Arne Sunde
Encyclopedia
Arne Toralf Sunde was a Norwegian
politician, Olympic shooter
and army officer. He is best known for his participation in the 1940 Norwegian Campaign
, his participation in Nygaardsvold's Cabinet during its 1940–1945 exile in London and three years as an United Nations ambassador. Sunde was President
of the United Nations Security Council
in June 1949 and July 1950.
. His parents were Director General of the Norwegian State Railways, Member of Parliament and Minister of Finance Elias Sunde
and his wife Benedicte Louise Tjersland. In 1916 he married Sigrid Nicoline Aubert Lie (called "Didi", or "Titti"). Her wife was a daughter of writer Bernt Lie
. Thus, Arne Sunde was a brother-in-law of Emil Lie. Sunde's wife was also a second cousin of Jonas Lie
, a Nazi police chief who joined the pretending government after Sunde and many others fled Norway during the Second World War. On the other hand, Sunde's wife's aunt was the mother of resistance member Tikken Manus
. Sunde died in Oslo
on 30 July 1972, aged 88.
in the Oslo-based rifle association Christiania Skytterlag. He participated in the Norwegian team
in the 1912 Summer Olympics
in Stockholm, Sweden. Sunde competed in the following events in 1912:
in 1905, Sunde graduated from the Norwegian Military College
in 1907. From 1907 to 1909 Sunde taught at the NCO
school in Bergen
, holding the rank of premierløytnant
. In 1911 he took the cand.jur.
degree after attending law school. From 1911 to 1912 he worked as a barrister and judge. In 1913 Sunde studied political science at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques
in Paris. He then served as a district stipediary magistrate for Eiker, Modum and Sigdal District Court in Buskerud
from 1913 to 1914. In 1916 Sunde was appointed adjunct military attaché
to the Norwegian legation
in Paris, and in 1919 he was an assistant in financial questions for the Norwegian legation during the negotiations leading up to the Treaty of Versailles
. From 1918 he served as an infantry captain in the Norwegian Army
2nd Division. Between 1917 and 1920 Sunde worked for Det Norske A/S for Elektrokemisk Industri, as a legal advisor and . In the same time period he was the secretary of the Norwegian State Financial Council , and from 1922 he served as a barrister at the Supreme Court. In 1920–1921 he was secretary during the Norwegian treaty negotiations with the so-called "wine countries" (France, Spain and Portugal
) with regards to the Norwegian prohibition
. In 1924 he was a board member of the bank Den Norske Handelsbank and a member of the administrative board of the Bank of Norway.
, many Norwegian instead wanted a national unity government
led by explorer, scientist, diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Fridtjof Nansen
. During the Lykke controversy Arne Sunde was among a number of prominent Norwegians to sign a declaration calling on Norway's conservative parties to approach King Haakon VII
and ask him to request that Nansen form a government of national unity. In 1929 Sunde became deputy mayor of Aker
, where he now lived. He advanced to mayor of the same municipality in 1930, and serving until 1931 with the exception of his Minister of Justice period.
Sunde was appointed Minister of Justice
in the Liberal Party of Norway's Mowinckel's Second Cabinet in November 1930. He lost this position in May 1931, when the Agrarian Kolstad's Cabinet took over. In 1932–1933 Sunde presided for Norway in the Eastern Greenland Case
at the Permanent Court of International Justice
. In March 1933, the Agrarian cabinet fell, and Sunde returned to government as Minister of Justice in the Mowinckel's Third Cabinet. The cabinet lasted until March 1935, when it was replaced by the Nygaardsvold's Cabinet.
before taking up banking, holding the position of the head of the Oslo office of the bank Bergens Privatbank
until the German invasion came in 1940.
