Christian Stray (14 January 1894 – 31 July 1981) 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 ...

lawyer and politician for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He was born in Christianssand as a son of timber merchant and shipowner Thorkild Marthinius Stray (1852–1912) and his wife Marie Nodeland (1859–1947). He

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

his secondary education at Christianssand Cathedral School in 1912, and graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1919. From 1918 to 1919 he chaired the student's society ''Juristforeningen''. In between he had served in the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

, and held the rank of premier lieutenant from 1918. From 1919 to 1920 he was a subeditor of newspaper '' Norske Intelligenz-Seddeler'', and from 1920 to 1923 he was a secretary in the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

and auxiliary judge in

Sunnfjord District Court Sunnfjord District Court ( no, Sunnfjord tingrett) was a district court in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Førde. The court existed from 1591 until 2005. The court had jurisdiction over the municipalities loca ...

. In 1923 he settled in Arendal as an attorney; from 1927 a barrister with access to work with Supreme Court cases. In March 1921 in

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway and together, the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lies ...

he married Sigrid Kluge. In 1924 they had the daughter Signe Marie; she married later Chief Justice

Rolv Ryssdal Rolv Einar Rasmussen Ryssdal (27 October 1914 – 18 February 1998) was a Norwegian judge. From 1969 to 1984 he was the 16th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was Vice President of the European Court of Human Rights from 1981 to 1985 and Pre ...

in 1954. Stray became involved in politics while studying. He was deputy mayor of Tromøy from 1928 to 1931, and mayor from 1931 to 1934. He was then a regular member of the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

from 1934 to 1945. He was elected to the Parliament of Norway from Aust-Agder in 1933 and

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, serving two terms. He was a member of the Standing Committee on Justice. In 1939 he became a national board member of the Liberal Party. His position was suspended in 1940, as Parliament and all political parties save

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 ...

were prohibited, as a part of 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 ...

. Stray himself was arrested by the Nazis on 22 February 1944. After some time in Kristiansand prison, he was incarcerated at

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 ...

from 11 March to 7 September. He was released then, but the Nazis intended to arrest him again on 1 November the same year. However, because of Stray's health at the time, it was decided to keep him in house arrest. He was liberated at the war's end in May 1945. After the war he returned as mayor of Tromøy from 1956 to 1959. He was also chairman of the committee that prepared the Tromøy Bridge from 1938 to 1961, as well as of the board in the Arendal newspaper '' Agderposten''. He was the sole owner of the newspaper for many years, having started in 1936 when he, together with two associates, took over ''Agderposten'' by buying shares in the company with the same name. It was inherited by his daughter. He died in July 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stray, Christian 1894 births 1981 deaths Politicians from Kristiansand People from Arendal People educated at Kristiansand Cathedral School 20th-century Norwegian lawyers Mayors of places in Aust-Agder Members of the Storting Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Stray family