View source for Oscar Torp

{{Short description|Norwegian politician (1893–1958)}}
{{Infobox Prime Minister
| honorific-prefix =
| name           = Oscar Torp
| image          = 26771 Oscar Torp (cropped).jpg
| imagesize      = 180px
| caption= Torp in April 1950
| office         = [[Prime Minister of Norway]]
| monarch        = [[Haakon VII]]
| term_start     = 19 November 1951
| term_end       = 22 January 1955
| predecessor    = [[Einar Gerhardsen]]
| successor      = Einar Gerhardsen
| office2 = [[President of the Storting]]
| monarch2= Haakon VII
| primeminister2 = [[Einar Gerhardsen]]
| term_start2 = 24 January 1955
| term_end2 =1 May 1958
| vicepresident2= [[Nils Langhelle]]
| predecessor2 = [[Einar Gerhardsen]]
| successor2 = [[Nils Langhelle]]
| office3 = [[County Governor of Vestfold]]
| monarch3= Haakon VII
| primeminister3= Einar Gerhardsen <br> ''Himself'' <br> Einar Gerhardsen 
| term_start3 =1 January 1948
| term_end3 = 1 May 1958
| predecessor3 = [[Johannes Gerckens Bassøe]]
| successor3 = [[List of County Governors of Vestfold|Gerhard Dahl]]
| office4         = [[Minister of Finance (Norway)|Minister of Finance]]
| primeminister4        = [[Johan Nygaardsvold]]
| term_start4     = 1 July 1939
| term_end4       = 20 March 1942
| predecessor4    = [[Kornelius Bergsvik]]
| successor4      = [[Paul Ernst Wilhelm Hartmann|Paul Hartmann]]
| office5         = [[Minister of Defence (Norway)|Minister of Defence]]
| primeminister5       = [[Johan Nygaardsvold]] <br> [[Einar Gerhardsen]]
| term_start5     = 20 March 1942
| term_end5      = 5 November 1945
| predecessor5    = [[Birger Ljungberg]]
| successor5      = [[Jens Christian Hauge|Jens Chr. Hauge]]
| primeminister6        = [[Johan Nygaardsvold]]
| term_start6     =  20 December 1935 
| term_end6       = 15 August 1936 <br> {{Small|Acting}}
| predecessor6    = [[Adolf Indrebø]] {{Small|(Acting)}}
| successor6      = [[Fredrik Monsen]]
| office7        = [[Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion (Norway)|Minister of Social Affairs]]
| term_start7    = 13 November 1936
| term_end7      = 1 July 1939
| primeminister7 = [[Johan Nygaardsvold]]
| predecessor7   = [[Kornelius Bergsvik]]
| successor7     = [[Sverre Støstad]]
| office8 = [[Norwegian Ministry of Provisioning and Reconstruction|Minister of Provisioning and Reconstruction]]
| primeminister8= [[Einar Gerhardsen]] 
| term_start8 =25 June 1945
| term_end8 = 10 January 1948 
| predecessor8 = [[Egil Offenberg]]
| successor8 = [[Nils Hønsvald]]
| office9 = [[Minister of Trade and Shipping]]
| status9 = Acting
| primeminister9 = ''Himself''
| term_start9 = 2 June 1954
| term_end9 = 15 June 1954
| predecessor9 = [[Erik Brofoss]]
| successor9 = [[Nils Langhelle]]
| office10         = [[Mayor of Oslo]] 
| term_start10     = 1 January 1936
| term_end10       = 13 November 1936
| predecessor10    = [[Trygve Nilsen]]
| successor10      = Trygve Nilsen
| term_start11     = 1 January 1935
| term_end11       = 20 March 1935
| predecessor11    = [[Eyvind Getz]]
| successor11      =  Trygve Nilsen
| | office12= [[Labour Party (Norway)|Leader of the Labour Party]]
| term_start12= 1923
| term_end12= 1945
| predecessor12 = [[Emil Stang (jurist)|Emil Stang]]
| successor12 = [[Einar Gerhardsen]]
| office13 =   [[Storting|Member of the Norwegian Parliament]]
| constituency13 = [[Oslo]] {{Small|(1937–1949)}}<br />[[Vestfold]] {{Small|(1949–1958)}}
| term_start13     =1 January 1937
| term_end13       =1 May 1958
| deputy13 = Eugen Amandus Pettersen <br> [[Carl Henry (politician)|Carl Henry]] <br> [[Gunvor Katharina Eker]]
| birth_date     = {{Birth date|1893|6|8|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Skjeberg]], [[Østfold]], [[Sweden-Norway]]
| birthname      = Oscar Frederik Torp
| death_date     = {{death date and age|1958|5|1|1893|8|6|df=y}}
| death_place    = [[Oslo]], [[Norway]]
| nationality    = [[Norwegians|Norwegian]]
| party          = [[Labour Party (Norway)|Labour]]
| spouse         = Kari Hansen
| profession    = [[Civil servant]] <br> [[Electrician]]
}}
'''Oscar Fredrik Torp''' ({{Audio|Oscar Torp.ogg|pronunciation}}, 8 June 1893 – 1 May 1958) 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 the acting [[Minister of Defence (Norway)|minister of defence]] in the [[Nygaardsvold's Cabinet|government]] of [[Johan Nygaardsvold]]. He was also the [[Minister of Social Affairs (Norway)|minister of social affairs]] from 1936 to 1939, and then the [[Minister of Finance (Norway)|minister of finance]] from 1939 to 1942. He was appointed minister of defence again in 1942 in the London-based Norwegian exile government. He continued until the election in 1945 when he became the [[Norwegian Ministry of Provisioning and Reconstruction|minister of provisioning and reconstruction]] until 1948.

