Ingvald Haugen (16 October 1894 – 20 June 1958) 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 union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader and politician for the Labour Party. He was born in

Hadsel Hadsel ( sme, Válafierda) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stokmarknes. Other villages in Hadsel include Fiskebøl, ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. President of the

Norwegian Seafarers' Union The Norwegian Seafarers' Union, NSU, ( no, Norsk Sjømannsforbund, NSF) is a trade union representing sailors in Norway. The union was established 25 September 1910, as the Norwegian Sailors' and Firemen's Union (Norsk Matros- og Fyrbøter-Union ...

(NSU) 1936 – 1958. Under his leadership the NSU was the only Norwegian trade union that had escape plans for a situation where Norway could be drawn into

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 ...

. The union leadership managed to escape the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

9 April 1940 and did their part to persuade the majority of the Norwegian merchant fleet to go to

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

war service under the Norwegian

government in exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile us ...

as the world largest shipowning company

Nortraship The Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission (Nortraship) was established in London in April 1940 to administer the Norwegian merchant fleet outside German-controlled areas. Nortraship operated some 1,000 vessels and was the largest shipping company ...

. In 1945, he attended the

World Trade Union Conference The World Trade Union Conference between 6–17 February 1945 was participated in by countries from all around the world, at County Hall, London. Regarded as a significant moment within the international labour movement as it was the first time tha ...

in London alongside many renowned trade unionists. Haugen was elected to the

Norwegian Parliament 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 base ...

from

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 ...

in 1945, but did not stand for re-election in 1949. Haugen started his career barely 14 years old as

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

(1908 – 1914) and seaman until he was recruited as full-time Union Officer in 1919, first at the NSU

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

branch before being transferred to the NSU

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

branch office in

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

the year after. He came back to Norway when he was elected Union Vice President in 1926. Member of the Norwegian Labour Party Executive Board 1936 – 1957.The official Norwegian Labour Party list of Executive Boards 1887 – 2005
(Norwegian)

References

1894 births 1958 deaths Labour Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian trade unionists Members of the Storting 20th-century Norwegian politicians People from Hadsel {{Norway-politician-1890s-stub