Valentin Aass was born as the son of a wholesaler in Oslo. In 1923, he married his wife Ingeborg (née Horn). The couple had two sons and later divorced. He began his law studies in 1905 and graduated in 1911 from the Oslo University. In the 1912 Olympic sailing events, the Norwegian boat Taifun with Aass as a crew member won both races of the 8 metres class and won gold in a superior manner.
From 1912-15 Aass worked in Fredrikstad as an authorized official in building affairs. Subsequently, he was called up to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1920 he was promoted to acting bureau chief in the ministry. In the next years, he was appointed acting consul in Barcelona and vice consul in London. Later, he was legation secretary in Stockholm and Kaunas, at the time temporary capital of Lithuania, and again bureau chief in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During World War II, Aass was stationed at the legation in Stockholm in 1940 and was transferred, after the war, to Gothenburg as consul general. For his services he was appointed, amongst other, Knight of the Order of St. Olav, Commander of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, and Officer of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Norway