Johan Cappelen
Johan Cappelen (25 February 1889 – 18 October 1947) was a Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Conservative Party.
He was born in Skogn[1] as a son of physician Johan Christian Severin Cappelen (1855–1936) and Katharina M. Steen (1859–1915). He had one sister and one brother. He was a nephew of physician Axel Hermansen Cappelen.[2]
He graduated from the Royal Frederick University with cand.jur. degree in 1911. He worked as a deputy judge, and from 1915, attorney in Trondhjem. He was barrister with access to work with Supreme Court from 1922.[1]
As a politician Cappelen was elected to Trondhjem city council, serving as mayor from 1931 to 1934. In 1940 he was appointed County Governor of Sør-Trøndelag. However, due to the German occupation of Norway Cappelen was removed in the autumn of 1940.[1]
In 1942 he joined the "Five Man Committee" in Trøndelag which was going to build the resistance group Sivorg. He was a close contact of Ferdinand Schjelderup in Kretsen. In 1943 he was denounced by Henry Rinnan when the Thingstad Group was discovered.[3] He was arrested in March 1943 and imprisoned in Vollan and Falstad.[4] After falling ill he was transferred to Innherred Hospital, where he managed to continue his resistance work with contacts to Trondheim.[3] However, in March 1945 he was transferred to Grini concentration camp and remained there until the war's end.[4]
When the occupation ended in 1945, Cappelen was appointed Minister of Justice and the Police in the non-partisan coalition government Gerhardsen's First Cabinet. This cabinet lasted from June to November 1945, when a general election was held and the Gerhardsen's Second Cabinet assumed office. Cappelen was then reinstated as County Governor of Sør-Trøndelag, a post he held until his death in 1947.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Johan Cappelen". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
- ↑ Norske slægter (1912), p. 81
- 1 2 Moland, Arnfinn (1995). "Cappelen, Johan". In Dahl, Hans Fredrik. Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45. Oslo: Cappelen. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
- 1 2 Ottosen, Kristian, ed. (1995). Nordmenn i fangenskap 1940–1945 (in Norwegian) (1st ed.). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. p. 155. ISBN 82-15-00288-9.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Andreas Moe |
Mayor of Trondheim 1931–1934 |
Succeeded by Harald Pedersen |
| Preceded by Odd Sverressøn Klingenberg |
County Governor of Sør-Trøndelag 1940–1947 (deposed by Nazis 1940–1945) |
Succeeded by Ivar Skjånes |
| Preceded by Terje Wold |
Minister of Justice and the Police June 1945–November 1945 |
Succeeded by Oscar Chr. Gundersen |