He was born in Horten as a son of navy captain Hans Fleischer Dons (1882–1940) and his wife Hilda Marie Høyer.
He started working in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1940,[1] and followed the political leadership into exile in London during the Second World War.
He served as ambassador to Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines from 1956 to 1959, the People's Republic of China from 1959 to 1964 and Portugal from 1964 to 1966.
[3] He was hired as a special adviser in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1967,[1] and from 1976 to 1981 he was Norway's ambassador to East Germany.
He died in January 2002 and was buried in Ris, Oslo,[2][5] having lived at Vinderen in his later life.