, participated in the fighting following the German invasion of Norway
. On 9 April Sunde contacted the Norwegian Ministry of Defence
, asking where he was to report for service. Sunde was told that the Norwegian mobilization would not start until 11 April, a full two days since the beginning of the German attack. Wishing to take part in the defence of Norway, Sunde set off on ski
s across Nordmarka
north of Oslo on 12 April, seeking troops to join up with.
where he from 17 to 19 April 1940 led the 1st Battalion, Infantry Regiment 11 and an assortment of other units to victory against a company of German Fallschirmjäger
soldiers that had been dropped against the Norwegian railway and road junction of Dombås
on 14 April. The German force had been tasked with cutting the rail and road links between the port of Åndalsnes
in Western Norway and the Gudbrandsdal
valley to the south-east. By 19 April the leader of the German force, Oberleutnant
Herbert Schmidt
, asked for a negotiated surrender, but was rejected by Sunde. Major Sunde demanded an unconditional surrender within 10 minutes or else he would resume the artillery
bombardment of the surrounded German positions. Nine and a half minutes later the around 150 remaining German Fallschirmjäger soldiers surrendered to the Norwegian forces led by Sunde.
og Benjamin Vogt to build a Norwegian shipping mission in exile; Nortraship
. Sunde left Norway from the western port of Åndalsnes on the British cruiser HMS Galatea
in the late hours of 23 April 1940, bringing 200 large crates of gold bar
s belonging to the Norwegian National Treasury
to the United Kingdom. The transport of the gold from the Bank of Norway central bank headquarters in Oslo had been guarded by troops led by his brother, Bjørn Sunde, who was also a major in the Norwegian Army. After arriving in London on 25 April Sunde, being a banker, was given the responsibility for the exiled Norwegians' finances. Shortly after arriving in the UK Sunde managed to secure a credit from Hambros Bank
. On 7 June 1940 Sunde was appointed consultative Councillor of State
without portfolio, as one of two new councillors not from the Labour Party
, the other being the Agrarian Party's
Anders Fjeldstad. The appointment of the two new councillors of state was mentioned in a speech by King Haakon VII in a radio address
to the occupied Norwegian people on 26 August 1940. At the same he time continued as a member of the consultative council of the shipping director. From 19 November 1940 to 1 November 1942 he headed the Norwegian Ministry of Provisioning
. When that ministry was restructured on 1 November 1942 Arne Sunde continued as Minister of Shipping until he left the cabinet on 25 June 1945, after the end of the Second World War and the return to Norway of the exiled Norwegian authorities.
One of the earliest and most dramatic conflicts involving Sunde in London was when he, supported by fellow non-Labour Party ministers Anders Fjelstad and Sven Nielsen
, on 6 August 1940 demanded that Minister of Foreign Affairs Halvdan Koht
resign from his post. The conflict was based in personal animosities between Sunde and Koht, as well as the impression that Koht had been responsible for Norway's failed policy of neutrality before the German attack in April 1940. Sunde withdrew his demands when he realised that he did have the support of Prime Minister Johan Nygaardsvold
. At the time of the altercation Sunde was one of the leading candidates to take over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but was instead given the Ministry of Provisioning after Trygve Lie
left that position to become Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Despite the many internal conflicts within the various parts of the Norwegian authorities during their time in exile Sunde defended the Cabinet Nygaardsvold during a 21 October 1942 meeting with four priests of the Norwegian Church Abroad who were accusing Nygaardsvold of excluding people not associated with the Labour Party from influential positions. Sunde stated that in his opinion the Cabinet had always made it a priority to attract competent individuals to its service, regardless of those individuals' political affiliations.
From 1945 to 1948 Sunde again headed the Oslo office of Bergens Privatbank.
, recommending United Nations member states to assist the Republic of Korea
in resisting the invasion initiated some two weeks earlier by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
. The resolution paved the way for a United States-led UN force
in the Korean War. During the negotiations leading up to the resolution Sunde clashed with US ambassador Warren R. Austin
, Austin offending Sunde to such a degree that one observer believed that personal relations between the US and Norwegian delegations had been "irreconcilably damaged". At the time the Secretary-General of the United Nations was the Norwegian Trygve Lie and Norway was a non-permanent member of the Security Council. Sunde had also been the UN Security Council President in June 1949. When he was interviewed on his 80th birthday in 1964 Sunde stated that he viewed his time on the Security Council as the absolute high point of his life.
and an Officer of the Portuguese Order of Christ
. He was later decorated Commander with Star of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, and given the Defence Medal 1940–1945 and the French Croix de guerre.
A small junction of paths near the river Lysakerelva has been named Arne Sundes plass, "Arne Sunde's square".
