivind 1882 births 1980 deaths Oeivind People from Holmestrand Norwegian expatriates in Argentina Norwegian expatriates in Brazil Norwegian expatriates in Germany Technical University of Berlin alumni Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian businesspeople in shipping Directors of government agencies of Norway Nortraship people