Ernst Fredrik Eckhoff (28 April 1905 – 14 September 1997) was a Norwegian judge. He was born in 1905 as a son of jurist Nicolay Kristian Schreuder Eckhoff (1870–1955). He was a second cousin of legal academic Torstein Eckhoff, designer Tias Eckhoff and actor

Johannes Eckhoff Johannes Nicolai Eckhoff (26 April 1919 – 26 October 2007) was a Norwegian actor. He made his stage debut at Trøndelag Teater in 1939, and has later worked for Centralteatret, Det Nye Teater and Riksteatret. He participated in the film ''Englan ...

, and a grandnephew of architect

Niels Stockfleth Darre Eckhoff Niels Stockfleth Darre Eckhoff (5 January 1831 – 26 September 1914) was a Norway, Norwegian architect. He was born in Trondheim, Throndhjem as the son of Christian Martin Eckhoff and his wife Nicoline Johanne Luytkis. He married Nicoline Oti ...

. He was also a first cousin of

Anders Lange Anders Sigurd Lange (5 September 1904 – 18 October 1974) was a Norway, Norwegian political organiser, speaker and editor who led his eponymously named political party Anders Lange's Party for a Strong Reduction in Taxes, Duties and Public In ...

. He lived in

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 incorporation ...

. During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, he was a member of

Milorg Milorg (abbreviation of militær organisasjon – military organization) was the main Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Resistance work included intelligence gathering, sabotage, supply-missions, raids, espionage, transport of ...

. He was discovered and arrested by the Nazi authorities in December 1942, and was incarcerated at

Grini Grini is a district in northeastern Bærum, Norway. Concentration camp The name Grini is best known from the concentration camp of the same name, but this camp lay further west and had no actual connection to the Grini area. History The name ...

from 28 June 1943 to the liberation of Norway on 8 May 1945. Soon after the liberation he was named as a Supreme Court Justice. In 1945 he was also named as a member of the commission ''

Undersøkelseskommisjonen av 1945 Undersøkelseskommisjonen av 1945 was a commission appointed by the Parliament of Norway in 1945 and chaired by Norwegian politician Gustav Heiberg, given the task to investigate the role of the three branches of power: the Norwegian Parliament, Go ...

'' that scrutinized the actions of the Norwegian government in 1940. The other commission members were

Gustav Adolf Lammers Heiberg Gustav Adolf Lammers Heiberg Gustav Adolf Lammers Heiberg (22 April 1875 – 1948) was a Norwegian barrister and politician for the Labour Party. Personal life He was born in Kristiania as a son of barrister Anton Vilhelm Heiberg (1831–1885) ...

Arnold Holmboe Arnold Holmboe (11 March 1873 – 27 July 1956) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He was mayor of Tromsø, two-term member of the Norwegian Parliament as well as Minister of Justice from 1922 to 1923 and Minister of Finance from 19 ...

Ole Hallesby Ole Kristian Hallesby (5 August 1879 – 22 November 1961) was a conservative, Norwegian Lutheran theologian, author and educator. Biography Ole Kristian Hallesby was born in Aremark, in Østfold, Norway. Hallesby grew up as the sixth of eight s ...

Nils Nilsen Thune Nils Nilsen Thune (27 May 1880 – 28 May 1950) was a Norwegian jurist and civil servant. He was born in Vang, Oppland, and was a son of Nils Trondsen Thune. He graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1902. He was hired in the Trondhjem police in ...

Arne Bergsgård Arne Bergsgård (18 April 1886 – 18 June 1954) was a Norwegian historian and educator. Biography Arne Bergsgård was born in Vestre Slidre in Oppland and grew up in Vang, Norway. He was the son of Asle Bergsgård and Ingeborg Thune. He at ...

and

Sverre Steen Sverre Steen (1 August 1898 – 23 June 1983) was a Norwegian historian and professor at the University of Oslo from 1938 to 1965. He served as president of the Norwegian Historical Association from 1936 to 1947 Biography Steen was born in ...

, and the secretary was

Helge Sivertsen Helge Sivertsen (12 June 1913 – 21 December 1986) was a Norwegian school administrator and elected official. He was best known as a champion discus thrower in the 1936 Summer Olympics. Biography He was born at Mandal in Vest-Agder, Norway. ...

. The background for the commission was the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, and the question was raised whether Norway could have avoided it through a different

foreign Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

and

security policy Security policy is a definition of what it means to ''be secure'' for a system, organization or other entity. For an organization, it addresses the constraints on behavior of its members as well as constraints imposed on adversaries by mechanisms ...

. Second, the actions of Norwegian authorities between 9 April and 25 September 1940 were investigated, both regarding the three branches of government (Parliament, Government, Supreme Court) that eventually laid down their offices, but also the transition authority (the Administrative Council) as well as other relevant civil and military bodies. In 1952 he was rumored to replace

Oscar Christian Gundersen Oscar Christian Gundersen (17 March 1908 – 21 February 1991) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. During his student days he was a member of Mot Dag. Gundersen graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1931. During Gerhardsen's Secon ...

Minister of Justice and the Police In Norway, the Minister of Justice and Public Security is the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police, Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police and a member of Government of Norway. The current Justice Minister is Emilie ...

, but this did not happen. He continued as a Supreme Court Justice until retiring in 1975. In the 1980s he was a member of the board of Scandinavian Airlines System. He died on 14 September 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckhoff, Ernst Fredrik 1905 births 1997 deaths Supreme Court of Norway justices Norwegian resistance members People from Kristiansand Grini concentration camp survivors