Carl Falck
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Carl Wilhelm Andreas Falck (27 May 1907 – 23 July 2016) was a Norwegian businessman, centenarian, and Norway's oldest living man. He was head of the
wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...
rs' organization Norges Grossistforbund from 1948 to 1975. At the age of 105, Falck became Norway's oldest man in 2012 and a subject of media interest.


Early years and career

Falck was born in Tønsberg, South Norway to a bookseller and his wife. He got a master's degree in law (''
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. ...
'') in 1931 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 ...
and subsequently held various positions as jurist in the Norwegian Police Service, a deputy judge ( no, dommerfullmektig, links=no), assistant lawyer and as jurist in the
Ministry of Social Affairs A Ministry of Social Affairs or Department of Social Affairs is the common name for a government department found in Sovereign state, states where the government is divided into Ministry (government department), ministries or departments. While th ...
. After 1939, he mostly worked within various business organisations. In 1948, he was named CEO of the wholesalers' organization Norges Grossist-forbund, (which in 1990 was merged into the
Federation of Norwegian Enterprises The Federation of Norwegian Enterprise ( no, Virke, formerly ''Handels- og Servicenæringens Hovedorganisasjon (HSH)'') is an employers' organisation in Norway with more than 24 000 member companies. It was established 1 of January 1990 through ...
). In this position and as part of the
Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
, he spent two months in large cities in the US in 1952 to study the American wholesale industry. He became particularly interested in how the Americans kept stock in big one-level warehouses, as opposed to the Norwegian practice where stocks often were kept in narrow multilayer warehouses where ladders were needed to get the stocks in and out. Coming back to Norway, he advocated what he thought was the more effective American system. He published a book about structural changes in the wholesaler industry in 1969. He was a member of various Norwegian and European committees during his career.


Elderly years and death

In 2012, at age 105, Falck became Norway's oldest man and since then was portrayed by various media outlets. Remaining in good health, he lived in his own home until 2012. when he moved into a nursing home in Oslo. He used to smoke until he was around 50. In his eighties, he started going to a gym, and later worked out daily at the nursing home. In 2013,
NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...
published an article by Carl Falck titled "Some thoughts from Norway's oldest man" () where he reflected upon his own life and how society had changed since he was born.Carl Falck (12 June 2013
"Noen tanker fra Norges eldste mann"
NRK. Retrieved 5 January 2014
The article was widely spread in
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
."Hyggelig hvis det kan være til glede for andre mennesker"
NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...
; retrieved 5 January 2014
Commenting on the
2013 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 8 and 9 September 2013 to elect all 169 members of the unicameral Storting. The centre-right coalition obtained 96 seats, while the incumbent red–green coalition government obtained 72 seats and ...
, he noted that women didn't have the right to vote when he was born. He encouraged people to use their right to vote and declared he would vote the same party as he always had; he voted for the 43rd time in 2013. His family lived at
Eiksmarka Eiksmarka ("Oakfield") is an affluent suburb of the Norwegian municipality of Bærum in the Greater Oslo Region with around 4,000 inhabitants. It is located just west of the border of Oslo municipality, but within the contiguous urban area of O ...
for several years, then at Frogner. His wife died in 2010.Tom Henry Vestreng (10 January 2013
"105 år – og fortsatt på Druen"
'' Dagsavisen''. Retrieved 5 January 2014
He had children and grandchildren. He died on at the age of 109 years, 57 days in
Oslo 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 ...
.


Publications

*Carl Falck: ''Strukturendringene i Varehandelen Og Virkningen for Industrien'' (1969), Grundt Tanum.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falck, Carl 1907 births 2016 deaths Norwegian businesspeople Norwegian centenarians Men centenarians University of Oslo alumni People from Tønsberg