Eystein Olavsson Fjærli (August 12, 1917 – 1987) 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 the ...

career officer (a lieutenant colonel), defense strategist, author, and politician. Fjærli was born in

Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...

,Fjærli, Eystein. 1968. ''NATO: Strategi for frihet'' (= ''Nå-debatt'' 8). Oslo, p. 94. the son of the politician

Olav Eysteinson Fjærli Olav Eysteinson Fjærli (March 25, 1883 – January 29, 1947) was a Norwegians, Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party (Norway), Liberal Party, representing them in the Parliament of Norway from 1919 to 1933. Fjærli was born in Krognes in ...

. When Germany invaded Norway in 1940, he was studying philology, and as a conscript sergeant he participated in fighting in

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region o ...

. In the fall of 1940 he went on an intelligence mission to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, where he joined the Norwegian Brigade in Scotland. In the fall of 1943, Fjærli became a

liaison officer A Liaison officer is a person who liaises between two or more organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities on a matter of mutual concern. Generally, liaison officers are used for achieving the best utilization of resources, or empl ...

in the British 52nd Mountain Division, which fought in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. On May 9, 1945 Fjærli returned to Norway as the chief liaison officer for the Allied forces in

Southern Norway Southern Norway ( no, Sørlandet; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function. It roughl ...

. After the war, Fjærli was a career officer, with service in the

Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany The Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany ( no, Tysklandsbrigaden, 'the Germany Brigade') was a Norwegian expeditionary force stationed in the British zone of Allied-occupied Germany, from 1946 to 1953. At first it was based in the Hanov ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. He frequently participated in discussions on political and military issues. Fjærli also wrote works on military history. He contributed articles to ''

Morgenbladet ''Morgenbladet'' is a Norwegian weekly, newspaper, covering politics, culture and science. History ''Morgenbladet'' was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg. The paper is the country's first daily newspaper; however, Adresseavi ...

'',Groth, Lars, & Stein Ulrich. 1970. ''Medaljens bakside: Rapport fra en rekruttskole''. Oslo: Minerva, p. 17. '' Nå'', ''

Vi Menn ''Vi Menn'', (English: ''Us Men'') is Europe and Norway's largest weekly lifestyle magazine for men. Founded in 1951 the magazine is one of the earliest publications targeting men. It is based in Oslo, Norway. History and profile ''Vi Menn'' was ...

'', and other periodicals.

Selected works

* Ikke-militært forsvar og norsk sikkerhetspolitikk (Non-Military Defense and Norwegian Security Policy, discussion paper, 1967), with

Johan Jørgen Holst Johan Jørgen Holst (29 November 1937 – 13 January 1994) was a Norwegian politician representing Labour, best known for his involvement with the Oslo Accords. Holst was Minister of Defence from 1987 to 1989 and from 1990 to April 1993. He t ...

and Harald Rønning * ''NATO: strategi for frihet'' (NATO: Strategy for Freedom, 1968) * ''Tar vi forsvaret alvorlig?'' (Do We Take Defense Seriously? 1969) * ''Krigens Svalbard'' (Wartime Svalbard, 1979) * ''Den norske hær i Storbritannia 1940–1945'' (The Norwegian Army in the United Kingdom 1940–1945, 1982)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fjaerli, Eystein 1917 births 1985 deaths People from Molde Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian military historians