Axel Heiberg Stang (21 February 1904 – 11 November 1974) was a Norwegian landowner and forester who served as a councillor of state, and later a minister, in the Nasjonal Samling government of Vidkun Quisling.

Early life and career

He was born in Kristiania into two of Norway's most wealthy and politically-influential families, with large estates. His father

Ole A. Stang Ole Andreas Stang (24 February 1872 – 14 July 1955) was a Norway, Norwegian businessperson and landowner. Personal life He was born in Sarpsborg as a son of landowner Mads Wiel Stang (1838–1909) og Anna Cathrine Diderikke Christine Breder (1848 ...

was a businessman and landowner, while his mother Emma Heiberg was a trusted confidante and mistress of Queen Maud. His brother was

Thomas Stang Thomas Stang (27 November 1897 – 5 January 1982) was a Norwegian forester and businessperson. He is known as founder of the company Maarud, and also as husband of actress Wenche Foss. Personal life He was born in Kristiania as a son of landowne ...

, and thus Axel was brother-in-law to actress Wenche Foss and uncle to the former mayor of Oslo

Fabian Stang Richard Fabian Stang (born 19 August 1955) is a Norwegian lawyer and a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.

Political life

Stang first joined the Nasjonal Samling (NS) in 1933 and served as district leader in

Glåmdal Glåmdalen or Glommadal is a valley in Innlandet county (formerly Hedmark County) in Eastern Norway. The valley was formed by the river Glomma (also called Glåma), one of the major rivers for the region. The name "Glåmdalen" is also a newer de ...

, although he was largely a minor figure before World War II. Philip Rees, '' Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'', 1990, p. 372 After the invasion of Norway in April 1940 he was put in joint charge of the NS political staff with

Ragnar Skancke Ragnar Sigvald Skancke (9 November 1890 – 28 August 1948) was the Norwegian Minister for Church and Educational Affairs in Vidkun Quisling's Nasjonal Samling government during World War II. Shot for treason in the legal purges following the war ...

. The Germans thought it wise to include him due to his family's close ties to the royal court and recommended that he be a part of the new government despite his lack of experience and commitment. In September he was appointed to Vidkun Quisling's

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to t ...

government as Minister of Labour and Sports, a heavily ideological department. In this role he passed a law making service in the ''Arbeidstjenesten'' (modeled after the German Reichsarbeitsdienst) compulsory in 1941. He also made service of all children in the "NSUF" (modeled after the Hitlerjugend) compulsory; this proved a disaster as it infuriated the population and was later scrapped altogether. His attempts to force all sports clubs to join the Nasjonal Samling Sports Organisation similarly proved a failure, leading to an almost total boycott of organised sport for the duration of the occupation. Whilst continuing as a minister, he enrolled in the

SS Division Nordland The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland (german: 11. SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Division "Nordland") was a Waffen-SS division recruited from foreign volunteers and conscripts. It saw action, as part of Army Group North, i ...

, and won the Iron Cross Second Class after seeing action in the Balkans. He also served 8 weeks at the Eastern Front in Finland during the summer of 1941. He was generally considered to be moderate and amicable among contemporaries, but unable to resist either his German advisors or the Norwegian hardliners in the government.

Later life

After the war, in 1946, he was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in collaboration, which was subsequently commuted to 20 years of hard labour. At his appeal to the Supreme Court of Norway, a minority of 3 judges voted for a death sentence, among them his own cousin, Emil Stang. He received a full pardon in 1956 and retired to his estate at

Rømskog Rømskog was a municipality in former Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Rømskog. The former municipality of Rømskog was separated from Rødenes on 1 January 1902. Rømskog was well known ...

, where he remained until his death.Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right'', p. 373

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stang, Axel Heiberg 1904 births 1974 deaths Politicians from Oslo Government ministers of Norway Members of Nasjonal Samling Norwegian Waffen-SS personnel People convicted of treason for Nazi Germany against Norway Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Norway Norwegian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Recipients of Norwegian royal pardons Axel Heiberg Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class