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
politician, Olympic shooter
Shooting at the Summer Olympics
Shooting sports have been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics except at the 1904 & 1928 editions.-Men's:...
and army officer. He is best known for his participation in the 1940 Norwegian Campaign
Norwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
, his participation in Nygaardsvold's Cabinet during its 1940–1945 exile in London and three years as an United Nations ambassador. Sunde was President
President of the United Nations Security Council
The President of the United Nations Security Council is the presiding officer of that body. The president is the head of the delegation from the Security Council member state that holds the rotating presidency.-Selection:...
of the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
in June 1949 and July 1950.
Personal life
Arne Sunde was born on 6 December 1883 in the Norwegian capital KristianiaOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. His parents were Director General of the Norwegian State Railways, Member of Parliament and Minister of Finance Elias Sunde
Elias Sunde
Elias Sunde was the Norwegian Minister of Finance 1898-1900 and 1900–1903, and member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm in 1900. He was also the mayor of Oslo from 1895 to 1897....
and his wife Benedicte Louise Tjersland. In 1916 he married Sigrid Nicoline Aubert Lie (called "Didi", or "Titti"). Her wife was a daughter of writer Bernt Lie
Bernt Lie
Bernt Bessesen Lie was a Norwegian novelist.He was born in Mandal as a son of stipendiary magistrate Emil Bernhard Lie and Nicoline Bessesen. Through his sister Ida, he was the brother-in-law of Gjert Lindebrække and an uncle of Sjur Lindebrække and Tikken Manus. Through his brother Vilhelm Lie...
. Thus, Arne Sunde was a brother-in-law of Emil Lie. Sunde's wife was also a second cousin of Jonas Lie
Jonas Lie (government minister)
Jonas Lie was a Norwegian councillor of state in the Nasjonal Samling government of Vidkun Quisling in 1940, then acting councillor of state 1940–1941, and Minister of Police between 1941 and 1945 in the new Quisling government...
, a Nazi police chief who joined the pretending government after Sunde and many others fled Norway during the Second World War. On the other hand, Sunde's wife's aunt was the mother of resistance member Tikken Manus
Tikken Manus
Ida Nikoline "Tikken" Manus, née Ida Nikoline Lie Lindebrække, formerly married Bernardes was a Norwegian resistance member....
. Sunde died in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
on 30 July 1972, aged 88.
Sports
Sunde was an avid sports shooterShooting sports
A shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency using various types of guns such as firearms and airguns . Hunting is also a shooting sport, and indeed shooting live pigeons was an Olympic event...
in the Oslo-based rifle association Christiania Skytterlag. He participated in the Norwegian team
Norway at the 1912 Summer Olympics
- Gold:* Ferdinand Bie — Athletics, Men's Pentathlon* Men's Team — Gymnastics* Alfred Larsen, Johan Anker, Nils Bertelsen, Halfdan Hansen, Magnus Konow, Petter Larsen, Eilert Falch-Lund, Christian Staib, Arnfinn Heje and Carl Thaulow — Sailing, Men's 12m class* Thoralf Glad,...
in the 1912 Summer Olympics
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
in Stockholm, Sweden. Sunde competed in the following events in 1912:
| 1912 Summer Olympics 1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports... |
||
|---|---|---|
| Event | Rank | |
| Men's Free Rifle, Three Positions, 300 metres | 30 | |
| Men's Military Rifle, Three Positions, 300 metres | 44 | |
| Men's Military Rifle, Any Position, 600 metres | 30 | |
| Men's Military Rifle, 200, 400, 500 and 600 metres, Team | 6 | |
| Men's Small-Bore Rifle, Any Position, 50 metres | 30 | |
Education and early career
Sunde was educated in law and military studies, first graduating from Kristiania Cathedral School in 1902. Having been working as an officer since graduating from the Norwegian Military AcademyNorwegian Military Academy
The Norwegian Army Academy was established in 1750. It is the oldest university-level educational institution in Norway, and one of the oldest active military academies in the world. Krigsskolen primarily educates officers for the Norwegian Army. There are separate academies for the Royal...
in 1905, Sunde graduated from the Norwegian Military College
Norwegian Military College
The Norwegian Military College was a military educational institution in Norway.It was established on 16 February 1817, with headquarters at Akershus Fortress...
in 1907. From 1907 to 1909 Sunde taught at the NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
school in Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, holding the rank of premierløytnant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
. In 1911 he took the cand.jur.
