Roald Halvorsen (17 February 1914 – 18 October 2010) was a Norwegian typographer,

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

politician and resistance member from

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 ...

. He finished his typographer's education before World War II, and was a board member of his local union 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 ...

, ''Oslo Typografiske Fagforening''. He was not a member of any political party. During the

German occupation 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 ...

in World War II, Halvorsen joined the communist part of the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...

in 1942. In March 1942 he got a warning that the German police had tried to contact him at his home, and started to live undercover. When he disappeared from the police, his wife Fanny was incarcerated at the

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 ...

for sixteen months, as a hostage. Halvorsen participated in the production of the underground newspaper ''Avantgarden'', which reached a peak circulation of 18,000 in 1942. ''Avantgarden'' was printed in Oslo. Halvorsen was responsible for the type-setting, and during the summer and autumn 1942 this was done from a summer hut at the beach Bestemorstranda at the eastern side of

Bunnefjorden Bunnefjorden, sometimes referred to as Bunne Fjord, is a part of the Oslofjord in south eastern Norway, located east of the Nesodden peninsula.https://snl.no/Bunnefjorden "en indre arm av Oslofjorden i Viken fylke. Fjorden .. skilt fra hovedfjorde ...

. During the winter 1942–1943 he operated from a hut annex at

Krokskogen Krokskogen is a forested area which located outside of Oslo, Norway. It is a part of Oslomarka and is situated between Bærumsmarka, Vestmarka and Nordmarka. The wooded and hilly area of around 300 square kilometres is bordered by Oslo and by ...

. He later worked out of Skriulægeret in

Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudbrandsdalen and Hallingdal. The region of Valdres consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre ...

fjella, in the central headquarters of the communist resistance. The encampment was raided by the German occupiers in

Operation Almenrausch Operation Almenrausch was a counter- resistance operation in occupied Norway, planned and carried out by the Wehrmacht and the Nazi-controlled Norwegian Statspolitiet on 13 June 1944. It was named after the Almenrausch, an "Alpine Rose" growing ...

in June 1944, but Halvorsen escaped. He fled to Sweden and was a part of the Communist Party leadership-in-exile there. In 1988 he was an editor and contributor to the book ''De trykte illegale avisene'', about the illegal press during the war. After the end of the war he became chairman of the Young Communist League of Norway. He served as a deputy representative to 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 ...

from

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

during the term 1945–1949. In total he met during 66 days of parliamentary session. He was the vice chairman of the Communist Party from 1946, and doubled as manager of the party offices, but was expelled during the purge of

Peder Furubotn Peder Furubotn (29 August 1890 – 28 November 1975) was a Norwegian cabinetmaker, politician for the Communist Party and resistance member during World War II. Early and personal life Furubotn was born in Brekke, Sogn og Fjordane, the son o ...

and his supporters in 1949/1950. He was active in trade unionism for many years. He chaired the local union in

, ''Oslo Typografiske Fagforening'' from 1961, and advanced to become leader of the

Norwegian Union of Typographers The Norwegian Central Union of Book Printers ( no, Norsk Centralforening for Boktrykkere, FFNB) was a trade union representing typographers and those in related trades in Norway. The union was founded on 1 October 1882, the first trade union to be ...

in 1963. When this trade union merged to form the

Norwegian Graphical Union The Norwegian Graphical Union ( no, Norsk Grafisk Forbund, NGF) was a trade union representing workers in the printing industry and related trades, in Norway. History The union was founded in 1967, when the Norwegian Union of Typographers merged ...

in 1967, Halvorsen became chairman there. He was the manager of the

Socialist Electoral League The Socialist Left Party of Norway ( no, Sosialistisk Venstreparti or SV) was founded in 1975. Its history shows a long-term rise in political influence, resulting in part from its emergence from older left-wing parties, especially the Socialist ...

(SV) from 1973, and deputy chairman of the new Socialist Left Party (SV) from 1975 to 1977. He died in October 2010, at the age of 96.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halvorsen, Roald 1914 births 2010 deaths Norwegian typographers and type designers Norwegian trade unionists Communist Party of Norway politicians Deputy members of the Storting Akershus politicians Norwegian resistance members Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Norwegian World War II memoirists