Einar Maseng
Encyclopedia
Einar Maseng was a Norwegian
diplomat.
Born in Oslo
, he was educated at the Norwegian Military Academy
. He later entered the foreign service serving as a Consul General in Hamburg
before later becoming the first Norwegian delegate to The Hague
and a substitute delegate to the League of Nations
. In the years leading up to the Second World War, Maseng was assigned the post of the Norwegian Ambassador
to Moscow and the Soviet Union
. At the onset of the war, he, along with several other Ambassadors, was forced to leave the Soviet Union due to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
.
After the war, Maseng was pressured to resign from the foreign service. There was a difference of opinion over whether Norway should become more participatory in world affairs or become more isolationist. A proponent of the isolationist theory, Maseng went on to write several books on the subject, which were re-released many years later.
Maseng had been a proponent of Nordic cooperation, especially during the First World War when the Nordic countries guarded their neutrality. He was a co-founder of Foreningen Norden
in 1919.
Maseng was married several times, though never for a particularly long time. The most notable of his marriages were to Sigrid Maseng, who published a book about the Grini concentration camp in Norway, and to the Countess Hellevid Catharina Cecilia Posse, whom he married in 1929 while serving as the Consul General in Germany. His brother Sigurd Maseng
was also a Norwegian diplomat.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
diplomat.
Born in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, he was educated at the Norwegian Military Academy
Norwegian Military Academy
The Norwegian Army Academy was established in 1750. It is the oldest university-level educational institution in Norway, and one of the oldest active military academies in the world. Krigsskolen primarily educates officers for the Norwegian Army. There are separate academies for the Royal...
. He later entered the foreign service serving as a Consul General in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
before later becoming the first Norwegian delegate to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
and a substitute delegate to the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
. In the years leading up to the Second World War, Maseng was assigned the post of the Norwegian Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Moscow and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. At the onset of the war, he, along with several other Ambassadors, was forced to leave the Soviet Union due to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
.
After the war, Maseng was pressured to resign from the foreign service. There was a difference of opinion over whether Norway should become more participatory in world affairs or become more isolationist. A proponent of the isolationist theory, Maseng went on to write several books on the subject, which were re-released many years later.
Maseng had been a proponent of Nordic cooperation, especially during the First World War when the Nordic countries guarded their neutrality. He was a co-founder of Foreningen Norden
Foreningen Norden
Foreningen Norden , Föreningen Norden , Norræna félagið , Norrøna Felagið or Pohjola-Norden , The Nordic Association, is an organization in the Nordic countries which exists to promote civil cooperation between the Nordic countries...
in 1919.
Maseng was married several times, though never for a particularly long time. The most notable of his marriages were to Sigrid Maseng, who published a book about the Grini concentration camp in Norway, and to the Countess Hellevid Catharina Cecilia Posse, whom he married in 1929 while serving as the Consul General in Germany. His brother Sigurd Maseng
Sigurd Maseng
Sigurd Maseng was a diplomat in the Norwegian Foreign Service. Raised in Oslo, he entered the Foreign Service in 1918. He was sent to the United States in 1936 to serve as the Vice-Consul in Chicago, home of a large Norwegian community. In 1947 he was promoted to the post of Consul General, which...
was also a Norwegian diplomat.