Johan Nygaardsvold (Statue)
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Prime Minister Johan Nygaardsvold, nicknamed "The Old Man", was born in 1879 in Hommelvik near Trondheim. He was a Labor Party politician and Prime Minister of Norway from 1935 to 1945. He emigrated to the United States aged just 23 and worked as a railway worker, but returned to Norway just five years later. As a representative of the Labor Party, he somewhat reluctantly took on several positions and was elected to the Storting in 1915. A few years later, after much persuasion, he became Minister of Agriculture in 1928. When Norway was occupied in 1940, he refused to capitulate to German supremacy. He led the government together with the royal family in a dramatic escape through Norway with the German soldiers hot on their heels. They eventually made it safely to port in England with help from Churchill. In England, he and King Haakon VII were responsible for coordinating the Norwegian resistance. Together with the Allies, Norway and Europe were liberated in 1945. Johan Nygaardsvold received an honorary salary from the state after his political career until his death in Trondheim in 1952.