Finn Sofus Støren (20 November 1893 – 18 April 1962) was a Norwegian businessperson and civil servant for

Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, 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 a ...

. He was born in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

as a son of customs officer Petter Johan Nicolay Støren (1866–1924) and Elise Christopha Rude (1867–1926). He had a twin brother, was a nephew of Ernest Rude and his father was a cousin of Johan Nicolai Støren. The family moved to

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

when Finn was seven years old. He took his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

as a private candidate in 1914, and spent time in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Norway,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He spent four years in Russia, and became an

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

. He then lived for two years in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and four years in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. In 1930 he became Norwegian

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

in Panama. In April 1919 he had married Inger Lorange Suhrke, a daughter of architect and politician Wilhelm Christian Suhrke. Støren moved back to Norway in 1933, settled in

Drangedal Drangedal is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestestranda. Other villages in Drangedal include Bø i Tørdal, ...

, and joined the newly formed Fascist party

. He continued as a businessman until May 1940, one month after the start 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 ...

. He then "offered his services" to Nasjonal Samling's leader

Vidkun Quisling Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (; ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Nazi collaborator who Quisling regime, headed the government of N ...

, and in September 1940 he was appointed as deputy under-secretary of state in the directorate ''Direktoratet for spesialorientering'' (from 1940 to 1942 named ''Direktoratet for utenriks orientering'', from 1944 to 1945 named ''Kansliets utenriksavdeling''). Serving until 1945, he has been called "Quisling's informal Minister of Foreign Affairs" (formally, Norway had none). Støren was a acting leader of ''Nordmannsforbundet'' from 1941, and member of the supervisory council of the Bank of Norway from 1942. From 1944 he acted as an ambassador, accompanying Quisling on visits to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. He probably had an influence on Quisling's views, but this has not been researched thoroughly. Together with Frederik Prytz he was also a driving force behind Norwegian land claims in Eastern Europe. It has also been written that Støren wrote books during the Second World War, under the pseudonyms Finn Balg and Finn Grong. This is not correct. They were written by Støren's childhood friend

Håkon Meyer Håkon Meyer (11 March 1896 – 23 October 1989) was a Norwegian politician, trade unionist and businessperson. Meyer was born in Kristiania, the son of Ludvig Meyer and Emma Metz. In the 1920s and 1930s, he was an active and leading Labour ...

, but as Meyer was more of an outsider Støren claimed in "NS circles" that he wrote the books. The German occupation ended on

8 May 1945 Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

, and Støren was arrested by Danish police in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

on 15 May. Extradited to Norway, he was imprisoned until 1947. He was released from prison, and was soon to be tried as a part of the

legal purge in Norway after World War II The legal purge in Norway after World War II (; ) took place between May 1945 and August 1948 against anyone who was found to have Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborated with the German occupation of Norway, German occupat ...

; however he escaped on an

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

-bound ship. He made it to Argentina despite having been arrested for a short while in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

. He lived as a businessman and died in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in April 1962. He was buried in

Haslum Haslum is a district in the municipality of Bærum, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, Norway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Storen, Finn 1893 births 1962 deaths Norwegian twins People from Kristiansand Businesspeople from Oslo People from Drangedal 20th-century Norwegian businesspeople Norwegian expatriates in Russia Norwegian expatriates in Colombia Expatriates in Panama Members of Nasjonal Samling Directors of government agencies of Norway Nazis who fled to Argentina Norwegian diplomats Norwegian expatriates in Argentina Norwegian emigrants to Argentina Norwegian escapees Norwegian exiles Norwegian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Norway People extradited from Denmark People extradited to Norway