Robert Rafn was a Norwegian

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...

 businessperson and politician for the Conservative Party.

He was born in Porsgrund

Porsgrunn

is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Porsgrunn....

 as a son of shipmaster Hans Christian Rafn (1833–1899) and Hanna Annette Halvorsen (1847–1939). He took technical education in Norway in 1895, and graduated in 1898 from Technicum Mittweida

Hochschule Mittweida

The Hochschule Mittweida is a public university of applied science located in Mittweida, Germany, founded in 1867.-History:The University of Applied Sciences Mittweida is the second-largest university of applied sciences in Saxony. It has had almost 80,000 alumni from almost 40 countries worldwide...

. From 1899 to 1905 he worked as an assistant of Thomas A. Edison in Orange, New Jersey

Orange, New Jersey

The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...

. He later worked as a chemist at a works in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 before running his own company named Irradiar in Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

 until 1915. He returned to Norway and settled in Moss

Moss, Norway

is a coastal city and a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Moss. The city of Moss was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...

. He was a manager at Moss Melkefabrik from 1916 to 1924 and technical director at Moss Aktiemølle from 1925 to 1945. He was also a supervisory council member of Hafslund. After 1945 he worked as a consultant.

From 1925 to 1931 he was a member of the executive committee of Moss city council. He chaired the local party chapter from 1934 to 1937. In the Norwegian parliamentary election, 1936

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 was elected to the Parliament of Norway from the Market towns of Østfold and Akershus counties

Market towns of Østfold and Akershus counties

The Market towns of Østfold and Akershus counties was an electoral district for parliamentary elections in Norway. It comprised the market towns of Fredrikstad, Halden , Moss and Sarpsborg in Østfold county and Drøbak in Akershus county.The district was established ahead of the Norwegian...

. Absent for most of 1938 and 1939, Rafn's seat was filled by Carl Sigurd Winther

Carl Sigurd Winther

Carl Sigurd Winther was a Norwegian businessperson and politician for the Conservative Party.He was born in Fredrikshald as a son of businessperson Christian Winther and Anna Høstgaard . He took the middle school exam in 1903, and also had training as a petty officer...

 and Ragnhild Rød

Ragnhild Rød

Ragnhild Rød, née Ragnhild Gunnerson Welhaven was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.She was born in Kristiania as a son of clergyman Sven Rudolf Gunnerson and Elise Margrethe Cammermeyer Welhaven . Her father had americanized his name from Gundersen to Gunnerson, while working as...

.

Rafn married a daughter of Jørgen Christian Knudsen

Jørgen Christian Knudsen

Jørgen Christian Knudsen was a Norwegian ship-owner and politician for the Conservative Party.-Personal life:...

, who was himself a brother of Gunnar Knudsen

Gunnar Knudsen

Gunnar Knudsen , born Aanon Gunerius Knudsen, was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party who had two spells as Prime Minister of Norway from 1908 to 1910 and from 1913 to 1920...

 and son of Christen Knudsen

Christen Knudsen

-Personal life:Christen Knudsen was born in 1813 at Salterød near Arendal. He moved to Porsgrund in 1855.He married Gurine Aadnesdatter . The couple had three children. Their sons Jørgen Christian Knudsen and Gunnar Knudsen both became wealthy ship-owners and influential politicians: Jørgen...

. Rafn was a brother-in-law of Finn Christian Knudsen and Christen Knudsen, Jr.. He died in 1964 and is buried in Porsgrunn.