Hailing from [[Skjeberg]], he was first elected to the [[Parliament of Norway]] representing [[Oslo]] in 1936, but did not take a seat in the Parliament until 1948. He then became the faction leader for the Labour Party in Parliament. He became the [[prime minister of Norway]] in 1951 when [[Einar Gerhardsen]] stepped down from this position; the move was reversed in 1955 when Torp became the [[president of the Storting]]. He held this position until his death.

==Early life and career==
He was born in [[Skjeberg]] as a son of Anton Fredrik Andersen Torp (1865–1907) and Anne Bolette Andreassen Gade (1867–1932). He had eight siblings, and lost his father at a young age. His father worked in Canada from 1903, and sailed home to collect his family to emigrate to Canada in 1907.<ref name=nbl>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Oscar Torp|encyclopedia=[[Norsk biografisk leksikon]]|first=Hans O.|last=Lahlum|author-link=Hans Olav Lahlum|editor=Helle, Knut|publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget|location=Oslo|url=http://www.snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Oscar_Torp/utdypning|language=no|access-date=12 September 2010|editor-link=Knut Helle}}</ref> However he died en route, near [[Liverpool]].<ref name=aft>{{cite news|url=http://www.aftenposten.no/kul_und/litteratur/article1795401.ece|title=Lavmælt og godt om Oscar Torp|last=Hegge|first=Per Egil|author-link=Per Egil Hegge|date=21 May 2007|work=Aftenposten|language=no|access-date=12 September 2010}}</ref> Torp attended primary school before joining the workforce at age 13. He eventually became an [[electrician]], and already at the age of 14 he became deputy treasurer in his local trade union. He also joined the Norwegian Labour Party, and was elected to the national board in 1918, when an opposition of revolutionaries assumed power in the party. Torp chaired the party chapter in Sarpsborg from 1919 to 1921 and in [[Østfold]] county from 1921 to 1923.<ref name=nbl/> He was also a supervisory council member in the [[Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions]] from 1920 to 1925, and board chairman of ''[[Østfold Arbeiderblad]]'' from 1921 to 1923.<ref name=bio>{{stortingetbio|OSTO}}</ref> He was married to Kari Hansen (1893–1967) since April 1916.<ref name=nbl/> He was the father of [[Reidar Torp]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Lær om krigen! I dag kan du møte krigsveteranene|last=Guhnfeldt|first=Cato|author-link=Cato Guhnfeldt|date=10 May 2006|work=[[Aftenposten]]|page=12|language=no}}</ref>

