Erling Sven Lorentzen (28 January 1923 – 9 March 2021) was a Norwegian-Brazilian shipowner and industrialist. He founded

Aracruz Celulose Aracruz Celulose S.A. was a Brazilian manufacturer of Pulp (paper), pulp and paper. In 2009 it merged with Votorantim Celulose e Papel, VCP and was renamed Fibria. The new company maintained its headquarters in Sao Paulo, and is a supplier of bl ...

in 1968. He was the widower of Princess Ragnhild, the eldest child of King

Olav V of Norway Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Nor ...

. In addition to being a Norwegian princess, his wife was in the

line of succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, gender, legitimacy and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 a ...

and occupied the 18th place at the time of her birth. Erling Lorentzen was a member of the Lorentzen family of shipping magnates.

Life and career

Lorentzen was born 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 ...

as the son of Øivind Lorentzen (1882–1980) and Ragna (née Nilsen; 1885–1976). He worked for the

Norwegian Independent Company 1 Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1, pronounced ''Norisén'' (approx. "noor-ee-sehn") in Norwegian) was a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) group formed in March 1941 originally for the purpose of performing commando raids during ...

, a British military unit, 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 opposing ...

. He owned 28% of

, which he sold for approximately US$1.7 billion in July 2008. His family's business was a merchant marine, and the Lorentzens had a line from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

to the east coast of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. In the early 1950s, Erling planned a visit to Brazil to meet with his representatives. At the time, they transported liquefied petroleum gas from the Gulf of Mexico to Brazil. On the way to Brazil, Erling learned that Esso wanted to sell its gas distribution company in Brazil. So instead of visiting their representatives, Erling sought to know more about such a company that was for sale, which would expand the LPG transportation business. When Lorentzen bought the company, Erling moved to Brazil permanently. The company grew considerably, but Lorentzen sold it in 1972. After the sale, he started other businesses, such as

Marriage and children

Lorentzen married Princess Ragnhild, elder granddaughter of the then-reigning

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...

, on 15 May 1953 in

Asker Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greater Asker) in Viken county, ...

, Norway. He was thus the brother-in-law of

King Harald V Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the lin ...

Queen Sonja Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen on 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway since 17 January 1991 as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relation ...

and Princess Astrid. The couple had three children together; Haakon (born 23 August 1954), Ingeborg (born 27 February 1957), and Ragnhild (born 8 May 1968).

Honours

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Southern Cross Emperor Pedro I of Brazil founded the National Order of the Southern Cross ( pt, Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul) as a Brazilian order of chivalry on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate the independence of Brazil (7 September 18 ...

References

External links

Lorentzen Family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorentzen, Erling 1923 births 2021 deaths Businesspeople from Oslo Norwegian company founders Erling People with acquired Brazilian citizenship Norwegian expatriates in Brazil Brazilian businesspeople Harvard Business School alumni Norwegian military personnel of World War II Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Order of Saint Olav Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch Brazilian people of Norwegian descent