Arne Skaug (6 November 1906 – 4 March 1974) was a Norwegian economist, civil servant, diplomat and politician for the Labour Party. He is known as director of

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

from 1946 to 1948, Norwegian Minister of Trade and Shipping from 1955 to 1962 and later ambassador.

Early life and career

He was born in

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand an ...

as a son of Johan Anton Skaug (1881–1956) and Jenny Lovise Olsen (1882–1917). He graduated with the

cand.oecon. Candidatus oeconomices (male) or Candidata oeconomices (female), often abbreviated cand.oecon. is an academic degree in economics at Education in Denmark, Danish, Háskóli Íslands, Icelandic and Higher education in Norway, Norwegian universities ...

degree in 1930, and was hired as a secretary in

in the same year. He continued to work there, except for study leaves from 1935 to 1936 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 ...

. In 1935 and 1936 he released two books: ''Tidens sosialøkonomi'' and ''Dør vi ut? Befolkningsspørsmålet og arbeiderbevegelsen'', both written together with

Aase Lionæs Aase Wind Lionæs (10 April 1907 – 2 January 1999) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party, and a socialist feminist. She was born in Oslo. She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 1958, and was re-elected on fou ...

. In 1939 he was hired in the

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 ...

, and was a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

in economics. He then spent the war years in the United States; first with studies from 1939 to 1941 and as assisting professor at the

University of Wisconsin, Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

from 1941. From 1942 to 1946 he worked for Norwegian government in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Post-war career

In 1946 he returned to Norway to become the director of Statistics Norway. In May 1948 he left to become State Secretary in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, becoming the first in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to hold the State Secretary position, which had been introduced in 1947. He left this position in February 1949 to become the Norwegian ambassador to the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. From January 1955 to January 1962 he served as the

Minister of Trade and Shipping The Minister of Trade and Shipping ( no, Handels- og sjøfartsministeren) was a councilor of state and chief of the Norway's Ministry of Trade and Shipping. The position was created on 6 December 1947 when the position of Minister of Trade and I ...

Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet was the cabinet of Norway from 22 January 1955 to 28 August 1963. The government was led by Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen, marking his third term in said role. The cabinet was defeated in a motion of no-confidence in 1 ...

. He was also the acting

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from August to October 1957 and December 1960 to February 1961, when

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, ha ...

had absences of leave. He was then the ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

from 1962 to 1968, and to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

from 1968 to 1974. He died in March 1974. Skaug was heavily decorated. He was a Commander of the Greek Order of the Phoenix, and held the Grand Cross of the British

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

, the Swedish

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

, the Portuguese Order of Christ, the Siamese

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือก; ) is an order (decoration), orde ...

, the Persian

Order of the Lion and the Sun The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persian language, Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar, Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extend ...

, the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

, the Belgian Order of the Crown, the Icelandic

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...

Icelandic Presidency Website (''Icelandic''), Order of the Falcon
Arne Skaug
, 18 May 1955, Grand Cross , the Finnish Order of the Lion and 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 ci ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skaug, Arne 1906 births 1974 deaths People from Horten Norwegian civil servants University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Directors of government agencies of Norway Labour Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian state secretaries Ministers of Trade and Shipping of Norway Ambassadors of Norway to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Norway to Ireland Ambassadors of Norway to Denmark Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian expatriates in France Norwegian expatriates in Denmark Commanders of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland 20th-century Norwegian economists