Olav Martinius Knutsen Steinnes (9 January 1886 – 26 June 1961) was a Norwegian educator and politician for the Labour Party and Nasjonal Samling. He was born at Steinnes in Ørsta as a son of farmers Knut Olai Olavsen Steinnes (1856–1935) and Berte Sporstøyl (1860–1924). After some years as a laborer he attended Møre Folk High School and then Volda Teachers' College from 1907 to 1910. He worked as a teacher in Vikna from 1910 to 1912, then in Rjukan. In 1920 he was promoted to school headmaster, still in Rjukan. He remained here until 1935, when he was appointed as school director in the Dioceses of Agder and

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

. He was a member of the executive committee of Tinn

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

from 1916 to 1925. He was elected 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 ...

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

, representing the constituency of

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

. He was re-elected in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

and

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

, with his last term ending in 1936. In January 1928 he was appointed as Minister of Education and Church Affairs in

Hornsrud's Cabinet Hornsrud's Cabinet governed Norway between 28 January 1928 and 15 February 1928. The first Labour Party cabinet in Norway, it was defeated by the other parliamentary parties on a vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously ...

. Hornsrud's Cabinet only lasted until February. While Steinnes was a Minister, his parliamentary seat was filled by Eileif Kolsrud. During the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

he joined the Fascist party Nasjonal Samling. He claimed to have joined the party to stay in the school director job and counteract Nazification of the school system. He probably did so only when his own position was not at stake. Other than his job, he was preoccupied with

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

as a hobby. After the war, he claimed to have made several great inventions in the preceding years. In a letter to

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 ...

in the autumn of 1945, he said that his "series of inventions" would "bring honor and benefit to me and my country. They are—after my calculations—the most important discoveries ever made in history by a single man". On 1 February 1947, during the

legal purge in Norway after World War II The purge in Norway after World War II was a purge that took place between May 1945 and August 1948 against anyone who was deemed to have collaborated with the German occupation of the country. Several thousand Norwegians and foreign citizens wer ...

he was convicted of treason and sentenced to six months in prison and loss of his job.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinnes, Olav 1886 births 1961 deaths People from Ørsta People from Rjukan Norwegian educators Volda University College alumni Politicians from Telemark Labour Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Government ministers of Norway Members of Nasjonal Samling People convicted of treason for Nazi Germany against Norway Ministers of Education of Norway