==Party chairman and cabinet member==
In 1922 Torp was a delegate at the Fourth Comintern Congress.<ref>{{cite book|last=Maurseth|first=Per|author-link=Per Maurseth|title=Gjennom kriser til makt 1920-1935|year=1987|series=Volume three of ''[[Arbeiderbevegelsens historie i Norge]]''|publisher=Tiden|location=Oslo|language=no|isbn=82-10-02753-0|page=275}}</ref> In 1923 the revolutionary wing that had assumed power in the Labour Party in 1918 had split into two wings, one for and one against Comintern membership. Torp belonged to the latter wing, which assumed power at the 1923 national convention. Torp was elected chairman of the entire party.<ref name=nbl/> When he became chairman, the chairman of the party's [[Norges Socialdemokratiske Ungdomsforbund|youth wing]] ([[Peder Furubotn]]) was four years older than he was.<ref>Maurseth, 1987: p. 288</ref> Torp chaired the party until 1945.<ref name=bio/> It has often been said, however, that Martin Tranmæl was the "real" chairman of the Labour Party.<ref name=nbl/>

Torp had been a member of Sarpsborg city council from 1919 to 1923 and deputy member of [[Aker, Norway|Aker]] [[municipal council (Norway)|municipal council]] from 1925 to 1928<ref name=bio/> when he in 1930 moved to [[Oslo]].<ref name=nbl/> He served as mayor in 1935 and 1936,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|year=2000|title=Ordførere i Christiania/Kristiania/Oslo|encyclopedia=Oslo byleksikon|edition=4|editor=Tvedt, Knut Are|publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget|location=Oslo|page=318|isbn=82-573-0815-3}}</ref> and was elected to the [[Parliament of Norway]] in the [[1936 Norwegian parliamentary election]]. By that time he had already become acting [[Minister of Defence (Norway)|Minister of Defence]] in [[Nygaardsvold's Cabinet]], filling in for [[Fredrik Monsen]] who was ill. He was then [[Minister of Social Affairs (Norway)|Minister of Social Affairs]] from November 1936 to July 1939, and [[Minister of Finance (Norway)|Minister of Finance]] from July 1939 to March 1942.<ref name=bio/> In April 1940 Norway had been [[Operation Weserübung|invaded by Nazi Germany]], and Torp was responsible for initiating the successful [[flight of the Norwegian National Treasury]].<ref name=aft/> After overseeing the start of the flight, he fled together with the rest of Nygaardsvold's Cabinet. In [[Åndalsnes]] he was injured in the foot during the German air raids. The Cabinet ultimately reached [[Tromsø]] where they embarked for England, where they stayed until the war's end.<ref name=nbl/> Torp was acting Minister of Defence from November 1941 to February 1942, and then the permanent Minister of Defence from March 1942 to November 1945, in Nygaardsvold's and [[Gerhardsen's First Cabinet]].<ref name=bio/> Torp was a former [[antimilitarist]], and was imprisoned for five months in 1924 as he called for a [[Military strike action|military strike]], but shed this ideology from the mid-1930s.<ref name=nbl/>

Before the Second World War, Torp was also chairman of [[Bærumsbanen]] from 1935 to 1940, [[Oslo Sporveier]] from 1935 to 1940 and the Oslo airport committee from 1935 to 1940. He was a board member of [[Folketeatret|Folketeaterbygningen]] from 1935 to 1940, ''Idrettskomiteen av 1935'', and ''Felleskomiteen for forstadsbanene'' from 1935 to 1940. He was a deputy board member of [[Norges Kommunalbank]] from 1935 to 1940. All of these positions were lost when he fled the country.<ref name=bio/>

