Alfred Madsen

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Alfred Madsen
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
In office
1 January 1921 – 4 December 1945
(de facto: 1940)
ConstituencyAkershus
Minister of Social Affairs
In office
28 January 1928 – 15 February 1928
Prime MinisterChristopher Hornsrud
Preceded byPeter Morell
Succeeded byTorjus Værland
Minister of Trade
In office
20 March 1935 – 1 July 1939
Prime MinisterJohan Nygaardsvold
Preceded byLars O. Meling
Succeeded byTrygve Lie
Personal details
Born
Alfred Martin Madsen

(1888-04-10)10 April 1888
Bergen, Hordaland, United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway
Died8 May 1962(1962-05-08) (aged 74)
Bærum, Akershus, Norway
Political partyLabour
Spouse
Anna Fagerhaug
​
(m. 1914)​
OccupationNewspaper editor
Trade union secretary
ProfessionLithographer
Engineer

Alfred Martin Madsen (10 April 1888 – 8 May 1962) was a Norwegian engineer, newspaper editor, trade unionist and politician for the

Norwegian Labour Party. He began as deputy chairman of their youth wing, while also working as an engineer. In the 1910s he rose in the hierarchy of the party press, and eventually in the Labour Party and the Confederation of Trade Unions as well. He was an important party and trade union strategist in the 1920s. He served six terms in the Norwegian Parliament
, and was the parliamentary leader of his party for many years. He was twice a member of the national cabinet, as Minister of Social Affairs in 1928 and Minister of Trade from 1935 to 1939.

Early life

Madsen was born in 1888 in

lithographer and engineer between 1904 and 1910. He worked as an engineer in Montreal and New York City between 1910 and 1912, and in Germany between 1913 and 1914.[1] In 1912, during an intermittent stay in Norway, he had become active in Norges Socialdemokratiske Ungdomsforbund, and became acquainted to Martin Tranmæl. Madsen was soon elected chairman of the Norges Socialdemokratiske Ungdomsforbund. While staying in Germany, he had written articles for the newspaper Ny Tid, where Tranmæl was the editor-in-chief. In 1914 he married Anna Fagerhaug.[2]

Political career

Upon his return to Norway in 1914, Madsen became editor-in-chief of Tidens Krav in Kristiansund. At the national Labour Party convention in 1915, Madsen was a candidate for the position as party secretary, but long-time party secretary Magnus Nilssen won the vote. The radical wing of Madsen, Tranmæl and others later assumed control over the party at the national convention in 1918. Having worked in Rjukan from 1917 to 1918, Madsen was hired as subeditor of the newspaper Arbeidet in 1919. In 1920 he was promoted within the system, becoming editor-in-chief of Ny Tid.[2] He was a member of the Labour Party national board from 1919 to 1920, and of the central committee from 1920 to 1935.[1] He was also a secretary in the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, and was known as a supporting figure of chairman Ole O. Lian. He was also known as a splendid public speaker and political writer. He published several pamphlets in the years around 1920, including 1917's Taylor-systemet: videnskabelig ledelse av industriene, an exploration of scientific management.[2]

In the

cabinet Hornsrud.[1]

In 1931 he left the position as parliamentary leader as he was elected deputy chairman as well as treasurer of the Confederation of Trade Unions. He held this position until 1934. However, he did continue in the Norwegian Parliament, being elected in

Norwegian Minister of Trade, Shipping, Industry, Craft and Fisheries. At the same time he left the central committee. Unlike the cabinet Hornsrud, the cabinet Nygaardsvold survived for a long period. Madsen resigned in the summer of 1939; his last day as Minister was on 30 June. He found a new job as an administrator of stamped paper.[1]

He was still a member of Parliament, and returned as parliamentary leader in 1939.

Bredtveit concentration camp and Åkebergveien.[4] He did not recover his civil job until 8 May 1945, the day of the liberation. He had also been a member of the board of the Bank of Norway since 1930, but this was suspended during the German occupation.[1]

He left politics after World War II.[2] He died in 1962 in Bærum.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Alfred Martin Madsen" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD). Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Bjørgum, Jorunn (2003). "Alfred Madsen". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Vol. 6. Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  3. Store norske leksikon
    (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  4. ISBN 82-15-00288-9
    .
Political offices
Preceded by
Peter A. A. Morell
Norwegian Minister of Social Affairs

January 1928–February 1928 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Norwegian Minister of Trade, Shipping, Industry, Craft and Fisheries

1935–1939 		Succeeded by
Media offices
Preceded by Chief editor of Ny Tid
1920 		Succeeded by
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