Tore Gjelsvik (7 September 1916 – 23 January 2006) was a Norwegian geologist and polar explorer. He headed the

Norwegian Polar Institute The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI; no, Norsk Polarinstitutt) is Norway's central governmental institution for scientific research, mapping and environmental monitoring in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The NPI is a directorate under Norway's Min ...

from 1960 to 1983, and played an important role in the Norwegian resistance during

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 ...

Personal life

Gjelsvik was born in Bodin as the son of Eystein Gjelsvik and Lina Relling. He finished his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian language, Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

in 1936, and started thereafter studying 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 ...

. He graduated in 1942. He married Anne Marie Skaven in 1945.

World War II

Being a student in Oslo at the outbreak of

, Gjelsvik participated in the resistance movement from 1940. By that time he had already participated in the Norwegian Campaign. He was among the editors and producers of the magazine '' Bulletinen'', one of the first underground newspapers, and this consumed much of his time. He was among the initiators of the first intelligence groups, and had contacts with the leaders of XU. Gjelsvik became a member of the Coordination Committee ( no, Koordinasjonskomiteen (KK)) in 1943, a central coordinating organ for the civil branch of the resistance. According to one historian, students of

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

s were well-suited for intelligence work, as they were practically oriented and used to working in the field. Leading members of XU, such as

Astrid Løken Astrid Løken (14 April 1911 – 19 January 2008) was a Norwegian entomologist and member of the Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Spending most of her career at Bergen Museum, from 1949 to 1979, she was the first female mem ...

, were natural scientists at the University of Oslo. He has documented the Norwegian resistance in his book from 1977, ''Hjemmefronten. Den sivile motstand under okkupasjonen 1940–45'', based on personal knowledge and experience.

Postwar career

Gjelsvik took the dr. philos. degree in 1953 on the thesis ''Metamorphosed Dolerites in the

Gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

Area of

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, en, South- Møre) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities ( no, kommuner) of Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Norddal ...

on the West Coast of Southern Norway''. He worked as a geologist from 1952 to 1959, and also worked for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. In 1960 he was appointed manager for the

, a position he held until his retirement in 1983. He participated in Polar research, as a member of several committees, such as ''Det interdepartementale Polarutvalg'' and ''Polarrådet''. He chaired the geographical society ''Det norske geografiske selskap'' from 1963 to 1965, and the geological society ''Norsk Geologisk Forening'' from 1963 to 1964. He took part in the developing

Norway's Resistance Museum Norway's Resistance Museum also known as the Norwegian Home Front Museum ( no, Norges Hjemmefrontmuseum) is a museum located at the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. The museum collection focuses on Norwegian resistance during the occupation of Norway b ...

, chairing its advisory board from 1964 to 1973, and was a member of the ''

Fram Fram may refer to: Ships * ''Fram'' (ship), an arctic exploration vessel from Norway * MS ''Fram'', expedition cruise ship owned by Hurtigruten Group Places and geography * Fram, Paraguay, a town in Itapúa, Paraguay * Fram Formation, a se ...

'' committee from 1960 to 1997. Gjelsvik 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 ci ...

in 1975, and Commander in 1984. He was also a Commander of the

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 the ...

, was an honorary member of the

Norwegian Geographical Society The Norwegian Geographical Society (in Norwegian: Det norske geografiske Selskab) is a Norwegian learned society founded in 1889. Among the initiators was geologist Hans Henrik Reusch, who chaired the society from 1898 to 1903, and again from 1907 ...

Norsk Polarklubb 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 to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

and the

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is an interdisciplinary body of the International Science Council (ISC). SCAR coordinates international scientific research efforts in Antarctica, including the Southern Ocean. SCAR's scien ...

, and was a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

from 1974. He lived at Gjettum in his later life, and died in Bærum in 2006.

Selected bibliography

*''Hjemmefronten. Den sivile motstand under okkupasjonen'' 1940–45 (1977) *''Snart kommer vår dag. Erindringer fra krigen'' (1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjelsvik, Tore 1916 births 2006 deaths People from Bodø University of Oslo alumni Norwegian resistance members 20th-century Norwegian geologists 21st-century Norwegian geologists Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Commanders of the Order of the Polar Star Norwegian World War II memoirists Norwegian Army personnel of World War II