Ole Colbjørnsen
Encyclopedia
Ole Colbjørnsen was a Norwegian journalist, economist and politician for the Labour Party
.
as a son of Torjus Taxeraas (1859–1918) and Marie Colbjørnsen (1869–1958). He took his examen artium
in Arendal
before turning 18 years old, and enrolled as a student in 1915. He studies natural sciences, and got work as an assistant of professors Carl Størmer
and Lars Vegard
. He also joined the Norwegian Labour Party
while studying, and became involved in politics. He identified as a communist, and became interested in working for the Soviet Union
. From 1921 he worked in the state
news agency
Russian Telegraph Agency
(ROSTA), and from 1922 to 1928 he worked with trade and finance for the Soviet Union. Eventually he worked with organizing and preparing the First Five-Year Plan
. From 1929 to 1931 he headed a shipping company based in London, working with Russian timber exports.
from the autumn of 1932. The chief editor of Arbeiderbladet, Martin Tranmæl
, was also a prominent party member. As Colbjørnsen broadcast new economic ideas through his articles, among others inspired by John Maynard Keynes
and William Beveridge
, he too became more involved in the Labour Party. He was invited to the Labour Party national convention of 1933, where he showcased a number of reform proposals. In the same year he wrote the pamphlet Hele folket i arbeid, which also became the party slogan. In 1934 he issued the document En norsk treårsplan together with Axel Sømme. In it, the authors laid out reforms for a three-year economic plan. Colbjørnsen has been called "Norway's first plan economist
". The Labour Party had tried a radical and revolutionary tactic ahead of the 1930 general election
, but suffered a defeat there. Historians generally agree that from this point, the Labour Party decisively drifted away from the revolutionary rhetoric and policies. Colbjørnsen and Sømme helped build a new political platform. First, they helped shift the labour movement's focus from redistribution
to production. Second, they helped create acceptance for doing this within the framework of the state, earlier lambasted as bourgeois.
In 1935, the Labour Party prevailed and formed a Cabinet
led by Johan Nygaardsvold
. Colbjørnsen did not become involved in this cabinet, but in the same year he became a member of Trustlovkomiteen av 1935 and the important Tiltakskommisjonen av 1935, whose goal was to battle unemployment. He was a board member of the Norwegian Industrial Bank
from 1936, and chairman from 1938 to 1940. Following the 1936 general election
he became as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway, representing the constituency Oslo
, and he met on a regular basis because Oscar Torp
was a cabinet member. He was one of the most pro-military politicians in the Labour Party before 1940.
Colbjørnsen had to leave Norway when World War II reached the country
in 1940. He worked at the Norwegian embassy in Washington, D.C.
In 1946 he was a delegate and in 1947 an advisor in the United Nations General Assembly
, and in 1947 he participated in the United Nations Economic and Social Council
assembly. He became a supporter of Norwegian membership in NATO.
Colbjørnsen returned to Norway in November 1948 to become acting director of the Direktoratet for økonomisk forsvarsberedskap, a directorate
which does not exist anymore. After a period there led a quiet life. He had married Veslemøy Ihlen Larssen in 1936, and was a son-in-law of Olav Johan Sopp
. He died in November 1973 in Oslo.
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....
.
Early life and career
He was born in VegårsheiVegårshei
Vegårshei is a municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Myra.-General information:...
as a son of Torjus Taxeraas (1859–1918) and Marie Colbjørnsen (1869–1958). He took his examen artium
Examen artium
Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1630...
in Arendal
Arendal
is a town and municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. Arendal belongs to the traditional region of Sørlandet.The town of Arendal is the administrative center the municipality and also of Aust-Agder county...
before turning 18 years old, and enrolled as a student in 1915. He studies natural sciences, and got work as an assistant of professors Carl Størmer
Carl Størmer
Fredrik Carl Mülertz Størmer was a Norwegian mathematician and physicist, known both for his work in number theory and for studying the movement of charged particles in the magnetosphere and the formation of aurorae....
and Lars Vegard
Lars Vegard
Lars Vegard was a Norwegian physicist, especially known as an aurora borealis researcher.He was born in Vegårshei as a son of farmer Nils Gundersen Grasaasen og Anne Grundesdatter Espeland . He attended middle school in Risør and took the examen artium in Kristiania in 1899...
. He also joined the Norwegian 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....
while studying, and became involved in politics. He identified as a communist, and became interested in working for the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. From 1921 he worked in the state
State media
State media or state-owned media is media for mass communication which is ultimately controlled and/or funded by the state. These news outlets may be the sole media outlet or may exist in competition with privately-controlled media.-Overview:...
news agency
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...
Russian Telegraph Agency
Russian Telegraph Agency
Russian Telegraph Agency , abbr. Rosta was the state news agency in Soviet Russia . After the creation of Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union in 1925, it remained the news agency of Soviet Russia...
(ROSTA), and from 1922 to 1928 he worked with trade and finance for the Soviet Union. Eventually he worked with organizing and preparing the First Five-Year Plan
First Five-Year Plan
The First Five-Year Plan, or 1st Five-Year Plan, of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a list of economic goals that was designed to strengthen the country's economy between 1928 and 1932, making the nation both militarily and industrially self-sufficient. "We are fifty or a hundred...
