Helge Sivertsen

Following a brief but successful sporting career Helge Sivertsen became a teacher and a noted figure in Norwegian politics. In the mid-1930s he competed in track and field athletics, specialising in the discus throw. He was the national champion in the discipline in 1934 and 1935, earning himself a place on the Olympic team for the 1936 Berlin Games where he came tenth. During this time Sivertsen studied history at the University of Oslo, before studying history and politics at the University of Oxford through a scholarship programme. After graduating he worked as a teacher from 1941-43.

During the German occupation of Norway, Sivertsen became a member of Milorg, the main Norwegian resistance movement. Following the liberation of Norway in 1945 he then worked as the secretary of the Military Investigation Commission, with him soon pursing a career in politics. In 1947 Sivertsen served as the secretary for the Norwegian Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen, before serving as the state secretary to the Minister of Education and Church Affairs for the best part of a decade. From 1960-65 Sivertsen was the Minister of Education and Church Affairs, with him serving in multiple roles as director and chair of educational organisations in Norway until his retirement in 1981.

Personal Best: DT – 47.72 (1936).