Gunnar Sonsteby
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The seemingly ordinary man on the bike is none other than one of Norway's greatest heroes. Gunnar Sønsteby was a resistance man during World War II, also known as "Kjakan". Sønsteby was born in Rjukan in 1918 and in his youth, he was a very active outdoorsman. When the war broke out in 1940, he was working as an audit assistant, but immediately joined the volunteer forces and the emerging resistance. Based in Sweden, he carried out several missions in Norway, before being stationed in Oslo as a British intelligence agent, codenamed "No 24". Between 1944 and 1945, Gunnar Sønsteby led Kompani Linge's action group in Oslo, the Oslo Gang, which carried out many daring and successful operations. Among his code names were "Kjakan" and "No. 24". He led some of the most spectacular sabotage actions during World War II, targeting NS authorities and war-important targets such as railways, industry, and fuel storage. After the war, Gunnar Sønsteby ran his own consultancy, in addition to being a loyal defense friend and champion for war veterans' issues. When he was buried at 94 years old in 2012, Gunnar Sønsteby was Norway's highest decorated citizen, and the first and only recipient of the War Cross with three swords.