John Christian Munthe Sanness (24 May 1913 – 6 November 1984) 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 ...
historian and politician for the
Labour Party. He is known as the director of the
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs ( no, Norsk utenrikspolitisk institutt; NUPI) is a Norwegian research institution based in Oslo, Norway. It was established by the Norwegian Parliament in 1959.
History
The Norwegian Institute of Int ...
from 1960 to 1983, professor at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
from 1966 to 1983 and chair of the
Norwegian Nobel Committee
The Norwegian Nobel Committee ( no, Den norske Nobelkomité) selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will.
Five members are appointed by ...
from 1979 to 1981.
Early career
He was born in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
as a son of Stian Sanness (1880–1966) and Hanne Theodora Munthe (1882–1954). The family moved to
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 ...
seven years later, and Sanness attended
Kristiania Cathedral School. He joined the revolutionary group ''
Mot Dag
Mot Dag (, 'Towards Day') was a Norwegian political group. The group was active from the 1920s to the early 1930s and was first affiliated with the Labour Party. After World War II, many of its former members were leaders in Norwegian politics and ...
'' during this period, and was expelled from his school for protests against the 25-year anniversary of the
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
in 1930.
[ He later declined an offer to be reentered, and ]finished
Finished may refer to:
* ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard
* ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film
* "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp
See also
*Finishing (disa ...
his secondary education as a private candidate. In 1940 he chaired the Norwegian Students' Society
Norwegian Students' Society ( no, Det Norske Studentersamfund) is Norway's oldest student society.
The Norwegian Students' Society was established during 1813 in Oslo, Norway. Two years after the Royal Frederick University (today named the Univer ...
.
In April 1940, Norway was invaded
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
and occupied by Nazi Germany. Sanness learned from a Norwegian official in the government that he was on a list of people who would be arrested by the Gestapo, so he escaped to neutral Sweden. He travelled to London in 1941. Here he worked as a secretary for Arne Ording
Arne Ording (7 May 1898 – 26 July 1967) was a Norwegian historian and politician for ''Mot Dag'' and the Labour Party.
Pre-war life and career
Ording was born in Kristiania as a son of theology professor Johannes Ording (1869–1929) and Fredr ...
. Both Sanness and Ording had been ''Mot Dag'' members, but were now more mainstream Labour Party members. In addition to working for Ording, Sanness was involved in BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
broadcasts to occupied Norway,[ and he was a commentator in the illegal press.]
Post-war career
He worked as the foreign affairs editor in the newspaper ''Arbeiderbladet
''Dagsavisen'' is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. ...
'' from 1946 to 1950.[ He also taught at the ]University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
, and took his doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in 1959 with the thesis ''Patrioter, intelligens og skandinaver. Norske reaksjoner på skandinavismen før 1848'', a work on Scandinavism
Scandinavism ( da, skandinavisme; no, skandinavisme; sv, skandinavism), also called Scandinavianism or pan-Scandinavianism,[Norwegian Institute of International Affairs The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs ( no, Norsk utenrikspolitisk institutt; NUPI) is a Norwegian research institution based in Oslo, Norway. It was established by the Norwegian Parliament in 1959.
History
The Norwegian Institute of Int ...](_blank)
(NUPI) from 1960 to 1983, and a professor of history at the University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
from 1966 to 1983.[
Notable releases include ''Verden blir én 1850–1914'', volume five of ''Aschehougs verdenshistorie'' released in 1955. He also published studies on the Soviet Union (''Sovjetsamveldet under Khrustsjov'', Bergen 1960; ''Some Problems in the Study of Soviet Foreign Policy'', 1978), Norwegian foreign policy (''Norsk alliansefri politikk?'', 1978) and ]historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
(''Norske historikere og den kalde krigen'', 1984). He edited the encyclopedia ''Tidens leksikon'', released in 1975–1976, together with Einar Gerhardsen
Einar Henry Gerhardsen (; 10 May 1897 – 19 September 1987) was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party of Norway. He was the 22nd prime minister of Norway for three periods, 1945–1951, 1955–1963 and 1963–1965. With totally 17 years i ...
and Odd Højdahl
Odd Højdahl (5 January 1921 – 23 February 1994) was a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the Labour Party.
He was born in Oslo.
In 1971–1972 he was the Minister of Social Affairs in the first cabinet Bratteli. As an elect ...
. He also edited the periodical ''Samtiden
''Samtiden'' is a Norwegian political and literary magazine.
History and profile
''Samtiden'' was founded by Jørgen Brunchorst and Gerhard Gran in 1890. The magazine's first publisher was ''John Griegs forlag'' (Bergen), and from 1900 Aschehoug ...
'' from 1964 to 1967.[
He sat on the ]Norwegian Nobel Committee
The Norwegian Nobel Committee ( no, Den norske Nobelkomité) selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will.
Five members are appointed by ...
from 1970 to 1981 and was chair from 1979 to 1981.[ Some of the ]Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
s awarded during his time in the committee were controversial, especially the 1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
award to Lê Đức Thọ
Lê Đức Thọ (; 14 October 1911 – 13 October 1990), born Phan Đình Khải in Nam Dinh Province, was a Vietnamese revolutionary, general, diplomat, and politician. He was the first Asian to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with ...
and Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
,[ which caused two committee members to resign.]
Sanness was fluent many foreign languages, including German, Russian, French and Spanish. He also spoke some Finnish. Since 1939 he was married to Dagny, née Goa. His wife outlived him as he died in November 1984 in Oslo.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanness, John
1913 births
1984 deaths
Writers from Oslo
Mot Dag
Labour Party (Norway) politicians
20th-century Norwegian historians
University of Oslo faculty
Norwegian magazine editors
Chairpersons of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
Norwegian expatriates in Germany
Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom
People educated at Oslo Cathedral School
20th-century Norwegian journalists