Per Monsen (4 May 1913 – 26 August 1985) was a Norwegian editor. He was an editor in ''

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 1952 to 1964 and 1968 to 1970, director of the

International Press Institute International Press Institute (IPI) is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. The institution was founded by 34 editors from 15 countries at Columbia Universit ...

from 1964 to 1968 and editor-in-chief of the

Norwegian News Agency The Norwegian News Agency ( no, Norsk Telegrambyrå; abbreviated NTB) is a Norwegian press agency and wire service that serves most of the largest Norwegian media outlets. The agency is located in Oslo and has bureaus in Brussels in Belgium and T ...

from 1970 to 1980.

Personal life

He was born in

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

as a son of politician

Fredrik Monsen Christian Fredrik Monsen (27 April 1878 – 31 January 1954) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party and the Communist Party. History He was born in Kristiania as a son of Ludvig Monsen (1854–1942) and Josefine Aurora Marcelie Dehn ( ...

(1878–1954) and teacher Aasta Ingerø Hansen (1884–1962). He was a brother of

Randi Monsen Randi Monsen (18 February 1910 – 24 August 1997) was a Norwegian illustrator. She was born in Hamar; the daughter of politician Fredrik Monsen and a sister of Per Monsen. She worked for the newspaper ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1935 to 1980. S ...

, and through another sister he was a brother-in-law of

Halvard Lange Halvard Manthey Lange (16 September 1902 – 19 May 1970) was a Norwegian politician and diplomat, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1946-1963 and again from 1963-1965. He was also the longest serving Foreign Minister to date, ha ...

. He was also an uncle of

Even Lange Even Lange (born 5 June 1946) is a Norwegian economic historian. He was born in Oslo as the son of politician Halvard Manthey Lange (1902–1970) and teacher Aase Monsen (1911–1979). On the maternal side he was a nephew of Randi and Per Monsen, ...

. Himself, he was first married to

Olav Scheflo Olav Andreas Scheflo (9 September 1883 – 25 June 1943) was a Norwegian Communist politician and journalist. Olav Scheflo was a member of the Norwegian Labour Party from 1905. After the October Revolution he fought hard to convince the Labor Pa ...

's daughter Beret Scheflo (1917–1981) from 1941 to 1950. He was then married to Poppi Tichauer Krogvig from 1952.

Career

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 1932, and then began a journalist career. He started out in the newspaper ''

Sørlandet Southern Norway ( no, Sørlandet; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical List of regions of Norway, region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any govern ...

'' under editor-in-chief Olav Scheflo, his future father-in-law. Monsen was a correspondent in 1937 during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. Monsen then worked in ''

Bergens Arbeiderblad ''Bergensavisen'' (lit. "the Bergen newspaper"), usually shortened to ''BA'', is the second largest newspaper in Bergen, Norway. The paper is published in tabloid format. The newspaper's webpage ba.no is Bergen's largest local newspaper webpage ...

'' from 1937 to 1939, and in the labour movement's main newspaper ''

'' from 1939 to 1941. In 1940 the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany 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 ...

had begun, and Monsen was a member of the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...

. He was imprisoned in

Møllergata 19 Møllergata 19 is an address in Oslo, Norway where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here. This is ...

from 1 December 1940 to 19 May 1941. After his release he fled to Sweden, where he worked in the information service for Norwegian authorities-in-exile. From 1943 to 1945 he worked out of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where the government-in-exile was seated. He returned to ''Arbeiderbladet'' in 1945. He served as acting press attaché for Norway in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

from 1948 to 1949, but returned to ''Arbeiderbladet'' again. In 1952 he was promoted to editor. He remained here until 1970, except for a period from 1964 to 1968 when he was the director of the

in Zurich. From 1970 to 1980 he was the editor-in-chief of the

. He also chaired the

Norwegian Press Association The Norwegian Press Association ( no, Norsk Presseforbund, NP) is Norwegian association established in 1910, for press people with journalism as their main profession. Among its members are the Norwegian Union of Journalists, the Association of Nor ...

from 1954 to 1958. In the Labour Party, to which the newspaper ''Arbeiderbladet'' belonged, Monsen was known as a "hardliner" in foreign and security policy. His brother-in-law Halvard Lange served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1945 to 1965, and was a proponent for a pro-American policy in the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. Monsen also supported anti-communists like

Haakon Lie Haakon Steen Lie (22 September 1905 – 25 May 2009) was a Norwegian politician who served as party secretary for the Norwegian Labour Party from 1945 to 1969. Coming from humble origins, he became involved in the labour movement at an early ag ...

. In 1963 the Labour Party was about to elect a new editor-in-chief of ''Arbeiderbladet''. The editor who was about to step down,

Olav Larssen Olav Larssen (10 July 1894 – 5 July 1981) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician for the Labour and Communist parties. Personal life Olav Larssen was born in Furnes as a son of baker Kristian Larssen and Lovise Wahlum (1873–1923). ...

, wanted Monsen. Larssen had also worked with Per Monsen's father in ''

Demokraten ("The Democrat") is a local newspaper in Fredrikstad, Norway. Second in its city behind , it is published three days a week. The chief editor is Tomm Pentz Pedersen. It was established in 1906 as , being affiliated with the Labour Party. Retri ...

'' from 1913 to 1916. On the other hand,

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 ...

was against the election of Monsen as editor-in-chief of ''Arbeiderbladet'' in 1963, and Monsen was not elected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monsen, Per 1913 births 1985 deaths People from Hamar Norwegian resistance members Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian expatriates in Germany Norwegian expatriates in Switzerland Norwegian newspaper editors Norwegian anti-communists 20th-century Norwegian writers