Kai Birger Knudsen (25 June 1903 – 3 March 1977) was a Norwegian judge and politician for the Labour Party. He was born in

Vardø ( fi, Vuoreija, fkv, Vuorea, se, Várggát) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway, more to the east than Saint Petersburg or Istanbul. The administra ...

as a son of ''kemner'' Kai Angell Knudsen (1869–1944) and Julie Huse (1873–1952). He

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 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 worked as an audit in

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 ...

1926-1927, then deputy judge in

Heddal Heddal is a village and parish in Notodden municipality in Telemark County, Norway. History The parish of ''Hitterdal'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Notodden was separated from Heddal both as a ...

1928-1930 and junior solicitor in Notodden 1930-1935. After the war he was acting district stipendiary magistrate (''sorenskriver'') of Tinn and Heddal from 1945 to 1946, and also mayor of Notodden during the same period. As an elected politician he served in the position of deputy representative 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 the

Market towns of Telemark and Aust-Agder counties The Market towns of Telemark and Aust-Agder counties ( no, Kjøpstedene i Telemark og Aust-Agder fylker) was an electoral district for parliamentary elections in Norway. It comprised the market towns ( no, kjøpsteder) of Brevik, Kragerø, Notodden ...

during the term 1945–1949. He then worked in the Office of the State Conciliator of Norway from 1946 to 1948. From 1948 he worked as a Secretary for the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

(from 1956 known as " State Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister"). During Torp's Cabinet Knudsen became acting

Minister of Justice and the Police In Norway, the Minister of Justice and Public Security is the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police, Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police and a member of Government of Norway. The current Justice Minister is Emilie ...

from 18 October 1952 to 20 December 1952, then on a permanent basis until 15 June 1954. His successor Gustav Sjaastad studied law in the same period as Knudsen, from 1922 to 1926. Knudsen served as Minister of Defence until the cabinet change in 1955. In the new Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet Knudsen was appointed Secretary to the Prime Minister again, but left in late 1955. Knudsen was then district stipendiary magistrate in Indre Follo from 1955 to 1973. He chaired the board of the

Norwegian Directorate of Labour Aetat (short for no, Arbeidsmarkedsetaten) was a Norwegian government agency responsible for battling unemployment. History It had its roots in the Directorate of Labour ( no, Arbeidsdirektoratet), which was founded in 1945. Its purpose was to " ...

from 1950 to 1975 as well as the

National Wages Board The National Wages Board ( no, Rikslønnsnemnda) is a Norwegian body for resolving labour disputes. Its task is to perform a compulsory arbitration ( no, tvungen lønnsnemnd) when negotiations of parties in Norwegian working life (employers and emp ...

from 1955 to 1968. In 1943 he married Lilli Margrethe Wergeland, a sister of

Harald Wergeland Harald Nicolai Storm Wergeland (14 March 1912 – 25 January 1987) was a Norwegian physicist. He was a professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology. He was born in Norderhov as a son of forest manager Harald Nicolay Storm Wergeland (1884 ...

. He died in March 1977.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knudsen, Kai Birger 1903 births 1977 deaths People from Vardø Labour Party (Norway) politicians Mayors of places in Telemark Deputy members of the Storting Norwegian state secretaries Norwegian judges 20th-century Norwegian lawyers Ministers of Justice of Norway Defence ministers of Norway