Nikolai Nissen Paus (4 June 1877, in
Christiania – 23 December 1956, in
Tønsberg
Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative c ...
) was a Norwegian
surgeon, hospital director and
humanitarian. He served as President of the
Norwegian Red Cross
The Norwegian Red Cross (''Norges Røde Kors'') was founded on 22 September 1865 by prime minister Frederik Stang. In 1895 the Norwegian Red Cross began educating nurses, and in 1907 the Norwegian Ministry of Defence authorized the organization f ...
1945–1947, and as Vice President 1930–1945 and acting President 1939–1940. He was also President of the Norwegian
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, i ...
Committee and chaired several governmental committees.
Career
After graduating from Aars and Voss School, Paus entered the
Royal Frederick University
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 ...
, where he graduated as a medical doctor in 1903. He also became a
second lieutenant in 1896 and a
first lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...
in 1905. He was conferred the
dr.med. (D.Sc.) degree in 1916, with a dissertation on
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
. Between 1903 and 1918, he worked at a number of hospitals and visited several foreign hospitals. He was a deputy
consultant in surgery at the
National Hospital 1912–1917. In 1916 he was appointed senior consultant and managing director of the Jarlsberg and Larvik Hospital (renamed
Vestfold Hospital in 1918), but did not assume his position before 1918. He served as director of Vestfold Hospital until 1947, building and decisively shaping the institution. He organised and participated in humanitarian work in Finland during the
Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
. He served two terms on the executive board of the
Norwegian Medical Association. He was described by ''
Aftenposten
( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 milli ...
'' as "one of the country's preeminent physicians" on his death.
A member of the
Paus
The Paus family () is a Norwegian family that first appeared as members of the elite of 16th-century Oslo and that for centuries belonged to Norway's "aristocracy of officials" as priests of the state church, judges and other higher government of ...
family, Nikolai Nissen Paus was a son of the theologian
Bernhard Cathrinus Pauss
Bernhard Cathrinus Pauss (born 6 April 1839 at Tangen, Drammen, died 9 November 1907 in Christiania) was a Norwegian theologian, educator, author and humanitarian and missionary leader, who was a major figure in girls' education in Norway in his ...
and
Anna Henriette Wegner. He was a grandson of the industrialist
Benjamin Wegner
Jacob Benjamin Wegner (21 February 1795 – 9 June 1864) was a Norwegian business magnate, estate owner and timber merchant.
Born in Königsberg, East Prussia, he moved to London in 1819 and to Berlin in 1820, where he established an independ ...
and his grandmother was a member of the
Berenberg banking family of Hamburg. His paternal grandfather Nicolai
Nissen Pauss was a ship-owner in Drammen, and he was ultimately named for his 6th great grandfather, Danish estate owner and high court judge
Nikolaj Nissen. He was a brother of the barrister and Director at the Norwegian Employers' Confederation
George Wegner Paus
George Wegner Paus (14 October 1882 – 22 December 1923), often known as ''George Paus'', was a Norwegian lawyer, mountaineer, skiing pioneer and business executive. He was Director at the Norwegian Employers' Confederation. As such, he played a ...
and of the hydropower executive
Augustin Paus
Augustin Thoresen Paus (22 July 1881, in Christiania – 20 September 1945) was a Norwegian engineer and industrial leader in the hydropower industry. From 1918 he led the construction of the hydroelectric power plant at Rånåsfoss, one of the ...
.
In 1907, he married Sofie Amalie Brandt Ødegaard, daughter of colonel and
freemason leader Vilhelm Ødegaard and granddaughter of timber merchant and Member of Parliament
Frederik J. Holst. They were the parents of Inger-Helvig Ødegaard Paus, who married barrister and employer representative
Jens Christian Rogstad, surgeon, humanitarian and
Grand Master of the
Norwegian Order of Freemasons
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 ...
Bernhard Paus, who married humanitarian
Brita Collett, and barrister, diplomat and managing director of Press Paper, Ltd. in London
Vilhelm Paus
Vilhelm Christian Ødegård Paus (born 25 April 1915 in Oslo, died 22 November 1995 in London) was a Norwegian lawyer, diplomat and business executive in the pulp and paper industry. He held leadership positions in Norsk Hydro, Borregaard and what ...
, who married Anne
Collett. His daughters-in-law Brita and Anne Collett were daughters of estate owner
Axel Collett and Lucie Trozelli
Krefting, and nieces of the noted pediatrician
Arthur Collett.
Nikolai Nissen Paus was a freemason of the XI and second highest degree, and held the third highest office in the Norwegian Order of Freemasons. He has been portrayed in a drawing and an oil painting by
Erik Werenskiold
Erik Theodor Werenskiold (11 February 1855 – 23 November 1938) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. He is especially known for his drawings for the
Asbjørnsen and Moe collection of '' Norske Folkeeventyr'', and his illustrations for ...
(both 1934) and
busts by sculptors
Wilhelm Rasmussen
Wilhelm Rasmussen (15 June 1879 – 6 December 1965) was a Norwegian sculptor.
Wilhelm Robert Rasmussen was born in Skien in Telemark county, Norway. He studied under Norwegian sculptors Brynjulf Bergslien and Lars Utne (1862–1922), and late ...
(1939) and
Carl E. Paulsen (1947). The bust by Rasmussen is displayed outside Vestfold Hospital.
Honours
* Belgian order (1939)
*
Order of the Cross of Liberty
The Order of the Cross of Liberty ( fi, Vapaudenristin ritarikunta; sv, Frihetskorsets orden) is one of three official state orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland.
Organisation
...
with Sword of Finland (1941)
*
Croix de l'Ordre de la Santé publique of France (1947)
* Finnish order (1947)
*
Honorary member of the
Norwegian Red Cross
The Norwegian Red Cross (''Norges Røde Kors'') was founded on 22 September 1865 by prime minister Frederik Stang. In 1895 the Norwegian Red Cross began educating nurses, and in 1907 the Norwegian Ministry of Defence authorized the organization f ...
(1947)
[Martin Sæter (1965). ''Over alle grenser : Norges røde kors 100 år''. Oslo: Aschehoug]
* Knight First Class of the
Order of St. Olav of Norway, for "long and distinguished humanitarian work" (1948)
*
Badge of Honour of the
Norwegian Order of Freemasons
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 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paus, Nikolai Nissen
1877 births
1956 deaths
Norwegian military doctors
Norwegian humanitarians
Red Cross personnel
Presidents of the Norwegian Red Cross
Nikolai Nissen