Johan Cappelen (25 February 1889 – 18 October 1947) was a Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Conservative Party.

Johan Cappelen
County Governor of Sør-Trøndelag
In office
16 January 1940 – 18 October 1947
Deposed from 1940–1945.
MonarchHaakon VII
Prime MinisterJohan Nygaardsvold
Einar Gerhardsen
Preceded byOdd Klingenberg
Succeeded byIvar Skjånes
Minister of Justice
In office
25 June 1945 – 5 November 1945
Prime MinisterEinar Gerhardsen
Preceded byTerje Wold
Succeeded byO. C. Gundersen
Mayor of Trondheim
In office
1 January 1931 – 31 December 1934
Preceded byAndreas Moe
Succeeded byHarald Pedersen
Personal details
Born(1889-02-25)25 February 1889
Skogn Municipality, Nordre Trondheim, Sweden-Norway
Died18 October 1947(1947-10-18) (aged 58)
Trondheim Municipality, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
Political partyConservative
Free-minded Liberal
SpouseHjørdis Mack Floer
Children5[1]

He was born in Skogn Municipality[2] as a son of physician Johan Christian Severin Cappelen (1855–1936) and Katharina M. Steen (1859–1915). He had one sister and one brother. He was a nephew of physician Axel Hermansen Cappelen.[3]

He graduated from the Royal Frederick University with cand.jur. degree in 1911. He worked as a deputy judge,[citation needed] and from 1915, attorney in Trondhjem. He was barrister[4] with access to work with Supreme Court from 1922.[2]

As a politician Cappelen was elected to Trondhjem city council, serving as mayor from 1931 to 1934. In 1940 he was appointed County Governor of Sør-Trøndelag. However, due to the German occupation of Norway Cappelen was removed in the autumn of 1940.[2]

In 1942 he joined the "Five Man Committee" in Trøndelag which was going to build the resistance group Sivorg. He was a close contact of Ferdinand Schjelderup in Kretsen. In 1943 he was denounced by Henry Rinnan when the Thingstad Group was discovered.[5] He was arrested in March 1943 and imprisoned in Vollan and Falstad.[6] After falling ill he was transferred to Innherred Hospital, where he managed to continue his resistance work with contacts to Trondheim.[5] However, in March 1945 he was transferred to Grini concentration camp and remained there until the war's end.[6]

When the occupation ended in 1945, Cappelen was appointed Minister of Justice and the Police in the non-partisan coalition government Gerhardsen's First Cabinet. This cabinet lasted from June to November 1945, when a general election was held and the Gerhardsen's Second Cabinet assumed office. Cappelen was then reinstated as County Governor of Sør-Trøndelag, a post he held until his death in 1947.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Johan Cappelen". strindahistorielag.no. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Johan Cappelen". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  3. ^ Norske slægter (1912), p. 81
  4. ^ "Monthly Report on the Economic Conditions in Norway," Volumes 12-18, Norges banks seddeltrykkeri, (1936), p. 109
  5. ^ a b Moland, Arnfinn (1995). "Cappelen, Johan". In Dahl, Hans Fredrik (ed.). Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45. Oslo: Cappelen. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  6. ^ a b Ottosen, Kristian, ed. (1995). Nordmenn i fangenskap 1940–1945 (in Norwegian) (1st ed.). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. p. 155. ISBN 82-15-00288-9.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Trondheim
1931–1934
Succeeded by
Preceded by County Governor of Sør-Trøndelag
1940–1947
(deposed by Nazis 1940–1945)
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Justice and the Police
June 1945–November 1945
Succeeded by