Halvor Midtbø (1883,

Holt, Aust-Agder Holt is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1960 when it was merged into the present-day municipality of Tvedestrand which is now in Agder county. The admi ...

– January 1985) was a Norwegian

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and temperance activist. He was a member of the central committee of the

International Federation of the Blue Cross The International Blue Cross () is a politically and denominationally independent Christian organization consisting of about 40 member organizations engaged in the prevention, treatment and after care of problems related to alcohol and other drugs. ...

for 32 years. He chaired the Norwegian branch of the Blue Cross from 1936 to 1960, and became an honorary member. He was born in Holt. He attended the

Norwegian Military Academy The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway. History The Commander- ...

before enrolling in theology studies, graduating with the

cand.theol. 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 in 1908. He spent his professional career as a priest; he worked in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

from 1912 to 1920, was vicar in

Glemmen Glemmen is a parish and former municipality with the city of Fredrikstad, Østfold county, Norway. History The parish of ''Glemminge'' was established as a municipality 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). A part of Glemmen with 2,013 inhab ...

from 1923 to 1936 and

Torshov Torshov is a neighborhood north of Grünerløkka and Lilleborg in the Sagene borough of Oslo, Norway. The Oslo Tramway (''Trikken i Oslo'') provides connections with lines running between Majorstuen and Kjelsås. Vogts gate serves as the m ...

until 1953. He held the

HM The King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

. He died in 1985, aged 101.

References

1883 births 1985 deaths People from Tvedestrand Norwegian Military Academy alumni 20th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy Norwegian temperance activists Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian men centenarians Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit {{Norway-reli-bio-stub