Finn Palmstrøm (19 October 1903 – 26 January 1987) was a Norwegian jurist. He was a budala and judge before and during the Second World War, and also fought as a soldier. After the war he was a civil servant and judge, serving as district stipendiary magistrate between 1946 and 1973. He also had a short period in local politics.

Pre-war life and career

He was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

as a son of professor Arnfinn Palmstrøm (1867–1922) and Henrikke Qvigstad (1864–1907), and younger brother of actuary Henrik Palmstrøm. He finished his secondary education in 1922 and took the

cand.jur. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

in 1926. After working the years 1926 to 1929 as a junior solicitor, he started his own law firm together with Richard August Riekeles in 1930. Palmstrøm was a deputy judge in Vest-Telemark District Court from 1935 to 1937, and then returned to the law firm.

World War II

During the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, which lasted from 1939 to 1940, Palmstrøm was a volunteer on the Finnish side, fighting against the Soviet Union. He returned to Norway to find his country invaded by Germany on 9 April 1940, and Palmstrøm took part in the subsequent fighting. He soon fled to the United Kingdom, where he joined

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 ...

("Kompani Linge"). He trained with the company in 1941 and 1942, and participated in the Måløy Raid. From 1942 to 1945 he was a defender in the Norwegian military court in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He held the rank of lieutenant colonel. From 1944 to 1946 he also headed the "Norwegian national office", an office tasked with registering people whom the Norwegian government-in-exile regarded as war criminals.

Post-war life and career

From 1945 to 1946 he was an acting assistant secretary in the

Norwegian Ministry of Justice The Royal Ministry of Justice and Public Security () is a Norwegian government ministry that oversees justice, the police, and domestic intelligence. The main purpose of the ministry is to provide for the maintenance and development of the basic ...

. He was also present at the

Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

of 1945 and 1946, and wrote the ''Report on Germany's Crimes against Norway'' together with

Rolf Normann Torgersen Rolf Normann Torgersen (17 August 1918 – 15 January 2010) was a Norway, Norwegian jurist and civil servant. He was born in Oslo, Kristiania, examen artium, finished his secondary education in 1936 and took the cand.jur. degree in 1941. He studie ...

. He was also one of four Norwegian members of the

United Nations War Crimes Commission The United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC), initially the United Nations Commission for the Investigation of War Crimes, was a United Nations body that aided the prosecution of war crimes committed by Nazi Germany and other Axis powers duri ...

, together with Jacob Aars Rynning,

Erik Colban Erik Andreas Colban (18 October 1876 – 28 March 1956) was a Norwegian diplomat. Colban had many important roles in Norwegian diplomacy; especially being named to the post of Norwegian Ambassador in London before and during the Second World ...

and

Terje Wold Terje Wold (23 August 1899 – 6 September 1972) was a Norwegian judge and politician for the Labour Party. Terje Wold was born in Evenes Municipality. He graduated as cand.jur. in 1921. He worked as a jurist, becoming a Supreme Court Justice o ...

. In 1946 he finally quit the law firm as he was appointed as the district stipendiary magistrate of

Tana District Court Tana may refer to: Places Africa * Lake Tana, a lake in Ethiopia (and a source of the Nile River) * Tana Qirqos, an island in the eastern part of Lake Tana in Ethiopia, near the mouth of the Gumara River * Tana River County, a county of Coast P ...

. From 1946 to 1952 he was also a judge in cases pertaining to war affairs in

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

. From 1952 to 1973 he was the district stipendiary magistrate of

Solør District Court Solør District Court () was a district court in Innlandet county, Norway. The court was based in Flisa. The court existed from 1847 until 2021. It served Våler Municipality, Åsnes Municipality, and Grue Municipality. Cases from this court cou ...

. While serving here, he was also a member of Åsnes

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

from 1960 to 1962. After retiring, he moved back to Oslo where he functioned as a civil servant in the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

. He was decorated with the

Defence Medal 1940–1945 The Defence Medal 1940–1945 () is the award rewarded to those military and civilian personnel who participated in the fight against the German invasion and occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The Defence Medal 1940–1945 can be award ...

, the 1939–45 Star, the

Haakon VII 70th Anniversary Medal Haakon VII 70th Anniversary Medal is a Norwegian military award, which was instituted by King Haakon VII of Norway on 27 October 1942. It was awarded in recognition of military personnel who served in the Norwegian armed forces in Britain on the ...

and a Finnish war medal. He was married to British citizen Bettine Marie Louise Ridley since 1937. He died in January 1987 and was buried at

Vestre gravlund Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen (station), Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a cremator ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmstroem, Finn 1903 births 1987 deaths Judges from Oslo University of Oslo alumni Volunteers in the Winter War Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian civil servants Hedmark politicians Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Burials at Vestre gravlund 20th-century Norwegian lawyers Norwegian expatriates in Finland