Sverre Julius Gjellum (29 September 1919 – 23 April 1999) was a Norwegian diplomat. He was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, enrolled in law studies in 1939 and graduated from the University of Oslo with the

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 in 1943. This was during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, and he escaped to

neutral Sweden Swedish neutrality refers to Sweden's former policy of neutrality in armed conflicts, which was in effect from the early 19th century to 2009, when Sweden entered into various mutual defence treaties with the European Union (EU), and other Nordic ...

, joined the Norwegian police troops-in-exile before travelling via the United Kingdom to Canada, where he underwent pilot training in Little Norway. In 1945 he returned to Norway and worked with the legal purge in the Oslo police. He started working for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

in 1946. His first posts abroad were as an embassy secretary in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and vice-consul in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. He returned to Norway in 1953. He was a deputy under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1965 to 1969, Norwegian ambassador in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

from 1969 to 1972, permanent under-secretary of state (the highest-ranking bureaucratic position) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1972 to 1977, Norwegian ambassador to the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

from 1977 to 1982 and to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

from 1982 to 1987. He was decorated as a Commander with Star of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1974. In his last years he worked for the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

. He died in April 1999 and was buried at Vestre gravlund.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjellum, Sverre 1919 births 1999 deaths Diplomats from Oslo University of Oslo alumni Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Norwegian expatriates in Canada Norwegian World War II pilots Royal Norwegian Air Force personnel of World War II Personnel of the legal purge in Norway Ambassadors of Norway to Kenya Ambassadors of Norway to West Germany Norwegian expatriates in Mexico Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian expatriates in Belgium Burials at Vestre gravlund