Tim Greve (20 February 1928 – 27 April 1986) was a Norwegian historian, biographer, civil servant, diplomat and newspaper editor.

Personal life

Greve was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

as the son of consul Arent Wittendorph Greve (1892–1950) and Anna Gade (1900–1977). His brother Egil Gade Greve was a notable businessman, and Tim Greve was also a distant descendant of Arent Jansen Greve. In 1954 he married jurist Marit Nansen, daughter of architect

Odd Nansen Odd Nansen (6 December 1901 – 27 June 1973) was a Norwegian architect, writer, and humanitarian. He is credited with being a co-founder of UNICEF and for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of Jews in the early years of World War II. Biogr ...

and granddaughter of

Eva Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...

and

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

. They resided at

Fornebu Fornebu (local form ''Fornebo'') is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo. Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and ...

in Bærum, incidentally in the road ''Fridtjof Nansens vei''.

Career

Greve attended the

Nansen Academy The Nansen Academy – Norwegian Humanistic Academy ( no, Nansenskolen – Norsk Humanistisk Akademi) is a folk high school in Lillehammer, Norway. History Nansen Academy was founded as a humanist and anti-totalitarian institution. The school was ...

, and then studied history at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

, graduating in 1952. He was attached to 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 ...

from 1951 to 1974. He served as Norwegian delegate to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and to the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

(OECD), and was later secretary for the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

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 ...

. Holding office from 1956 to 1960, he was the first political secretary (today known as political advisor) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was two years at the Norwegian embassy in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, and later served as Secretary for the

Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs ( no, Utenrikskomiteen) is a defunct committee of the Norwegian Parliament responsible for matters related to foreign policy, development assistance, international agreements, Svalbard and the Norwegian polar ...

of 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 ...

. He then returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as assistant secretary from 1966 to 1967 and deputy under-secretary of state from 1967 to 1974. He served as Director for the Norwegian Nobel Institute from 1974 to 1977 and Secretary for the

Norwegian Nobel Committee The Norwegian Nobel Committee ( no, Den norske Nobelkomité) selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will. Five members are appointed by ...

. He was chief editor for the newspaper ''

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

'' from 1978 to 1986. In 1978, two long-serving co-editors

Oskar Hasselknippe Oskar Hasselknippe (18 January 1911 – 4 July 2001) was a Norwegian newspaper editor. He is known for his work in the Norwegian resistance movement and as editor of ''Verdens Gang'' during its swift ascent among Norwegian newspapers. Early life ...

and

Vegard Sletten Vegard Sletten (8 May 1907 – 17 December 1984) was a Norwegian newspaper editor. He worked in ''Stavanger Aftenblad'' from 1929 to 1945, except for the World War II years during parts of which he was imprisoned, and then in ''Verdens Gang'' ...

resigned, but Greve had Andreas Norland as a co-editor. During Greve's period as editor-in-chief ''Verdens Gang'' became the largest newspaper in Norway, surpassing ''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...

'' in 1981. Reportedly, Greve was not genuinely content with this development. He viewed sensationalist journalism, which reached the front page of ''Verdens Gang'' now and then, with dismay. From 1982 he chaired the Broadcasting Council. He was succeeded by Helge Seip on 1 January 1986. Greve wrote several books. His biography of his wife's grandfather, polar explorer and

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

laureate

, was published in two volumes in 1973 and 1974. He wrote two volumes on

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in Bergen, ''Bergen i krig I-II'' (1978–1979), and a book on espionage in Norway prior to the war, ''Spionjakt i Norge'' (1982). From 1982 to his death he was the deputy board chairman of the

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade as well a ...

. Greve was decorated Knight, First Class 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 cit ...

in 1968 as well as Commander, First Class of the Danish

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 ...

. He also received the ''

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

'' from

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 ...

. He died in April 1986 in Oslo, from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Select bibliography

* ''Det Norske Storting gjennom 150 år III''. (1964) * ''Riksrevisjonen 1816–1966''. (1966) * ''Fridtjof Nansen I-II''. (1973–1974) * ''Bergen i krig I-II''. (Bergen, 1978–1979) * ''Spionjakt i Norge''. (1982) * ''Verdenskrig''. (''Norge i krig, volume 3''. Oslo, 1985)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greve, Tim 1928 births 1986 deaths Writers from Bergen University of Oslo alumni 20th-century Norwegian historians Historians of World War II Diplomats from Bergen Norwegian expatriates in France Norwegian expatriates in Germany Norwegian newspaper editors Verdens Gang people Norwegian biographers Norwegian male writers Male biographers Deaths from cancer in Norway Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Commanders First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog 20th-century biographers