==Post-war career==
The German occupation ended on 8 May 1945, and the exiled politicians returned home. Torp chaired the Government Delegation from London to Oslo on 14 May 1945, and until 31 May 1945 he was thus the acting [[Prime Minister of Norway|prime minister]] and acting [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Norway)|minister of foreign affairs]] in Oslo.<ref name=govtbio>{{cite web|url=http://www.regjeringen.no/en/the-government/previous-governments/the-structure-of-the-registry/ministries-and-offices/offices/prime-minister-since-1814/oscar-fredrik-torp.html?id=463390|title=Oscar Torp|publisher=[[Government.no]]|access-date=12 September 2010}}</ref>

Much because of his exile, Torp was no longer found fit to be party chairman, and was replaced, against the party by-laws. He was also demoted to [[Norwegian Ministry of Provisioning and Reconstruction|Minister of Provisioning and Reconstruction]] in [[Gerhardsen's Second Cabinet]]. He was pressured to leave this office as well,<ref name=nbl/> and left on 10 January 1948. He sat through his parliamentary term to which he had been elected in [[1945 Norwegian parliamentary election|1945]]; until 1948 the deputy [[Eugen Amandus Pettersen]] had taken his seat. He was also the Labour Party parliamentary leader. He moved to [[Vestfold]] in 1948 as he was appointed [[List of County Governors of Vestfold|County Governor]] there.<ref name=bio/> After a short time, he decided to stand for election again, and in [[1949 Norwegian parliamentary election|1949]] he was elected for the [[Market towns of Vestfold county]]. In the same year he was one of the architects behind the Norwegian [[NATO]] membership. During his absence from his job as county governor, [[Gerhard Dahl]] served as acting governor, since Torp was absent almost the entire time that he was governor.<ref name=nbl/><ref name=bio/>

==Prime minister==
In November 1951 a political shock happened in Norway as [[Einar Gerhardsen]] unexpectedly resigned as [[Prime Minister of Norway]]. Gerhardsen then asked Oscar Torp to take over. Reportedly, Gerhardsen favored [[Sverre Støstad]], but he rejected the offer.<ref name=aft/> Torp led [[Torp's Cabinet|his cabinet]] for four years, and also had to double as acting [[Minister of Trade and Shipping (Norway)|Minister of Trade and Shipping]] from 3 to 15 June 1954. [[Carl Henry (politician)|Carl Henry]] took his seat in Parliament.<ref name=bio/>

==Domestic statesmanship==
Torp was pressured to give the position back to Gerhardsen in January 1955, when Gerhardsen had strengthened himself for a few years as party chairman and [[President of the Storting]]. Torp, who was re-elected to Parliament in [[1953 Norwegian parliamentary election|1953]] and [[1957 Norwegian parliamentary election|1957]], succeeded Gerhardsen as President of the Storting, a position he held until his death. He was also County Governor until his death, albeit he was absent from the position for most of the time.<ref name=nbl/> [[Gunvor Katharina Eker]] took his seat after his death.<ref name=bio/>

Torp was a member of the Labour Party central board and national board from 1945 to his death. He was also a board member of the [[Norwegian State Railways]] from 1948–1957 and chairman of the supervisory council of [[Folketeatret]] from 1948 to his death. In Vestfold he held a multitude of local chairmanships, including of the county tax board and the administration ({{langx|no|Stiftsdireksjon}}) of the [[Diocese of Tunsberg]].<ref name=bio/>

== Death ==
Torp had a [[cerebral haemorrhage]] in the early 1950s, which he kept secret to most his acquaintances, even family. On 1 May 1958 he had a new cerebral haemorrhage, this time with a fatal outcome.<ref name=nbl/> He died at [[Rikshospitalet]]. This was [[May Day]], and Torp was scheduled as the main speaker in [[Stavanger]]. He was not able to do it, and thus, [[Arne Skaug]] read Torp's manuscript. When the speech was referred to in the newspapers the next day, it was accompanied by obituaries of Torp.<ref>{{cite book|last=Larssen|first=Olav|author-link=Olav Larssen|title=Den langsomme revolusjonen|year=1973|publisher=Aschahoug|location=Oslo|language=no|pages=118–119}}</ref> He was buried at [[Vår Frelsers gravlund]].<ref name=govtbio/> A memorial stone was raised in Skjeberg in 1976.<ref name=nbl/>