Candidate of Law
Candidate of Law is the degree awarded to jurists who have passed the law exam in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland after studying law for about 5–6 years....
degree after attending law school. From 1911 to 1912 he worked as a barrister and judge. In 1913 Sunde studied political science at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques
École Libre des Sciences Politiques
École Libre des Sciences Politiques , often referred to as the École des Sciences Politiques or simply Sciences Po was created in Paris in February 1872 by a group of European intellectuals, politicians and businessmen, which included Hippolyte Taine, Ernest Renan, Albert Sorel, Pierre Paul...
in Paris. He then served as a district stipediary magistrate for Eiker, Modum and Sigdal District Court in Buskerud
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...
from 1913 to 1914. In 1916 Sunde was appointed adjunct military attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
to the Norwegian legation
Legation
A legation was the term used in diplomacy to denote a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an Ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary....
in Paris, and in 1919 he was an assistant in financial questions for the Norwegian legation during the negotiations leading up to the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. From 1918 he served as an infantry captain in the Norwegian Army
Norwegian Army
Norway achieved full independence in 1905, and in the first century of its short life has contributed to two major conflicts, the Cold War and the War on Terror. The Norwegian Army currently operates in the north of Norway and in Afghanistan as well as in Eastern Europe. The Army is the oldest of...
2nd Division. Between 1917 and 1920 Sunde worked for Det Norske A/S for Elektrokemisk Industri, as a legal advisor and . In the same time period he was the secretary of the Norwegian State Financial Council , and from 1922 he served as a barrister at the Supreme Court. In 1920–1921 he was secretary during the Norwegian treaty negotiations with the so-called "wine countries" (France, Spain and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
) with regards to the Norwegian prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
. In 1924 he was a board member of the bank Den Norske Handelsbank and a member of the administrative board of the Bank of Norway.
Political career
One of Arne Sunde's earliest encounters with national politics came in 1926. At the appointment of Lykke's Cabinet under Conservative Party politician Ivar LykkeIvar Lykke
Ivar Lykke was a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 1926 to 1928.-References:...
, many Norwegian instead wanted a national unity government
National unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity, or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency.- Canada :During World War I the Conservative government of Sir...
led by explorer, scientist, diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
laureate Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...
. During the Lykke controversy Arne Sunde was among a number of prominent Norwegians to sign a declaration calling on Norway's conservative parties to approach King Haakon VII
Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
and ask him to request that Nansen form a government of national unity. In 1929 Sunde became deputy mayor of Aker
Aker, Norway
Aker is a former municipality in Akershus, which lends its name to a municipality and a county in Norway. The name originally belonged to a farm which was located near the current Old Aker Church...
, where he now lived. He advanced to mayor of the same municipality in 1930, and serving until 1931 with the exception of his Minister of Justice period.
Sunde was appointed Minister of Justice
Minister of Justice and the Police (Norway)
In Norway, the Minister of Justice and the Police is the head of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police and a member of Government of Norway. Current minister is Grete Faremo of the Norwegian Labour Party who is part of the second cabinet Stoltenberg...
in the Liberal Party of Norway's Mowinckel's Second Cabinet in November 1930. He lost this position in May 1931, when the Agrarian Kolstad's Cabinet took over. In 1932–1933 Sunde presided for Norway in the Eastern Greenland Case
Erik the Red's Land
Erik the Red's Land was the name given by Norwegians to an area on the coast of eastern Greenland occupied by Norway in the early 1930s. It was named after Erik the Red, the founder of the first Norse settlements in Greenland in the 10th century...
at the Permanent Court of International Justice
Permanent Court of International Justice
The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1922 , the Court was initially met with a good reaction from states and academics alike, with many cases submitted to it for its first decade of...
. In March 1933, the Agrarian cabinet fell, and Sunde returned to government as Minister of Justice in the Mowinckel's Third Cabinet. The cabinet lasted until March 1935, when it was replaced by the Nygaardsvold's Cabinet.
