Thomas Valentin "Valla" Aass (28 April 1887 – 14 August 1961) was a Norwegian sailor and civil servant in the foreign service. He was born in Kristiania as a son of wholesaler Julius Aas (1832–1909) and Hulda Mathilde Olsen (1848–1929). In 1923 he married lighthouse director's daughter Ingeborg Horn. He

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 1905 and graduated from the Royal Frederick University 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 1911. From 1912 to 1915 he was a deputy to the stipendiary magistrate of Fredrikstad. He competed in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

as a crew member of the Norwegian boat ''Taifun'', which won the gold medal in the

8 metre class The International Eight Metre class are class of racing yachts. Eight Metre boats (often called "Eights" or 8mR) are a ''construction class'', meaning that the boats are not identical but are all designed to meet specific measurement formula, in ...

. He represented the

Royal Norwegian Yacht Club The Royal Norwegian Yacht Club ( no, Kongelig Norsk Seilforening, KNS) is a yacht club in Oslo, Norway. The club was founded in 1883 as country-wide organisation with affiliated local yacht clubs. In 1884, it was granted the right for members ...

. In 1917 he was hired in the foreign service, as a secretary in 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 ...

. He was promoted to acting assistant secretary in 1920, then acting consul in Barcelona in 1921 and acting legation secretary in London in 1922. He was promoted to vice consul in the next year. In 1930 he was moved to the

Norwegian legation in Stockholm The Norwegian Legation in Stockholm played a significant role during the Second World War. Until 9 April 1940 the legation consisted of four persons, and at the end of the war about 1,100 persons were connected to the legation. Refugee cases were ...

as a secretary. He also had responsibility for Kaunas, Lithuania. After a period at home as assistant secretary in the 2nd Trade Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1934 to 1940 he returned to the Norwegian legation in Stockholm as councillor of trade. The legation became of the utmost importance when Norway was dragged into the Second World War while Sweden remained neutral. He was promoted to legation councillor in 1943, and in 1946 consul-general in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. He was decorated as a Knight, First Class 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 ...

(1946), Commander of the Order of the Polar Star, Order of Vasa, Order of Isabella the Catholic; Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

and Officer of the Order of Polonia Restituta. He died in April 1961 and was buried at

Ris Ris may refer to the following: * Ris, Puy-de-Dôme, a commune in France * Ris, Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune in France * Ris, Norway * Diane Ris (1932–2013), Catholic nun, educator and author * Friedrich Ris (1867–1931), Swiss physician and ento ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aas, Thomas Valentin 1887 births 1961 deaths Sportspeople from Oslo Norwegian male sailors (sport) Sailors at the 1912 Summer Olympics – 8 Metre Olympic sailors for Norway Olympic gold medalists for Norway Olympic medalists in sailing University of Oslo alumni Norwegian civil servants Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Norwegian expatriates in England Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Commanders of the Order of the Polar Star Commanders of the Order of Vasa Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Commanders of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Norwegian people of World War II Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Royal Norwegian Yacht Club sailors