Sigurd Frisvold (5 July 1947 – 29 November 2022) was a Norwegian general who served as

Chief of Defence of Norway The Chief of Defence (''Forsvarssjefen'') is the highest-ranking officer of the Norwegian Armed Forces, second only to the King of Norway. Even though he holds the same rank as the King of Norway, according to the Norwegian Constitution the King ...

from 30 April 1999 until 1 April 2005. Frisvold was born in

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of ...

. He was educated in the Norwegian

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, in addition to

cand.mag. Candidatus magisterii (male), or candidata magisterii (female), abbreviated as cand.mag., is an academic degree currently awarded in Denmark. The degree is officially translated into English as Master of Arts and currently requires 5 years of stud ...

-degrees in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and social studies. Having served as head of Forsvarskommando Sør-Norge (the Southern Norway Defence Command) Frisvold succeeded Arne Solli as

on 30 April 1999. During his leadership period the armed forces underwent major reorganization and closure of units and camps, as well as introduction of some new administrative measures, including the introduction of Regional Support Function ( no, Regional støttefunksjon, RSF) and Horizontal Trade ( no, Horisontal samhandel). On 10 December 2004, Frisvold announced that he would be resigning of his own volition as Chief of Defence after he had been on sick leave several times the last year. On the same day

Sverre Diesen General Sverre Diesen (born 18 November 1949 in Oslo) is 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 ...

was appointed his successor, and Diesen took over on 1 April 2005. Frisvold died on 29 November 2022, at the age of 75.

Awards

Frisvold was the holder of a number of Norwegian and foreign orders and decorations: * Multinational Force and Observer Medal 1984 * Norwegian Defense Medal 1992 * Norwegian Defense Medal with Laurel Branch 1996 * Commander with Star of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

2000 * Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President ...

2000 * Commanders of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident a ...

2001 * Grand Officer of the French

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's estab ...

2002 * Commander Grand Cross of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of t ...

2003 *

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n 1st Class

Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle ( et, Kotkaristi teenetemärk; french: Ordre de la Croix de l'Aigle) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a st ...

2004 Frisvold was also a fellow of the

Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences The Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences ( no, Norges Tekniske Vitenskapsakademi, NTVA) is a learned society based in Trondheim, Norway. Founded in 1955, the academy has about 500 members. It is a member of the International Council of Ac ...

References

1947 births 2022 deaths People from Kristiansund Norwegian Army generals Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Grand Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Class I Members of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences Chiefs of Defence (Norway) {{Norway-mil-bio-stub