Supreme Court Justice and banker
After his initial political career Sunde first served for one year as a Justice on the Supreme Court of NorwaySupreme Court of Norway
The Supreme Court of Norway was established in 1815 on the basis of the Constitution of Norway's §88, prescribing an independent judiciary. It is located in Oslo and is Norway's highest court...
before taking up banking, holding the position of the head of the Oslo office of the bank Bergens Privatbank
Bergens Privatbank
Bergens Privatbank was a Norwegian commercial bank based in Bergen. It was established in 1855 and built a network of branches throughout the country. Jørgen Breder Faye was the first director and held the position until 1904. The bank merged with Bergens Kreditbank in 1975 to establish Bergen Bank....
until the German invasion came in 1940.
Second World War
Norwegian Campaign
Arne Sunde, a major in the reservesMilitary reserve force
A military reserve force is a military organization composed of citizens of a country who combine a military role or career with a civilian career. They are not normally kept under arms and their main role is to be available to fight when a nation mobilizes for total war or to defend against invasion...
, participated in the fighting following the German invasion of Norway
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
. On 9 April Sunde contacted the Norwegian Ministry of Defence
Norwegian Ministry of Defence
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and defence policy, and for the overall management and control of the activities of subordinate agencies. The ministry is located at Glacisgata 1, Oslo,...
, asking where he was to report for service. Sunde was told that the Norwegian mobilization would not start until 11 April, a full two days since the beginning of the German attack. Wishing to take part in the defence of Norway, Sunde set off on ski
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
s across Nordmarka
Nordmarka
Nordmarka is the mostly forested region which makes up the northern part of Oslo, Norway. The area called "Nordmarka" also extends into the municipalities of Hole, Ringerike, Lunner, Jevnaker and Nittedal. It is the largest part of the Marka borough. The forests are popular sites for hiking and...
north of Oslo on 12 April, seeking troops to join up with.
Battle of Dombås
The main fighting that Major Arne Sunde participated in during the Norwegian Campaign was the Battle of DombåsBattle of Dombås
The Battle of Dombås was fought between Norwegian Army infantry forces and German Fallschirmjäger paratroops in mid-April 1940. As part of their conquest of Norway south of Trondheim, and as a countermeasure against reported allied landings in the Romsdal area of south western Norway, the Germans...
where he from 17 to 19 April 1940 led the 1st Battalion, Infantry Regiment 11 and an assortment of other units to victory against a company of German Fallschirmjäger
Fallschirmjäger
are German paratroopers. Together with the Gebirgsjäger they are perceived as the elite infantry units of the German Army....
soldiers that had been dropped against the Norwegian railway and road junction of Dombås
Dombås
The village of lies in the Dovre municipality and serves as an administrative center in the upper Gudbrandsdal, Norway. It lies at an important junction of roads: south leading to the current capital of Norway, Oslo, west via Lesja leading to Åndalsnes on the sea and north to the old capital,...
on 14 April. The German force had been tasked with cutting the rail and road links between the port of Åndalsnes
Åndalsnes
is a town in the municipality of Rauma in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is the administrative center of Rauma. The town has a population of 2,207...
in Western Norway and the Gudbrandsdal
Gudbrandsdal
The Gudbrandsdalen is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Oppland. The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer at Mjøsa, extending 230 km toward Romsdal...
valley to the south-east. By 19 April the leader of the German force, Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
Herbert Schmidt
Herbert Schmidt (Fallschirmjäger)
Herbert Schmidt was a member of the Fallschirmjäger during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross....
, asked for a negotiated surrender, but was rejected by Sunde. Major Sunde demanded an unconditional surrender within 10 minutes or else he would resume the artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
bombardment of the surrounded German positions. Nine and a half minutes later the around 150 remaining German Fallschirmjäger soldiers surrendered to the Norwegian forces led by Sunde.
