Kolbjørn Sigurd Werner Varmann (23 December 1904 – 13 August 1980) was a Norwegian priest and politician for the Labour Party. He is known as Minister of Transport and Communications from 1955 to 1960, and also as County Governor of Finnmark.

Early life and career

He was born in Eid Municipality as a son of as a son of Anders Kornelius Karlsen (1871–1940) and Astrid Langeland (1879–1932). He enrolled as a student in 1924, and graduated 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 1929. He worked as a school teacher in

Nordfjordeid Nordfjordeid is the administrative centre of the municipality of Stad, Norway, Stad in Vestland county, western Norway. It is located at the end of the Eidsfjorden, an arm of the main Nordfjorden (Sogn og Fjordane), Nordfjorden, west of the large ...

from 1930 to 1931 before becoming

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

in the

Diocese of Hålogaland The Diocese of Hålogaland (, historically: ) was a diocese in the Church of Norway. The Diocese covered the Lutheran Church of Norway churches located within all of Northern Norway (including Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark county along with the t ...

in 1931. While holding this position, he founded the upper secondary school in

Tysfjord Municipality or is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1869 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Narvik Municipality and Hamarøy Municipality in the traditional district of Ofoten. Its adminis ...

. From 1935 he chaired the school board in the municipality, and in 1936 he became vicar in Tysfjord. During World War II he was a member of the

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

, organizing illegal emigration to Sweden. He was arrested by the Nazi German authorities, but survived and 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 ...

National politics

After the war he returned to Tysfjord as a vicar. He was also the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of Nordre Salten, but left both positions in 1963. He was also a lieutenant in the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

from 1946 to 1958. He became involved in politics, serving as mayor of Tysfjord from 1945 to 1955, and was a member of

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

during the same period. He was elected to the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) 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 based on party-list proportional represe ...

from

in 1950, and was re-elected on three occasions, the last term ending in 1965. From January 1955 to April 1960 he was the Minister of Transport and Communications in

Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet was the cabinet of Norway from 22 January 1955 to 28 August 1963. The government was led by Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen, marking his third term in said role. The cabinet was defeated in a motion of no-confidence in ...

. During this time his seat in parliament was taken by Margith Johanne Munkebye and

Rolf Hellem Rolf Hellem (26 December 1923 – 6 June 2021) was a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party, Labour Party. He was elected to the Stortinget, Norwegian Parliament from Nordland (Storting constituency), Nordland in 1965, and was re-e ...

. His career ended with the post of County Governor of Finnmark, which he held from 1965 to 1974. He was appointed in 1963, but since he was a parliament member, Anders Aune served as Acting County Governor. He was also a deputy board member of the

Office of the Auditor General of Norway The Office of the Auditor General of Norway () is the state auditor of the Government of Norway and directly subordinate of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for auditing, monitoring and advising all state economic activities, including ...

, a board member of ''Utbyggingsfondet for Nord-Norge''. He was awarded 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 ...

in gold in 1980, but never physically received the medal as he died in August 1980.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varmann, Kolbjorn 1904 births 1980 deaths People from Eid, Norway Norwegian priest-politicians Norwegian resistance members Labour Party (Norway) politicians Mayors of places in Nordland Government ministers of Norway County governors of Norway Ministers of transport and communications of Norway Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Members of the Storting 1950–1953 Members of the Storting 1954–1957 Members of the Storting 1958–1961 Members of the Storting 1961–1965