Books about Torp include [[Nils Hønsvald]]'s ''Oscar Torp'', released in 1959, and [[Egil Helle]]'s ''Oscar Torp – arbeidergutt og statsmann'', released in 1983.<ref name=nbl/> In 2007 [[Hans Olav Lahlum]] released ''Oscar Torp. En politisk biografi''.<ref name=aft/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Emil Stang (jurist)|Emil Stang]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = Chairman of the [[Norwegian Labour Party]] |years=1923–1945}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Einar Gerhardsen]] }}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Eyvind Getz]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[List of mayors of Oslo|Mayor of Oslo]] |years=1935}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Trygve Nilsen]] }}
{{s-bef| before = [[Trygve Nilsen]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[List of mayors of Oslo|Mayor of Oslo]] |years=1936}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Trygve Nilsen]] }}
{{s-bef| before = [[Adolf Indrebø]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = Acting [[Minister of Defence (Norway)|Norwegian Minister of Defence]] | years=1935–1936 }}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Fredrik Monsen]]}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Kornelius Bergsvik]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Minister of Social Affairs (Norway)|Norwegian Minister of Social Affairs]] | years=1936–1939}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Sverre Støstad]]}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Kornelius Bergsvik]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Minister of Finance (Norway)|Norwegian Minister of Finance]] | years=1939–1942}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Paul Ernst Wilhelm Hartmann|Paul Hartmann]] }}
{{s-bef| before = [[Birger Ljungberg]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Minister of Defence (Norway)|Norwegian Minister of Defence]] | years=1942–1945<br />(''acting minister: 1941–1942'') }}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Jens Christian Hauge]] }}
{{s-bef| before = [[Egil Offenberg]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Norwegian Ministry of Provisioning and Reconstruction|Norwegian Minister of Provisioning and Reconstruction]] |years=1945–1948}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Nils Hønsvald]]}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Einar Gerhardsen]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Prime Minister of Norway]] |years=1951–1955}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Einar Gerhardsen]]}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Erik Brofoss]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = Acting [[Minister of Trade and Shipping (Norway)|Norwegian Minister of Trade and Shipping]]|years=June 1954}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Nils Langhelle]]}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Einar Gerhardsen]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[President of the Storting]] |years=1955–1958}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Nils Langhelle]]}}
{{s-civ}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Johannes Gerckens Bassøe]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[List of County Governors of Vestfold|County Governor of Vestfold]] |years=1948–1958<br />(''absent from position,<br />[[Gerhard Dahl]] served as acting governor during this time'')}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Gerhard Dahl]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Norwegian Labour Party}}
{{NorwegianPrimeMinisters}}
{{Minister of Trade and Shipping (Norway)}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torp, Oscar}}
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1958 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Sarpsborg]]
[[Category:Politicians from Østfold]]
[[Category:Politicians from Aker]]
[[Category:Mayors of Oslo]]
[[Category:Politicians from Vestfold]]
[[Category:Government ministers of Norway]]
[[Category:Ministers of trade and shipping of Norway]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Storting]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Norway]]
[[Category:County governors of Norway]]
[[Category:Norwegian prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Norway]]
[[Category:Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Norwegian people of World War II]]
[[Category:Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour]]
[[Category:Ministers of finance of Norway]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Labour Party (Norway)]]
[[Category:Ministers of defence of Norway]]
[[Category:Members of the Storting 1936–1945]]
[[Category:Members of the Storting 1945–1949]]
[[Category:Members of the Storting 1950–1953]]
[[Category:Members of the Storting 1954–1957]]