In exile
After Nygaardsvold's Cabinet requisitioned the Norwegian merchant navy Sunde was ordered to London together with Øivind LorentzenØivind Lorentzen
-Pre-war life and career:He was born in Holmestrand as a son of ship-owner Hans Ludvig Lorentzen and Thala Margrethe Bredrup . His family lived in Argentina and Brazil between 1891 and 1895. Lorentzen finished his secondary education in 1901, and studied shipbuilding at Berlin Institute of...
og Benjamin Vogt to build a Norwegian shipping mission in exile; Nortraship
Nortraship
The Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission was established in London in April 1940 to administer the Norwegian merchant fleet outside German-controlled areas. Nortraship operated some 1,000 vessels and was the largest shipping company in the world. It is credited for giving a major contribution to...
. Sunde left Norway from the western port of Åndalsnes on the British cruiser HMS Galatea
HMS Galatea (71)
HMS Galatea was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. , with the keel being laid down on the 2 June 1933...
in the late hours of 23 April 1940, bringing 200 large crates of gold bar
Gold bar
A gold bar is a quantity of refined metallic gold of any shape that is made by a bar producer meeting standard conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record keeping....
s belonging to the Norwegian National Treasury
Flight of the Norwegian National Treasury
The National Treasury of Norway consisted of in 1940 value worth of gold weighing around 50 tons. The entire gold deposit was stored at Norges Bank's main vault at their headquarters in Oslo. During the increasing tension of the 1930s, plans were made to make the deposit more mobile...
to the United Kingdom. The transport of the gold from the Bank of Norway central bank headquarters in Oslo had been guarded by troops led by his brother, Bjørn Sunde, who was also a major in the Norwegian Army. After arriving in London on 25 April Sunde, being a banker, was given the responsibility for the exiled Norwegians' finances. Shortly after arriving in the UK Sunde managed to secure a credit from Hambros Bank
Hambros Bank
Hambros Bank was a British bank based in London. The Hambros bank was a specialist in Anglo-Scandinavian business with expertise in trade finance and investment banking, and was the sole banker to the Scandinavian kingdoms for many years...
. On 7 June 1940 Sunde was appointed consultative Councillor of State
Norwegian Council of State
The Norwegian Council of State consists, according to the constitution of the prime minister and at least seven other ministers, the majority of which must belong to the state church. The current number of ministers is 20.-External links:*...
without portfolio, as one of two new councillors not from the Labour Party
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
, the other being the Agrarian Party's
Centre Party (Norway)
The Centre Party is a centrist and agrarian political party in Norway, founded in 1920. The Centre Party's policy is not based on any of the major ideologies of the 19th and 20th century, but has a focus on maintaining decentralised economic development and political decision-making.From its...
Anders Fjeldstad. The appointment of the two new councillors of state was mentioned in a speech by King Haakon VII in a radio address
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
to the occupied Norwegian people on 26 August 1940. At the same he time continued as a member of the consultative council of the shipping director. From 19 November 1940 to 1 November 1942 he headed the Norwegian Ministry of Provisioning
Norwegian Ministry of Provisioning and Reconstruction
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Provisioning and Reconstruction was a Norwegian ministry that existed from 1939 to 1950.It was established on 1 October 1939 as the Ministry of Provisioning, though having no relation to the Ministry of Provisioning which existed from 1916 to 1922. The name was...
. When that ministry was restructured on 1 November 1942 Arne Sunde continued as Minister of Shipping until he left the cabinet on 25 June 1945, after the end of the Second World War and the return to Norway of the exiled Norwegian authorities.
Conflicts
Sunde's time in exile was marked by difficulties, with almost constant conflicts with the leaders of Nortraship. While Sunde and most of the other politicians wanted increased political control over the shipping company, the leadership of Nortraship wanted greater freedom to make business decisions. One result of the conflicts was that the Minister of Shipping's authority was decreased by Royal Resolution on 3 September 1943.One of the earliest and most dramatic conflicts involving Sunde in London was when he, supported by fellow non-Labour Party ministers Anders Fjelstad and Sven Nielsen
Sven Nielsen
Sven Nielsen was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from the Market towns of Vest-Agder and Rogaland counties in 1934, and was re-elected on three occasions...