. From 1929 to 1931 he headed a shipping company based in London, working with Russian timber exports.
Career in Norway
In 1931 he returned to Norway. He worked as a financial journalist in the Labour Party's newspaper ArbeiderbladetDagsavisen
Dagsavisen is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999, and it is now fully independent...
from the autumn of 1932. The chief editor of Arbeiderbladet, Martin Tranmæl
Martin Tranmæl
Martin Olsen Tranmæl was a radical Norwegian socialist leader.-Biography:Martin Tranmæl grew up in a middle-sized farm in Melhus, in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. He started working as a painter and construction worker. In the early 20th century, Tranmæl lived for a while in the USA where he came...
, was also a prominent party member. As Colbjørnsen broadcast new economic ideas through his articles, among others inspired by John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes of Tilton, CB FBA , was a British economist whose ideas have profoundly affected the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, as well as the economic policies of governments...
and William Beveridge
William Beveridge
William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge KCB was a British economist and social reformer. He is best known for his 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services which served as the basis for the post-World War II welfare state put in place by the Labour government elected in 1945.Lord...
, he too became more involved in the Labour Party. He was invited to the Labour Party national convention of 1933, where he showcased a number of reform proposals. In the same year he wrote the pamphlet Hele folket i arbeid, which also became the party slogan. In 1934 he issued the document En norsk treårsplan together with Axel Sømme. In it, the authors laid out reforms for a three-year economic plan. Colbjørnsen has been called "Norway's first plan economist
Planned economy
A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...
". The Labour Party had tried a radical and revolutionary tactic ahead of the 1930 general election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1930
-Results:*...
, but suffered a defeat there. Historians generally agree that from this point, the Labour Party decisively drifted away from the revolutionary rhetoric and policies. Colbjørnsen and Sømme helped build a new political platform. First, they helped shift the labour movement's focus from redistribution
Redistribution (economics)
Redistribution of wealth is the transfer of income, wealth or property from some individuals to others caused by a social mechanism such as taxation, monetary policies, welfare, nationalization, charity, divorce or tort law. Most often it refers to progressive redistribution, from the rich to the...
to production. Second, they helped create acceptance for doing this within the framework of the state, earlier lambasted as bourgeois.
In 1935, the Labour Party prevailed and formed a Cabinet
Cabinet Nygaardsvold
Nygaardsvold's Cabinet was appointed on 20 March 1935, the second Labour cabinet in Norway. It closed the brought to an end the non-socialist, minority Governments that had been dominating politics since the introduction of the parliamentary system in 1884, and replaced it with stable, Labour...
led by 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:...
. Colbjørnsen did not become involved in this cabinet, but in the same year he became a member of Trustlovkomiteen av 1935 and the important Tiltakskommisjonen av 1935, whose goal was to battle unemployment. He was a board member of the Norwegian Industrial Bank
Norwegian Industrial Bank
The Norwegian Industrial Bank , also known as the Industry Bank, was a Norwegian bank.It had a nationwide mandate as an industrial development bank. It was created in 1936, amid the interwar economic crisis, to supply loans to industry and hotels. The Norwegian state owned about half of the shares....
from 1936, and chairman from 1938 to 1940. Following the 1936 general election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1936
The parliamentary election of 1936 was the last one held in Norway before World War II and the German invasion of Norway.-Results:*...
he became as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway, representing the constituency 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...
, and he met on a regular basis because Oscar Torp
Oscar Torp
was a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. He was party leader from 1923 to 1945, and mayor of Oslo in 1935 and 1936. In 1935 he became acting Minister of Defence in the government of Johan Nygaardsvold. He was also Minister of Social Affairs from 1936 to 1939, and then Minister of...
was a cabinet member. He was one of the most pro-military politicians in the Labour Party before 1940.
Colbjørnsen had to leave Norway when World War II reached the country
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...
in 1940. He worked at the Norwegian embassy in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
In 1946 he was a delegate and in 1947 an advisor in the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
, and in 1947 he participated in the United Nations Economic and Social Council
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations constitutes one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and it is responsible for the coordination of the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, its functional commissions and five regional commissions...
assembly. He became a supporter of Norwegian membership in NATO.
Colbjørnsen returned to Norway in November 1948 to become acting director of the Direktoratet for økonomisk forsvarsberedskap, a directorate
Directorate
A directorate is an agency usually headed by a director, often a subdivision of a major government department.* Immigration and Nationality Directorate* Dairat al-Mukhabarat al-Ammah * Veterinary Medicines Directorate...
which does not exist anymore. After a period there led a quiet life. He had married Veslemøy Ihlen Larssen in 1936, and was a son-in-law of Olav Johan Sopp
Olav Johan Sopp
Olav Johan Sopp was a Norwegian mycologist. He was a pioneer of Norwegian and international mycological research. He was the first to suggest classifying fungi as belonging to neither plantae nor animalia, but to a third kingdom...
. He died in November 1973 in Oslo.