Augustin Thoresen Paus (22 July 1881, in Christiania – 20 September 1945) was a Norwegian engineer and industrial leader in the

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...

industry. From 1918 he led the construction of the

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power plant at

Rånåsfoss Rånåsfoss is a village in Akershus, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scan ...

, one of the largest in Europe. Following the construction of the plant, he was the first

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Akershus Energi Akershus Energi is a Norwegian power company that produces hydroelectricity. Production Annual production is 2.3 TWh. There are five plants in Glomma, three in Haldensvassdraget, and two in Skiensvassdraget. History The company was founded in 19 ...

from 1922 until his death in 1945.Augustin Thoresen Paus
''

Hvem er Hvem? ''Hvem er hvem?'' ( en, Who is Who?) was a Norwegian book series, presenting facts about notable persons from Norway. The first edition was issued in 1912, and the 14th edition came in 1994. In the 2008 edition, edited by Knut Olav Åmås, one thou ...

'', 1930 He was "one of the most prominent leaders in the Norwegian energy industry" until his death.

Career

At age 15 he put to sea without parental permission and only returned two years later in 1898 to pass his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

university entrance exam in 1900. He graduated from the

Norwegian Military Academy The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway. History The Commander- ...

in 1901 and became a second lieutenant in the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

from 1901 and a first lieutenant from 1914. He graduated as an engineer from the

Dresden University of Technology TU Dresden (for german: Technische Universität Dresden, abbreviated as TUD and often wrongly translated as "Dresden University of Technology") is a public research university, the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, th ...

in 1906. After living 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 ...

1906–1907, he became an engineer at A/S Rjukanfos, working with

Sam Eyde Samuel Eyde (29 October 1866 – 21 June 1940) was a Norwegian engineer and industrialist. He was the founder of both Norsk Hydro and Elkem. Personal life Eyde was born in Arendal in Aust-Agder, Norway. He was a son of ship-owner Samuel Eyde (181 ...

. He was chief engineer in the hydropower project in the

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

watercourse from 1912, chief engineer at

Elkem Elkem is a company that produces silicones, silicon, alloys for the foundry industry, carbon and microsilica, and other materials. Elkem was founded in 1904, has more than 7,000 employees and fields 30 production sites worldwide. Elkem has an oper ...

from 1915 and chief engineer in the construction of Bjølvo power plant in

Hardanger Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord and its inner branches of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord. It consists of the municipalities of Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik and Kvam, and is l ...

from 1916. He became chief engineer and head of development for the construction of the Rånåsfoss power plant in 1918. At its peak, he was in charge in 1,200 employees at the construction site. He was the first

from 1922 until his death in 1945. He became one of the foremost leaders of the hydropower industry in Norway and has been described as the "

absolute ruler Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...

" of the industrial community at Rånåsfoss. Although a director's villa was built for him at Rånåsfoss, he eventually moved back to Oslo, and led the company from its Oslo office in Kongens gate 14. He was elected by the Parliament as a deputy member of the board of the directors of the

Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate ( no, Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat or NVE) is a Norwegian government agency established in 1921. It is under the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and regulates the country's water reso ...

from 1919. He was chairman of the board of directors of

Norsk Folkemuseum Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Museum of Cultural History), at Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway, is a museum of cultural history with extensive collections of artifacts from all social groups and all regions of the country. It also incorporates a large open- ...

, chairman of the board of directors of Glommens og Laagens Brukseierforening, chairman of the board of directors of Funnefoss Tresliperi og Elektrisitetsverk, chairman of the board of directors of A/S Brødbølfoss Elektrisitetsverk, a co-founder and chairman of the board of directors of Foreningen Samkjøringen (the predecessor of both

Nord Pool Spot Nord Pool AS is a pan-European power exchange. Nord Pool has a main office in Oslo and further offices in Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Berlin and London. The company is owned by the European exchange operator Euronext as well as TSO Holding, ...

, the largest power market in Europe, and of

NASDAQ OMX Commodities Europe NASDAQ OMX Commodities Europe is a trade name of NASDAQ OMX Oslo ASA, the single financial energy market for Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Before 1 November 2010, it was known by the name Nord Pool (not to be confused with the physical en ...

), and a board member of other power companies. He published a book on the construction of the Rånåsfoss plant in 1925."Paus, Augustin," ''Studentene fra 1900 : biografiske opplysninger samlet til 50-års-jubileet 1950'', Oslo, 1950, pp. 130–131 The road Pausvegen at Rånåsfoss is named in his honour (

is headquartered in Pausvegen 6).Fredrik Lindstrøm, "Vegnavn i Sørum", Blaker og Sørum historielag, no. 6, 1998

Personal life

Augustin Paus was a son of the theologian

Bernhard Pauss Bernhard Cathrinus Pauss (born 6 April 1839 at Tangen, Drammen, died 9 November 1907 in Christiania) was a Norwegian theologian, educator, author and humanitarian and missionary leader, who was a major figure in girls' education in Norway in his ...

and Anna Henriette Wegner, and was a grandson of the industrialist

Benjamin Wegner Jacob Benjamin Wegner (21 February 1795 – 9 June 1864) was a Norwegian business magnate, estate owner and timber merchant. Born in Königsberg, East Prussia, he moved to London in 1819 and to Berlin in 1820, where he established an independ ...

and Henriette Seyler (whose family owned

Berenberg Bank Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, commonly known as Berenberg Bank and also branded as simply Berenberg, is a multinational full-service investment bank based in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded by the Flemish Berenberg family in 1590 () and ...

). He was married to Helga Jacobsen, daughter of ship-owner from

Flekkefjord is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Flekkefjord. The villages of Sira, Gyland, Rasvåg, Kirkehavn, and Åna-Sira are lo ...

and Member of Parliament

Hans Sivert Jacobsen Hans Syvert Jacobsen (3 August 1836 – 28 June 1901) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party of Norway, Liberal Party. He was elected to the Parliament of Norway in 1898, representing the constituency of Flekkefjord. He worked as a merch ...

. He had four sons, among them the industrial leader Bernhard Paus, long-time CEO of

Nora Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian Places Australia * Norah Head, New South Wales, headland ...

Publications

*Aug stinPaus, ''Akershus elektricitetsverk og utbygningen av Raanaasfoss kraftverk'', Oslo, Grøndahl, 1925, 170 pages

Literature

*Bjørnsen, Bjørn, ''En fortelling om fossen og samfunnet'', , 1997 *Hoel, Kari, ''Rånåsfoss kraftverk'', Rånåsfoss, 1989

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paus, Augustin 20th-century Norwegian businesspeople Norwegian Army personnel Norsk Hydro people Norwegian expatriates in Germany Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Businesspeople from Oslo Augustin Burials at Vestre gravlund 1881 births 1945 deaths TU Dresden alumni Norwegian Military Academy alumni Norwegian sailors 20th-century Norwegian engineers