Nils Hønsvald (4 December 1899 – 24 November 1971) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician for the Labour Party. He was one of the leading figures in Norwegian politics from 1945 to 1969. He served as President of the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...

in 1958 and 1963. Hønsvald was born in

Horten Horten () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Horten (town) ...

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

County, Norway. He was editor of ''

Østfold Arbeiderblad was a newspaper published in Sarpsborg in Østfold county, Norway. It was started in 1921 as the regional newspaper for the Norwegian Labour Party. In the same year the Labour Party had lost its newspaper in the region, in Fredrikstad, which ha ...

'' in

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsbor ...

, regional newspaper for the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party (; , A or Ap; ), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party (, DNA), is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Norway, political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centre-left of the political spectru ...

which was discontinued in 1929 and editor of ''

Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad ''Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad'' is a local newspaper in Sarpsborg, Norway. It is published six days a week. The chief editor is Bernt Frode Lyngstad. It was established in 1929, after the demise of '' Østfold Arbeiderblad'', and was affiliated with t ...

'', a local newspaper published in Sarpsborg (1929–1969). He participated in the

Left Communist Youth League Left Communist Youth League (in Norwegian: ''Venstrekommunistisk Ungdomsfylking'') was the youth organization of the Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party (; , A or Ap; ), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party (, DNA), is a Social democracy ...

's military strike action of 1924. He was convicted for assisting in this crime and sentenced to 120 days of prison. He was later present at the congress of 24 April 1927 when the Left Communist Youth League was merged with the Socialist Youth League to found the Workers' Youth League. During the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany 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 th ...

, he was arrested in March 1941. He was incarcerated at

Møllergata 19 Møllergata 19 is an address in Oslo, Norway, where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here. This ...

before being transferred to

Ånebyleiren Ånebyleiren (Aneby detention camp) was the first German prison camp in the Oslo area, and the second in Norway after Ulven near Bergen. Six barracks were built on stilts from the autumn of 1940 to the spring of 1941. The prison camp was located i ...

concentration camp and then to

Grini concentration camp Grini prison camp (, ) was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here. History Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft ...

in May. He was released on 12 June 1941. In December 1944 he was arrested again, and was transferred from

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

to Grini, where he remained until the war's end. Hønsvald was Minister of Supplies and Reconstruction (1948–1950), and

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

in 1950. Hønsvald was President of the

Lagting Lagting, literally "Law Ting", can refer to: *Lagting, the Parliament of Åland *Lagting (Norway), the quasi-upper house of the Parliament of Norway from 1814 to 2009 *Løgting The Løgting (pronounced ; ) is the unicameral parliament of t ...

(1961–1965) and President of the

Odelsting 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 ...

(1965–1969).''Hønsvald, Nils'' (Stortingets informasjonshjørne)
/ref> Nils Hønsvalds gate in

was named in his honor.

References

External links

Photograph of Nils Hønsvald
1899 births 1971 deaths People from Horten Labour Party (Norway) politicians Government ministers of Norway Norwegian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Norway Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Vice presidents of the Storting Members of the Storting 1945–1949 Members of the Storting 1950–1953 Members of the Storting 1954–1957 Members of the Storting 1958–1961 Members of the Storting 1961–1965 Members of the Storting 1965–1969 {{Norway-politician-1890s-stub