Gunnar Bråthen (7 October 1896 – 7 June 1980) 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 ...

trade unionist and politician for the Labour Party. He was Minister of Pay and Prices from 1955 to 1959. He was born in

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

as a son of a baker. He was a member of

Kristiania 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 of ...

city council from 1922 to 1925. He was a board member of the Norwegian Union of Iron and Metalworkers during the same period, and then a secretary from 1925 to 1931. After seven years in ''Hedmark faglige samorganisasjon'' he was a secretary in the

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions ( no, Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO) is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national union ...

in Northern Norway from 1938 to 1941, and nationwide from 1945 to 1950. Between 1941 and 1945 he was a member of the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled governmen ...

. He was first arrested on 1 July 1941, and was imprisoned in

Grini concentration camp '', '' no, Grini fangeleir'', location=Bærum, Viken, Norway, location map=Viken#Norway, built by=Norway, original use=Constructed as a women's prison, operated by=Nazi Germany, notable inmates= List of Grini prisoners, liberated by=Harry Söderm ...

from February 1942 to January 1943. He was arrested for a second time on 21 September 1944, imprisoned in

Falstad concentration camp '', '' no, Falstad fangeleir'', construction=1895-1910 Falstad concentration camp (Norwegian: ''Falstad fangeleir'', German: ''SS-Strafgefangenenlager Falstad'') was situated in the village of Ekne in what was the municipality of Skogn (now in the ...

from November 1944 to January 1945, then in Grini concentration camp until the end of World War II. From 1950 to 1963 he was the director of the Norwegian Directorate of Labour. He was a member of the central committee of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1957. From 1955 to 1959 he was the Minister of Pay and Prices, serving in

Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet was the cabinet of Norway from 22 January 1955 to 28 August 1963. The government was led by Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen, marking his third term in said role. The cabinet was defeated in a motion of no-confidence in 1 ...

. Bråthen was a member of several public councils. He was also a board member of Fosdalen Bergverk from 1946 to 1966, Samvirkebanken from 1952 to 1967 (chair from 1963 to 1967), Norsk Jernverk from 1963 to 1966, Norasonde from 1965 to 1969 and Sydvaranger.

References

1896 births 1980 deaths Norwegian trade unionists Directors of government agencies of Norway Politicians from Oslo Government ministers of Norway Labour Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Falstad concentration camp survivors {{Norway-politician-1890s-stub