Gustav Adolf Sjaastad (6 April 1902 – 7 May 1964) was a Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Labour Party. He served as Minister of Justice from 1954–1955 and Minister of Industry from 1955–1959, and also as County Governor of Nord-Trøndelag from 1959–1964.

Early life and career

He was born in Skogn as a son of farmer Olaf Herman Sjaastad (1869–1944) and Marta Fostad (1870–1933). He enrolled as a student in 1922, and graduated with the

cand.jur. Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. ...

degree in 1926. He opened an attorney's office in Namsos in 1927. From 1933 he was a barrister, with access to work with

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

cases. He was a member of the executive committee of Namsos

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

from 1927 to 1934, representing the Liberal Party, whose local party chapter he chaired from 1927 to 1931. In 1935 he opened a lawyer's office in

Oslo 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 ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 government, ...

. He was arrested in December 1940 for "spying", and was imprisoned until May 1941 at Møllergata 19. In February 1944 he was arrested for the second time, this time for being involved in an illegal newspaper. He was imprisoned at Møllergata 19 again, before being transferred to Grini concentration camp, where he sat from May 1944 to the war's end on 8 May 1945.

Political career

From 1945 to 1954 he was a legal consultant for the Workers' National Trade Union (named Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions from 1957). He also became a member of several public committees in 1946 and 1947, including ''Arbeidstvistkomiteen av 1946'', ''Ferielovkomiteen'' and ''Pris- og rasjonaliseringskomiteen''. From 1954 to 1955, during Torp's Cabinet, Sjaastad was the Minister of Justice. Upon the cabinet change to Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet in 1955, he became Minister of Industry and held that post until 1959. He was elected 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

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...

in 1958, and until 1959 his seat in parliament was taken by

Hans Mikal Solsem Hans Mikal Solsem (born 17 February 1912 in Leka, died 6 January 1972) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Nord-Trøndelag during the terms 1950–1953, 1954 ...

. Sjaastad was not re-elected in 1961. His career ended with the post of County Governor of Nord-Trøndelag, which he held from 1959 to 1964. He died in May 1964. Sjaastad was a member of the board of Nord-Trøndelag Elektrisitetsverk from 1959 to 1964, Norsk Hydro from 1946 to 1955, Folla from 1959 to 1964, Mosjøen Veveri from 1960 to 1964 and

Det Norske Teatret Det Norske Teatret ( en, Norwegian Theater)Moe, Jens. 2011. ''My America: The Culture of Giving''. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, p. 133. is a theatre in Oslo. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg and Edvard Drabl� ...

. He was chairman of the board of Fylkesbilene from 1959 to 1964 and

Tiden Norsk Forlag Tiden Norsk Forlag is a Norwegian publishing company owned by Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. It publishes fiction and general literature. History Tiden was founded in 1933 by the Norwegian Labour Party. In 1936 it bought Fram Forlag. In the early years ...

from 1947 to 1954. He was decorated as a Commander of the Order of the Polar Star in 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sjaastad, Gustav 1902 births 1964 deaths People from Namsos People from Levanger 20th-century Norwegian lawyers Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Labour Party (Norway) politicians Politicians from Nord-Trøndelag Government ministers of Norway Members of the Storting County governors of Norway Norwegian trade unionists Order of the Polar Star 20th-century Norwegian politicians Ministers of Justice of Norway Ministers of Trade and Shipping of Norway