Francis Kjeldsberg,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, MVO (10 February 1869 – 24 May 1948) 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 ...

businessperson and politician for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. He was born in

Trondhjem 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 ...

as a son of consul Rasmus Flor Kjeldsberg (1828–1897) and Harriet Southern (1834–1924). In 1899 he married Margrethe Berg, daughter of merchant Claus Nissen Riiber Berg (1832–1915). Their daughter Harriet married chief physician Odd Kjeldsberg Stub. He graduated from Kristiania Commerce School in 1887, and studied abroad for one year. He was hired in the family company ''R. Kjeldsberg'' in 1890, and was the company owner from 1897 to 1927. From 1897 he was also a

vice consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

for the United Kingdom, upgrading to consul from 1931 to 1945. He was decorated as a Knight of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

and Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. From 1927 to 1937 he was the manager of

Vinmonopolet Vinmonopolet ( en, The Wine Monopoly), symbolized by Ⓥ and Colloquialism, colloquially shortened to Polet, is a government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer and the Alcohol monopoly, only company allowed to sell beverages containing an Alcohol b ...

's branch in Trondheim. He chaired the board of ''R. Kjeldsberg'' from 1923 and the supervisory council of Trondhjems Realkreditbank from 1915 to 1942. He was a board member of Privatbanken i Trondhjem (1918–1934) and Nordenfjeldske Dampskibsselskab (1927-1942 and in 1945) and supervisory council member of Trondhjems Sparebank (1905–1942). Kjeldsberg was on the electoral college in the

1903 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway between 6 August and 16 September 1903. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 The result was a victory for the Conservative Party-Moderate Liberal Party- ...

. He served as a member of Trondhjem city council from 1911 to 1928; from 1917 to 1922 as a member of the executive committee. He served as deputy mayor from 1920 to 1921 and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

in 1922. He was elected as a deputy representative to the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

from the

Market towns of Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndelag counties The Market towns of Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndelag counties ( no, Kjøpstedene i Sør-Trøndelag og Nord-Trøndelag fylker) was an electoral district for Stortinget, parliamentary elections in Norway. It comprised the market town#Norway, market ...

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

, and served through one term. He met in parliamentary session in 1926 and 1927. During 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 the ...

he was arrested in October 1940 and imprisoned in isolation in

Vollan concentration camp 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 ...

. He was released after one week. He died in May 1948.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kjeldsberg, Francis 1869 births 1948 deaths Norwegian bankers Deputy members of the Storting Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Mayors of Trondheim Vollan concentration camp survivors Members of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire