Knut Tvedt (27 September 1906 – 30 September 1989) 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 ...

director and jurist. He was acting

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

from 1946 to 1948.

Early life and education

Tvedt was born in Lier to the teacher and organist Elias Tvedt (1874–1956) and his wife Kristine Margrethe Odberg (1875–1948). He grew up in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken (county), Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and village ...

and took

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

there in 1925. In 1930, he graduated from university with a

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.

Career

After graduating he worked as a lawyer in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

, Drammen and

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...

before being employed as secretary by the

Ministry of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

for four years. In 1932, he was employed as a

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

by the

(NRK), in which corporation he remained in different positions for almost twenty-five years. His only interruption from the corporation was during the

Second World War 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 ...

, when he maintained his own

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

in Oslo. Tvedt married Rannveig Marie Heen (1913–2008) on 11 November 1941. After the war, Tvedt became chief secretary for NRK, and in 1946 he was appointed acting chief executive (later director-general) of the same corporation. In 1948,

Kaare Fostervoll Kaare Fostervoll (3 December 1891 – 6 July 1981) was a Norwegian educator and politician for the Labour Party. From 1949 to 1962 he was the director-general of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). Early career He was born in Kristia ...

became director-general of NRK, and Tvedt was appointed financial manager. Tvedt also had many other positions in boards of

state enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

s in Norway, among them

Norsk Tipping Norsk Tipping is a Norwegian gambling company headquartered in Hamar, Norway. Founded in 1948, Norsk Tipping is owned by the Norwegian government and administered by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. The company offers a wide range of lottery ...

and

Norsk Spisevognselskap Norsk Spisevognselskap A/S, often abbreviated NSS or shortened to Spisevognselskapet (Norwegian for "The Dining Car Company"), was a Norwegian state enterprise which operated restaurant carriages on Norwegian trains and restaurants at railway ...

. He was also a board member of Filharmonisk Selskap and

Aschehoug H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard), commonly known as Aschehoug,() is one of the largest independent publishing companies in Norway, founded in 1872. Headquartered in Oslo, the publishing house has 480 employees. The Aschehoug group also comprises ot ...

. When Fostervoll retired in 1962, Tvedt applied for the director-general position.

Hans Jacob Ustvedt Hans Jacob Neumann Ustvedt (4 July 1903 – 26 January 1982) was a Norwegian medical doctor and broadcasting administrator. He was a driving force of the doctors' resistance during World War II, had to flee to Sweden in 1942, and was leading ...

applied for the same position. The board of NRK supported Tvedt, whilst the Broadcasting Council supported Ustvedt. In January 1962, the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

decided to appoint Ustvedt to director-general. The right-wing press criticised the appointment, arguing that it was done on political grounds. Tvedt then left the NRK, and tried to make success as a barrister in Oslo. He also became juridical

of the music copyright company

TONO TONO is a Norwegian corporation that administers copyrights for music in Norway. It is owned and governed by its members; composers, music publishers and text-writers. Through the managing agreement the originators give TONO an exclusive right to ...

, and, in 1965, the company's chief executive. He stayed in the company until his retirement in 1977. Tvedt died on 30 September 1989 in Oslo, and was cremated at

Vestre gravlund Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a crematorium (''Vestre kre ...

on 9 October.

Honours

In 1960, Tvedt was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav. He was also decorated as a Knight of the Danish

Order of Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...

and the Swedish

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

. In 1973, Tvedt was upgraded from a Knight to a Commander of the Order of St. Olav. Four years later, he was decorated with the St. Hallvard's Medal. He was also appointed honorary member of the

Norwegian Society of Composers The Norwegian Society of Composers ( no, Norsk Komponistforening) was founded in 1917. The Society's main objectives are to promote its members' music and secure their rights. As of today the Society counts 185 members who meet regularly for discu ...

and the Norwegian Union for Stage Directors.

Selected works

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tvedt, Knut 1906 births 1989 deaths People from Lier, Norway Norwegian civil servants NRK people Norwegian media executives Norwegian non-fiction writers Norwegian encyclopedists Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Order of Vasa 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian lawyers 20th-century non-fiction writers