Edvard Heiberg (11 June 1911, in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

– 10 June 2000, in Oslo) 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 ...

director and engineer. Heiberg was the youngest son of barrister Axel Heiberg (1875–1952) and his wife Ragnhild Krohg (1879–1947). He had two brothers, Axel Heiberg Jr. (1908–1988) and

Bernt Heiberg Johan Bernt Krohg Heiberg (4 September 1909 – 29 September 2001) was a Norwegian architect. Early and personal life He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of barrister Axel Heiberg (1875–1952) and his wife Ragnhild Kroh ...

(1909–2001). In 1937, he married Karin Eldrid Heiberg (1915–92), with whom he had the sons Arvid Heiberg (1937–). and Henning Heiberg (8 September 1940). He started studying in 1929, and graduated in 1934 from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. In 1935, he was employed by the construction company F. Selmer A/S. In the same year, he became assisting engineer in the

Norwegian State Railways Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach s ...

. From 1937 to 1938, he managed the construction of the

Sørland Line Sørland is a Seaside resort, fishing village and the administrative centre of Værøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern side of the island of Værøya. The village is the main population center of the isl ...

, in particular the section from

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

to Moi Station. During the 1940s, he had various positions in the state railways. From 1949 to 1953, he headed the operation department of the state railways. In 1953, he was appointed

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 ...

Holmenkolbanen A/S Holmenkolbanen was a company that owned and operated part of the Oslo Tramway and Oslo Metro in Norway from 1898 until 1975 when services were taken over by the majority owner Oslo Sporveier. Holmenkolbanen opened the Holmenkoll Line in 1898, ...

, where he remained until 1967. He was also chairman of the

Norwegian Polytechnic Society The Polytechnic Society ( no, Polyteknisk Forening) is a Norwegian member network that inspires a science-based and sustainable development, through technology and interdisciplinary partnerships. It was founded in 1852 in Christiania (now: Oslo). Th ...

from 1958 to 1959, and chairman of the

Institute of Transport Economics The Institute of Transport Economics (Transportøkonomisk institutt –TØI) is a national, Norwegian institution for multidisciplinary transport research. Its mission is to develop and disseminate transportation knowledge of scientific quality an ...

between 1963 and 1970. After that, he returned to the Norwegian State Railways, where he was appointed

director-general A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

. During his leadership of the company, Heiberg became famous for the phrase "The railway is being strangled by impotent car users". Heiberg was the last director-general of the state railways who lived in the large director-general house of the company at

Filipstad Filipstad is a locality and the seat of Filipstad Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden, with 10,644 inhabitants in 2019. Filipstad was granted city privileges in 1611 by Charles IX of Sweden, who named it after his son Duke Carl Philip (1601&n ...

in Oslo. In 1978, he retired from his position in the state railways. He was the last director-general of the state company who had voluntary resigned from the position. In 1972, he was decorated as a Commander of 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 ...

. He was also decorated with the Danish Order of the Dannebrog and 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 t ...

. Heiberg died on 10 June 2000 in Oslo, the day before his 89th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heiberg, Edvard Norwegian State Railways (1883–1996) people 1911 births 2000 deaths Norwegian railway civil engineers Norwegian chief executives Holmenkolbanen people