, on 6 August 1940 demanded that Minister of Foreign Affairs Halvdan Koht
Halvdan Koht
Halvdan Koht was a Norwegian historian and politician representing the Labour Party.As a politician he served as the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1935 to 1941. He was never elected as a member of the Parliament of Norway, but was a member of Bærum municipal council in 1917–1919 and...
resign from his post. The conflict was based in personal animosities between Sunde and Koht, as well as the impression that Koht had been responsible for Norway's failed policy of neutrality before the German attack in April 1940. Sunde withdrew his demands when he realised that he did have the support of Prime Minister Johan Nygaardsvold
Johan Nygaardsvold
Johan Nygaardsvold was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 1935 to 1945 , as head of the cabinet Nygaardsvold.-Political career:...
. At the time of the altercation Sunde was one of the leading candidates to take over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but was instead given the Ministry of Provisioning after Trygve Lie
Trygve Lie
Trygve Halvdan Lie was a Norwegian politician, labour leader, government official and author. He served as Norwegian Foreign minister during the critical years of the Norwegian government in exile in London from 1940 to 1945. From 1946 to 1952 he was the first Secretary-General of the United...
left that position to become Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Despite the many internal conflicts within the various parts of the Norwegian authorities during their time in exile Sunde defended the Cabinet Nygaardsvold during a 21 October 1942 meeting with four priests of the Norwegian Church Abroad who were accusing Nygaardsvold of excluding people not associated with the Labour Party from influential positions. Sunde stated that in his opinion the Cabinet had always made it a priority to attract competent individuals to its service, regardless of those individuals' political affiliations.
Dissolving Nortraship
Having left the government in 1945, Sunde's first task after the Second World War was to in 1946 head the last board of Nortraship, tasked with dissolving the company.From 1945 to 1948 Sunde again headed the Oslo office of Bergens Privatbank.
UN ambassador
In 1949–1952 Arne Sunde was the Norwegian ambassador to the United Nations. The perhaps pivotal moment of his career at the United Nations came on 7 July 1950 when he, as President of the Security Council, led the meeting that adopted the United Nations Security Council Resolution 84United Nations Security Council Resolution 84
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 84 was adopted on July 7, 1950. Having determined that the attack on the Republic of Korea by the forces from North Korea constituted a breach of the peace, the Council recommended that the members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the...
, recommending United Nations member states to assist the Republic of Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
in resisting the invasion initiated some two weeks earlier by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. The resolution paved the way for a United States-led UN force
United Nations Command (Korea)
The United Nations Command is the unified command structure for the multinational military forces supporting the Republic of Korea during and after the Korean War...
in the Korean War. During the negotiations leading up to the resolution Sunde clashed with US ambassador Warren R. Austin
Warren Austin
Warren Robinson Austin was an American politician and statesman; among other roles, he served as Senator from Vermont....
, Austin offending Sunde to such a degree that one observer believed that personal relations between the US and Norwegian delegations had been "irreconcilably damaged". At the time the Secretary-General of the United Nations was the Norwegian Trygve Lie and Norway was a non-permanent member of the Security Council. Sunde had also been the UN Security Council President in June 1949. When he was interviewed on his 80th birthday in 1964 Sunde stated that he viewed his time on the Security Council as the absolute high point of his life.
Quotations
...the stamina and courage of American boys who hardly dreamed 14 days ago that they were to be the first to fight for the ideals and principles of the United Nations . . . Let us hope that we shall not fall too far behind these men in our determination and in our dedication. (Security Council President Sunde about US soldiers fighting in the early phases of the Korean War).
Malik is very rude. And he looks as if he believed in his rudeness. (Ambassador Sunde about fellow United Nations ambassador, Soviet Yakov Malik).
Post-Korean War
In the period 1953–1958 Sunde chaired NATO's control commission on the expenses of jointly financed military installations.Honours
By 1935 Sunde had been awarded Haakon VII's Jubilee Medal 1905–1930, been made a Chevalier of the French Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and an Officer of the Portuguese Order of Christ
Order of Christ (Portugal)
The Military Order of Christ previously the Royal Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ was the heritage of the Knights Templar in Portugal, after the suppression of the Templars in 1312...
. He was later decorated Commander with Star of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, and given the Defence Medal 1940–1945 and the French Croix de guerre.
A small junction of paths near the river Lysakerelva has been named Arne Sundes plass, "Arne Sunde's square".