Gunnar Bøe (20 January 1917 – 9 December 1989) was a Norwegian economist and politician for the Labour Party.

Personal life

He was born in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

to Gunnar Olaf Bøe (1878–1959) and Ragnhild Sæthre (1883–1974). In 1940, he married Ragnhild Sæthre, born 1917. From 1930 to 1938, due to the marriage of his sister Karen Bøe, he was a brother-in-law of Halvard Manthey Lange and uncle of Even Lange.

Career

From 1934 to 1936, he was a member of the board of the Labour Party in Bergen. His father held a doctorate in medicine, but Bøe enrolled in economics studies at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

in 1936. In 1940, he received his cand.oecon. degree. In the same year, the Norwegian Price Directorate hired him, but, because Norway was invaded by Germany, he fought against the invaders in the Norwegian Campaign and became a member of the

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 ...

resistance. In 1942, the Nazi authorities arrested him. From July 1942 to December 1943, he was held in

Grini concentration camp Grini prison camp (, ) was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here. History Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft ...

. From 1943 to war's end, he was held in

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners t ...

. After the 1945 liberation, he was a secretary for Prime Minister

Einar Gerhardsen Einar Henry Gerhardsen (; 10 May 1897 – 19 September 1987) was a Norwegian politician who served as the prime minister of Norway from 1945 to 1951, 1955 to 1963 and 1963 to 1965. With a total of 16 years in office, he is the longest serving Pri ...

. From 1945, he was also named to the Economic Coordination Council. From 1946, he served on the Money and Finance Council. In August 1946, he was appointed a State Secretary in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

. In January 1948, he left the state secretary position, and continued his research career. From 1948 to 1952, he was a research fellow at the University of Oslo. From 1952 to 1955, he held the same position at the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology ( Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was ...

(NIT). In 1955, he published his thesis ''Ren profitt under fri konkurranse.'' From 1955 to 1956, he was a technical adviser for the United Nations commissioner for Europe. In 1956, he received his dr.philos. From 1956, he was a professor at the

. From 9 April 1959 to 1 September 1962, he was the Norwegian Minister of Pay and Prices. In 1962, he left politics for good, resuming his academic career. From 1964 to 1967, he was NIT deputy rector. From 1969 to 1972, he was NIT rector. He didn't publish many academic books or articles. Bøe was a member of the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research ( NTNF) research council from 1946 to 1947, the board of directors of the Bank of Norway from 1947 to 1953, the Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities ( NAVF) from 1957 to 1963 and 1974 to 1981, and the Postal Service ( Postverket) from 1969 to 1972. He was a member of the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

from 1958 and the

Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences The Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences (, NTVA) is a learned society based in Trondheim, Norway. Founded in 1955, the academy has about 500 members. It is a member of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technologica ...

from 1964. He died in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

Suspected Espionage

The Police Security Service (PST, POT) suspected Bøe of being a Soviet spy. Soviet documents released in the 1990s showed that he could be very outspoken in meetings with Soviet civil servants. He had a codename, "George," and had a series of meetings with KGB Rezident Aleksandr Startsev. By 1967, POT had bugged Bøe's phone, but they never found hard evidence to prove their suspicions. In 1984, POT tried to speak with him about his Soviet contacts, but were not successful. In July 2014, new information came to light with the release of more documents from KGB defector Vasili Mitrokhin.Thorenfeldt, Gunnar; Blindheim, Anne Marte; Stang, Leif; Thømt Ruud, Hans-Martin; and Frich Flydal, Eiliv, (8 August 2014). ''Sjokkpåstand i KGB-arkiv: Ap-statsråd solgte regjeringsdokumenter til KGB'', ''Dagbladet'' (in Norwegian)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boe, Gunnar 1917 births 1989 deaths Norwegian state secretaries Government ministers of Norway Labour Party (Norway) politicians University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Academic staff of the Norwegian Institute of Technology Rectors of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Members of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors 20th-century Norwegian economists