Alf Larsen Whist (6 August 1880 – 16 July 1962) was a Norwegian businessperson and politician for

Nasjonal Samling Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling and a group of supporters such a ...

Pre-war life and career

He was born in Fredrikshald as a son of Svend Larsen (1833–1893) and Sofie Mathilde Laumann (1842–1897). He finished middle school in 1896, and after a period at sea he started working with insurance in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

. He was married to editor's daughter Augusta Kathinka Hals from 1904. He started his own insurance company Norske Lloyd in 1905, and also founded insurance companies like Norske Alliance, Norske Forenende Livsforsikringsselskap,

Globus Globus is Latin for ''sphere'' or ''globe''. It may also refer to: Business * Globus Medical, a medical device company in Audubon, PA * Globus (clothing retailer), an Indian clothing retail store * Globus (company), a Swiss department store chai ...

and Andvake. Norske Lloyd went bankrupt in 1920–1921. He then moved from

Ullern Ullern is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The last element is ''vin'', meaning pasture or mea ...

to France. He was a board member of insurance companies in Finland, France, Algeria and the United States. He was decorated as an Officier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

, Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, Commander of the Order of Leopold and Knight of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

. However, in France he was sentenced for economic crimes in 1935 (the sentence was overturned in 1942 under Nazi control). Some time after the sentence he returned to Norway, now running the company ''Alf L. Whist & Co''. This company made a profit which he invested in real estate. One of his sons was given control over the company Heggedal Bruk, which constructed readymade cabins.

World War II

Following 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 the ...

which started on 9 April 1940, Whist made himself a new career as a

profiteer Profiteering may refer to: * Profiteering (business) (during peacetime) * War profiteering {{disambig ...

. Despite having no political experience, he now joined the only legal political party in the country, the Fascist party

(NS), in the summer of 1940, and was soon installed in the board of directors of

Vinmonopolet Vinmonopolet ( en, The Wine Monopoly), symbolized by Ⓥ and Colloquialism, colloquially shortened to Polet, is a government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer and the Alcohol monopoly, only company allowed to sell beverages containing an Alcohol b ...

(as chairman) and Norges Brannkasse. His companies also received substantial orders from

Organisation Todt Organisation Todt (OT; ) was a civil and military engineering organisation in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, named for its founder, Fritz Todt, an engineer and senior Nazi. The organisation was responsible for a huge range of engineering projec ...

. On 8 November 1941 he was proclaimed as the NS Ombudsman for Enterprise ( no, NS Ombudsmann for næringslivet). This was a new office, whose establishment had been suggested by Whist himself. Its purpose was in part to establish a network of NS sympathizers in the Norwegian business life and to recruit businesspeople to the party, but the mandate was vague. Whist used it as a vehicle to further his own interests, but also to strengthen national socialist economic ideas within business. He was behind the merger of several

employers' association An employers' organization or employers' association is a collective organization of manufacturers, retailers, or other employers of wage labor. Employers' organizations seek to coordinate the behavior of their member companies in matters of mutual ...

s to found Norges Næringssamband on 1 May 1943, where he also became president. Vice president was Whist's close supporter Carl Dietrich Hildisch. As chairman of the organization, Lars Hasvold was installed, a former secretary-general who had been in contact with Whist since the autumn of 1941. Norges Næringssamband was also used as a personal vehicle for political power, as well as an organization to outline technological visions for a future Fascist Norway. On 4 November 1943 Whist's power platform became even larger, as he was named in Quisling's Second Cabinet as a minister without portfolio, responsible for the coordination of provisions and industrial war efforts. In January 1944 he was allowed to accompany

Vidkun Quisling Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (, ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Nazi collaborator who nominally headed the government of Norway during the country's occupation by Nazi Germ ...

on his visit to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. He unsuccessfully tried to become Minister of Finance, but on 12 June 1944 he took over for

Eivind Blehr Eivind Stenersen Blehr (20 January 1881, in Lærdal – 27 July 1957) was a Norwegian minister in the NS government of Vidkun Quisling, from 1942 to 1944. In the Norwegian post-war legal purges he was convicted of treason and sentenced to 20 yea ...

as Minister of Industry and Shipping. Blehr was pressured out of government because he was too Norwegian-nationalist, whereas Whist was more German-friendly.

Post-war career

The German occupation ended on 8 May 1945, and Whist promptly lost his jobs. As a part of the

legal purge in Norway after World War II The purge in Norway after World War II was a purge that took place between May 1945 and August 1948 against anyone who was deemed to have collaborated with the German occupation of the country. Several thousand Norwegians and foreign citizens wer ...

, in 1946 he was sentenced to

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

for life as well as in repairs. A minority of two judges voted to impose the death penalty. He was pardoned in 1952, and died in 1962.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whist, Alf 1880 births 1962 deaths People from Halden Norwegian company founders Norwegian businesspeople in insurance Norwegian expatriates in France Norwegian white-collar criminals Members of Nasjonal Samling People convicted of treason for Nazi Germany against Norway Government ministers of Norway Officers of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Order of the British Empire Norwegian politicians convicted of crimes Norwegian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Norway 20th-century Norwegian criminals Norwegian male criminals Recipients of Norwegian royal pardons