Leif Høegh (21 April 1896 - 23 May 1974) was a Norwegian shipowner. He founded the international shipping company known as

Leif Höegh & Co Leif Höegh & Co is a shipping company founded in 1927 by Norwegian Leif Høegh (1896-1974). Since 2006 the company has been structured as two separate entities, Höegh Autoliners and Höegh LNG, with Leif Höegh & Co acting as a common holding ...

in 1927.

Biography

Høegh 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 ...

(now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Nils Vogt Petersen (1852-1927) and Elise Olsen (1864-1952) He grew up in the neighborhood of Frogner where his father was employed by Westye Egeberg & Co. He graduated from the University of Kristiania (now University of Oslo) in 1916. In 1919, Høegh was employed by Wilh. Wilhelmsen as agent for the shipping line between

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. Høegh ordered his first ship in 1927 and developed an enterprise with a leading position in the global maritime transportation sector. At the time of the Norwegian invasion by Nazi Germany on April 9, 1940, the entire Høegh fleet was outside German-controlled area. German officials order all Norwegian merchant ships sail to a neutral or German-controlled port. With his failure to comply, Høegh was sent to

Bredtveit Prison Bredtveit Prison (formally Bredtveit Prison Service, Custody and Supervision Unit, ) is a prison located in the neighborhood of Bredtvet in Oslo, Norway. During World War II it was a concentration camp. Pre-World War II It originated at Bredtv ...

. Subsequently released, Høegh fled from Norway during the later phase of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He later represented Norwegian maritime interests with the United Maritime Authority with headquarters 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 ...

and

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. He was an attendee of all

Bilderberg Group The Bilderberg Meeting (also known as the "Bilderberg Group", "Bilderberg Conference" or "Bilderberg Club") is an annual off-the-record forum established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally ...

(''Bilderberg-gruppen'') meetings between 1954 and 1974 (except in 1955) and was a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group. In 1966, his eldest son Ove Dines Høegh took his place in the board of directors and in 1974, his younger son Morten Westye Høegh became a board member.

Honors

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

References

External links

Høegh website
1896 births 1974 deaths Businesspeople from Oslo in shipping University of Oslo alumni Norwegian company founders Bredtveit concentration camp survivors Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the Order of Vasa Order of the White Rose of Finland Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal {{norway-business-bio-stub

Biography

Honors

References

Related reading

External links