Elias Cathrinus Kiær was a Norwegian businessperson.

He was born in Drammen

Drammen

Drammen is a city in Buskerud County, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the eastern and most populated part of Norway.-Location:...

 as the son of wholesaler Hans Theodor Kiær (1827–1911). He was the grandson of Hans Andersen Kiær

Hans Andersen Kiær

Hans Andersen Kiær was a Norwegian businessperson and politician.He was a part of a large ship-owner family, starting with his father Anders Hansen Kiær...

 and nephew of Anders F. Kiær.

In 1895 he took over the family company And. H. Kiær & Co from his uncle Anders—co-owners were his uncle Hans Theodor, first cousin Frits and Anders' son-in-law Peter Collett Solberg

Peter Collett Solberg

Peter Collett Solberg was a Norwegian businessperson and politician for the Conservative Party. He served three terms in the Norwegian Parliament, and played an important role in the companies And. H...

. The company was greatly expanded in the years before 1920, buying forest areas and founding paper mills and sawmills. However, following the economic hardships of the Interwar Period

Interwar period

Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....

, the company declined. His son Hans Theodor had taken over as CEO in 1916, and his nephew Thorry Kiær also played an important role in the 1920s.

Elias C. Kiær was also an uncle of paleontologist Johan Aschehoug Kiær

Johan Aschehoug Kiær

Johan Aschehoug Kiær was a Norwegian paleontologist and geologist.He was born in Drammen as the son of Hagbarth Kiær . In 1909 he was appointed professor of paleontology at the University of Oslo, as the first in Norway to hold such a position. He was also head of the Palaeontological Museum of Oslo...

 and organizational worker Dakky Kiær.