He was born in Rjukan, and after taking the examen artium he studied at Cambridge University for a period and participated as an officer in the Norwegian Campaign near Voss in 1940, before graduating with the cand.jur.
He was a police superintendent in Bergen from 1941 to 1942, worked in the National Insurance Administration from 1942 to 1943 at the same time as he participated in the Norwegian resistance to German occupation.
He had to flee to Sweden in 1944, and continued to England where he served in the Norwegian High Command and the Ministry of Defence-in-exile.
He served as an Attaché in the United Kingdom from 1946 to 1948, Vice-Consul in Chicago from 1948 to 1951 and secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1951 to 1953.
[1] He was decorated as a Commander of the Order of St. Olav, and held the honorary token of the Norwegian Red Cross.