Arnt Jacobsen Mørland (23 June 1888 – 28 September 1957) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

ship-owner, resistance member, and politician for the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

Personal life

He was born in Arendal as a son of merchant Jens Mørland (1853–1936) and Sophie Jacobsen (1855–1945). Together with Constance Thomsen he had the son Arnt J. C. Mørland. A daughter, Berit Mørland, married dean Reidar Kobro.

Career

Mørland finished middle school in 1903. From 1903 to 1916 he worked in the ship-owner company Chr. Th. Boe and the shipbroker company Lund & Co. He started his own ship-owner company in 1916, named Agdesidens Rederi. He later started more companies; Mørland Rederi in 1927 and Mørland Tankrederi in 1930. 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 ...

he was arrested on 24 February 1944, and was incarcerated in Arkivet until 4 July, then in

Grini concentration camp '', '' no, Grini fangeleir'', location=Bærum, Viken, Norway, location map=Viken#Norway, built by=Norway, original use=Constructed as a women's prison, operated by=Nazi Germany, notable inmates= List of Grini prisoners, liberated by=Harry Söderm ...

to 4 February 1945. He then spent the rest of the war years in Berg concentration camp. Among his ships, MT ''Vardaas'' was hit by a torpedo from the German submarine ''U-564'' on 30 August 1942, while carrying dead freight from Cape Town to Trinidad, but all 41 crew members were saved. His ship MS ''Ravnaas'' was sunk by Japanese aircraft 250 nmi east of the

Samar Island Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

in the morning of 8 December 1941, about the same time as the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

. All 28 crew members reached the island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

after three days in lifeboats. Most of them were later imprisoned in Japanese camps. Mørland chaired the regional ship-owners' association ''Aust-Agder rederforening'' from 1922 to 1940 and 1946 to 1949, and was a board member of the

Norwegian Shipowners' Association The Norwegian Shipowners Association () is an employers' organization and interest group for Norwegian shipping and offshore companies. The organization's primary fields are national and international industry policies, employer issues, competenc ...

from 1928 to 1957. He was a board member of Arendal Elektrisitetsverk from 1937 to 1942 and 1945 to 1951, of several local insurance trusts, and a supervisory council member of

Agder Bank Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

. He was a

vice consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

for Sweden from 1946 to 1953, and was decorated as a Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

in 1953. In 1957 he became a Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav. He was an adherent of the

Oxford Group The Oxford Group was a Christian organization (first known as ''First Century Christian Fellowship'') founded by the American Lutheran minister Frank Buchman in 1921. Buchman believed that fear and selfishness were the root of all problems. Fur ...

, and was very active in the religious life of Arendal, both in the church, the inner mission and Sunday schools. He was the vice chairman of the Diocesan Council of Agder from 1934 to 1950. He was a member of the executive committee of Arendal city council from 1919 to 1925, 1931 to 1937 and 1945 to 1947. In

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

he was elected to the Parliament of Norway from

Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. I ...

. He died before the end of his term and was replaced by

Thor Martin Nilsen Sauvik Thor Martin Nilsen Sauvik (15 May 1889 – 21 July 1965) was a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party. He was born in Søndeled. In 1916 he founded the boat manufacturing company ''Nilsen og Brødrene Moens båtbyggeri'', and ran ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moerland, Arnt J 1888 births 1957 deaths Politicians from Arendal Norwegian businesspeople in shipping Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Aust-Agder politicians Members of the Storting Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Berg concentration camp survivors Knights of the Order of Vasa 20th-century Norwegian politicians