Rolf Jørgen Fuglesang (31 January 1909 – 25 November 1988) was a Norwegian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. A member of

Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...

, he was the party's Secretary-General from 1933. During the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

occupation of Norway in

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 served in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Vidkun Quisling Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (; ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Nazi collaborator who Quisling regime, headed the government of N ...

as a secretary of state from 1940, and then as Minister of Culture and Enlightenment from 1942 until liberation in 1945. He was also President of the between 1943 and 1945.

Biography

Early life and political career

Born in

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 ...

, Fuglesang received a degree in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

in 1933. An early follower of Vidkun Quisling, he joined Nasjonal Samling the same year, and was soon employed as the party's Secretary-General; in this capacity, he was in charge of the economical and organizational affairs of Nasjonal Samling during the party's growth in membership in 1933–1934, and subsequent decline following the 1936 elections.

German occupation

Despite being one of the men closest to Quisling, he was uninformed of the German invasion of Norway and Quisling's ''coup d'état'' on 9 April 1940. Nasjonal Samling would remain the sole legal party in the country during the German occupation, leading to a rapid increase in party membership and administration strictly overseen by Fuglesang. Despite being described as "moderate" during the initial stages of the occupation, Fuglesang would subsequently become a leading proponent of pan-German and racial ideas, earning him a positive reputation with

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

. In February 1942 he joined Quisling's government as a secretary of state; following the death of Gulbrand Lunde in October 1942, he succeeded the latter as Minister of Culture and Enlightenment. As a government member, Fuglesang tried to safeguard the government's relative autonomy in practical and administrative matters from the German occupational forces, causing him to frequently clash with '' Reichskommissar'' Josef Terboven. In January 1944, he accompanied Vidkun Quisling for his visit to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and also had a longer, mainly conciliatory, conversation with Himmler in Rastenburg. Towards the end of the war, however, the Germans viewed him as one of their main opponents within the leadership of Nasjonal Samling.

Post-war

After the liberation of Norway, Fuglesang was arrested and put on trial for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

in February 1946. He narrowly escaped execution as four out of seven judges voted for a life sentence During the

legal purge in Norway after World War II The legal purge in Norway after World War II (; ) took place between May 1945 and August 1948 against anyone who was found to have Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborated with the German occupation of Norway, German occupat ...

, Fuglesang was sentenced to life imprisonment with forced labour for treason. He narrowly avoided execution, as four out of seven judges voted for a life sentence. Fuglesang was released from prison in 1956, and worked as a

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...

and businessman in

Oslo 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 ...

until his retirement. He died in Oslo in 1988.

Personal life

Fuglesang married Signe Horn (1910–1989) in 1935. They had a daughter, Signe Horn Fuglesang (born 1938), an art historian who was married to fellow art historian Per Jonas Nordhagen; the marriage ended in divorce.

References