He was born at Mulen in Naustdal as a son of farmers, but moved to Bergen and took shoemaker's training from 1898 to 1901.
He worked as a shoemaker until 1918, then as a secretary in the local trade union information office.
From 1920 to his death he was an office clerk in the people's register of Bergen.
He was elected to the Parliament of Norway from the constituency Kalfaret in 1912 and Nygaard in 1915.
[1] In 1921 he joined the new Social Democratic Labour Party, and headed their ballot in Bergen in the 1921 and 1924 election.