He was born in Steinkjer as a son of vicar Joachim Homboe Aarestrup (1866–1940) and his wife Anna Sophie Wiig (1872–1944).
He worked as a junior solicitor in Mysen until 1940, then briefly as a police officer in Oslo before being deputy judge in Farsund from 1940 to 1941.
[1] In July 1941, one year after the German invasion and occupation of Norway, Aarestrup was arrested for an attempt to flee the country.
He was first imprisoned in Kristiansand's Arkivet, and later sat in Møllergata 19 from 8 to 22 August and in Grini concentration camp until mid-October 1941.
[2] In the mid-1980s Aarestrup was a proponent for a road tunnel to lead the European route E18 away from the city core of Oslo, specifically the square Rådhusplassen.
Board members were Ole S. Gilbo, Ragnar Hurum, Johan B. Holte, Olav Selvaag, Erling Storrusten and Jan Bille.