Vegard Sletten (8 May 1907 – 17 December 1984) was a Norwegian newspaper editor. He worked in ''

Stavanger Aftenblad ''Stavanger Aftenblad'' () (lit: ''Stavanger Evening Paper'') or simply ''Aftenbladet'' is a daily newspaper based in Stavanger, Norway, and owned by Schibsted Media Group. Norwegian owners held 42 percent of the shares in Schibsted at the end ...

'' from 1929 to 1945, except for the World War II years during parts of which he was imprisoned, and then in ''

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 1945. He edited the latter newspaper from 1967 to 1977, and chaired both the

Norwegian Union of Journalists The Norwegian Union of Journalists ( no, Norsk Journalistlag, NJ) is a trade union in Norway. It consists of editorial personnel in newspapers, magazines, television and radio, as well as freelance journalists. A member organization of the Norweg ...

and the

Norwegian Press Association The Norwegian Press Association ( no, Norsk Presseforbund, NP) is Norwegian association established in 1910, for press people with journalism as their main profession. Among its members are the Norwegian Union of Journalists, the Association of Nor ...

. Like his father

Klaus Sletten Klaus Daae Sletten (5 March 1877 – 4 April 1946) was a Norwegian organizational worker and politician who spent his professional career as an editor of magazines and newspapers. He was known as a supporter of the Nynorsk cause. Early life He was ...

he was also a

Nynorsk Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-Nor ...

supporter.

Early and personal life

Sletten 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 ...

as a son of newspaper editor Klaus Daae Sletten (1877–1946) and Margit Bruun (1875–1958). He was a nephew of

Jakob Hveding Sletten Jakob Hveding Sletten (4 December 1872 – 7 December 1936) was a Norwegian priest and musician. He was born in Høyland to parents who hailed from Lindås. The family moved to Lindås in 1882. He finished his secondary education in 1895, and grad ...

and a maternal grandson of

Christopher Bruun Christopher Arndt Bruun (23 September 1839 – 17 July 1920) was a Norwegian priest and educator. Biography He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was a son of jurist Johan Peter Bruun (1810–1843) and Line Stenersen (1816–1901). Af ...

. From Kristiania his family soon moved to

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

via

Trondhjem Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

and

Ålesund Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrative ...

. 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 Stavanger in 1925, and studied 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 ...

, the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and the

École des hautes études en sciences sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...

between 1925 and 1928. He was hired as a journalist in ''

'' in 1929. In 1933 he married Synnøve Erika Gudmundson (1909–2001).

World War II

In 1940, Norway was

invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

and occupied by Germany as a part of

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 ...

. Nazification attempts of the press soon began, and when a member of the Fascist party

Nasjonal Samling Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling and a group of supporters such a ...

was installed in ''Stavanger Aftenblad'' in 1941, Sletten quit his job. He then worked part-time as a teacher, as well as in the illegal press. He was arrested in Stavanger in June 1944, and spent time in

Grini concentration camp '', '' no, Grini fangeleir'', location=Bærum, Viken, Norway, location map=Viken#Norway, built by=Norway, original use=Constructed as a women's prison, operated by=Nazi Germany, notable inmates= List of Grini prisoners, liberated by=Harry Söderma ...

from June 1944 to February 1945. He was then detained in

Berg concentration camp Berg interneringsleir (Berg internment camp) was a concentration camp near Tønsberg in Norway that served as an internment and transit center for political prisoners and Jews during the Nazi occupation of Norway. Establishment The camp at Berg ...

until the

liberation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

, which incidentally took place on his birthday.

Post-war career

After the war, Sletten returned to his old job in ''Stavanger Aftenblad'', but quit after a few months, following a dispute over the appointment of

Christian S. Oftedal Christian Stephansen Oftedal (14 January 1907 – 11 July 1955) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He is the son of Lars Oftedal. He was born in Stavanger. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from the Market towns of Ve ...

as editor-in-chief. Instead, he was hired by the newly established ''

'' in the autumn of 1945. He worked there parallel to editing the weekly newspaper '' Norsk Tidend'', from 1946 to 1975, and chairing the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

from 1946 to 1949 and 1952 to 1956. He helped co-found this trade union. In the

he was deputy chair from 1947 to 1951 and chair from 1962 to 1971. From 1962 to 1964 he was a board member of the

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries. The IFJ is an associate ...

. Sletten became chief editor of ''Verdens Gang'' in 1967, and sat until his old age retirement in 1977. The newspaper had multiple chief editors at this time. Sletten replaced founding editor

Christian A. R. Christensen Christian A. R. Christensen (17 December 1906 – 27 January 1967) was a Norwegian newspaper editor. He is known for his work in the Norwegian resistance movement, as editor of ''Verdens Gang'' and as a historical writer. He also helped shape the E ...

, and co-edited with

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 ...

, who had held the position since 1953. Between 1969 and 1974 Arne Bonde sat as a third editor. Hasselknippe and Sletten were succeeded by

Tim Greve 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 as the son of consul Arent Wittendorph Greve (1892–1950) and Anna Gad ...

and

Andreas Norland Andreas Norland (9 May 1935 – 21 August 2021) was a Norwegian newspaper editor. He was known as editor of three large newspapers ''Adresseavisen'', ''Verdens Gang'' and ''Aftenposten'', and also held other positions in the Schibsted media congl ...

. During Sletten's period as editor ''Verdens Gang'' developed into one of Norway's leading newspapers, more or less trebling its circulation. In 1981 it surpassed ''

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 ...

'' to become Norway's largest newspaper. Sletten also chaired the

organization

Noregs Ungdomslag Noregs Ungdomslag (NU, literally "Norway's youth society") is a Norwegian cultural society formed in 1896. It has around 17,000 members and 450 local chapters. Activities Among the society's activities are folk dance, theatre and the spreading of ...

from 1947 to 1955, following in the footsteps of his father. He was also a member of the

Norwegian Language Council The Language Council of Norway ( no, Språkrådet, ) is the consultative body of the Norwegian state on language issues. It was established in 2005 and replaced the Norwegian Language Council (, ) which existed from 1974 to 2005. It is a subsidiar ...

and of the board of the

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) is a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In matters regarding Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), Norad reports to the Norwegian Ministry ...

. As a pensioner he wrote ''Pressestøtte og pressefridom'' ('Press Support and Freedom of the Press', 1979), a book about the Norwegian

press support Press support is a government subsidy available for newspapers in some countries. The support can either be direct, in terms of money to the newspaper, or indirect, such as lowered or eliminated sales tax. The justification for press support is typ ...

. He also biographed Christopher Bruun in 1986; in 1964 he had issued a collection of Bruun's letters. He was decorated as a 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 ...

and 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 o ...

. He died in December 1984 in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sletten, Vegard 1907 births 1984 deaths School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences alumni University of Oslo alumni Verdens Gang people Norwegian newspaper editors Norwegian magazine editors Norwegian resistance members Norwegian trade unionists Writers from Oslo People from Stavanger Norwegian expatriates in France World War II resistance press activists Berg concentration camp survivors Nynorsk Norwegian biographers Male biographers Norwegian non-fiction writers Recipients of the Order of the Lion of Finland Grini concentration camp survivors 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century biographers 20th-century Norwegian male writers Male non-fiction writers