Jan Staubo
Encyclopedia
Jan Staubo was a Norwegian
sportsman, politician and sports official. As a sportsman he competed internationally in tennis
and nationally in other sports. He was a member of the city council of Norway's capital
, and a member of the International Olympic Committee
for 34 years.
, and took secondary education at Oslo Commerce School
in 1940. During the Second World War he fought in the Norwegian Campaign
and was later an air pilot in-exile, and was imprisoned for about three years in total. He tried to escape several times, one time being shot and having to amputate a lung
. He first tried to escape from Norway to Sweden
in 1941, but was arrested in Verdal
and imprisoned in Vollan prison
in Trondheim
. After escaping from there he fled to Shetland on the fishcutter Sigurd in 1941, together with Joachim Rønneberg
and others. He went via London
to Little Norway
, where he was trained as a pilot and joined the No. 332 Squadron RAF
. He was shot down on 19 August 1942 in a Spitfire
by a Focke-Wulf Fw 190
near Dieppe
, and was captured by Germans again. He was imprisoned in Stalag Luft III
, and helped with preparing the "Great Escape", but was moved to another camp before the escape actually took place.
As a tennis player he won the Norwegian singles championships in 1948 and 1950. He represented IF Ready, and won the national team championship with them in 1953. He won two indoor championships. He competed in the 1946 US Open and the 1947, 1949 and 1950 Wimbledon Championships. He also invited former Stalag inmate Eric Sturgess
from South Africa
to play in Norway on several occasions. Staubo was also a national team player in bandy
, and he played ice hockey
. He was also chairman of IF Ready for some time.
He served as chairman of the Norwegian Tennis Federation for some time, and was a board member of the Norwegian Confederation of Sports
. Internationally he was a member of the International Olympic Committee
from 1966 to 2000. He took over for Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen
, in a tradition since 1905 that Norway had one IOC member at any time. However, in 1992 Olaf Paulsen took a second seat (which he left in 1995), and in 1994 Gerhard Heiberg
took a third seat. Staubo became an honorary member of the IOC after retiring at the age of 80. A board member of the Lillehammer Olympic Organising Committee, he is said to have contributed to the 1994 Winter Olympics
being held in Norway, and also to the establishing of the Norwegian Olympic Museum
.
He was a member of Oslo city council from 1961 to 1967 for the Conservative Party
. He held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In his professional career Staubo was a ship-owner. He was a deputy chairman of the Oslo Port Authority, deputy board member of the Norwegian Shipowners' Association
and a member of the marine committee of the International Chamber of Shipping
. He established the electronics company Statronic in Kilsund
in the 1960s; the company later changed its name to Kitron, merged with Sonec and moved to Sonec's locality at Hisøy
.
Staubo lived at a farm in Staubø
in his later life. He died in June 2003.
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...
sportsman, politician and sports official. As a sportsman he competed internationally in tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and nationally in other sports. He was a member of the city council of Norway's capital
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...
, and a member of the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
for 34 years.
Career
Staubo was from OsloOslo
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...
, and took secondary education at Oslo Commerce School
Oslo Commerce School
Oslo Commerce School is a public high school in Oslo, Norway, specialized to teach financial and business management....
in 1940. During the Second World War he fought in the Norwegian Campaign
Norwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
and was later an air pilot in-exile, and was imprisoned for about three years in total. He tried to escape several times, one time being shot and having to amputate a lung
Lung
The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...
. He first tried to escape from Norway to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1941, but was arrested in Verdal
Verdal
Verdal is a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Verdalsøra...
and imprisoned in Vollan prison
Vollan prison
Vollan prison in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway functioned as a concentration camp during the Nazi occupation of Norway. It was primarily used for transit purposes for prisoners who were either bound for execution, work camps, or extermination camps....
in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
. After escaping from there he fled to Shetland on the fishcutter Sigurd in 1941, together with Joachim Rønneberg
Joachim Rønneberg
Joachim Holmboe Rønneberg, DSO is a retired Norwegian officer and broadcaster. He is known for his resistance work during World War II and his post-war war information work.-Personal life:...
and others. He went via London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Little Norway
Little Norway
The Flyvåpnenes Treningsleir , the official name) or "Little Norway" was a Norwegian Army Air Service/Royal Norwegian Air Force training camp in Canada during the Second World War.-Origins:...
, where he was trained as a pilot and joined the No. 332 Squadron RAF
No. 332 Squadron RAF
-Notable pilots:*Sgt Per Bergsland *Sgt Carl Sejersted Bødtker *Sgt Jan Staubo*Cpt Finn Thorsager*Lt Soren Kjell Liby*Lt Marius Eriksen*Gunnar Piltingsrud*Fnr Ola Gert Aanjesen*Maj Reidar Emil From-Bibliography:...
. He was shot down on 19 August 1942 in a Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
by a Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
near Dieppe
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
, and was captured by Germans again. He was imprisoned in Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...
, and helped with preparing the "Great Escape", but was moved to another camp before the escape actually took place.
As a tennis player he won the Norwegian singles championships in 1948 and 1950. He represented IF Ready, and won the national team championship with them in 1953. He won two indoor championships. He competed in the 1946 US Open and the 1947, 1949 and 1950 Wimbledon Championships. He also invited former Stalag inmate Eric Sturgess
Eric Sturgess
Eric William Sturgess was a South African male tennis player. Eric Sturgess attended Parktown Boys' High School in Johannesburg...
from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
to play in Norway on several occasions. Staubo was also a national team player in bandy
Bandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...
, and he played ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. He was also chairman of IF Ready for some time.
He served as chairman of the Norwegian Tennis Federation for some time, and was a board member of the Norwegian Confederation of Sports
Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports
The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports is the umbrella organization for sport in Norway. It is the largest volunteering organization in Norway, with more than 2 million members, and 12000 sports clubs, in 19 region confederatons and 56 national federations...
. Internationally he was a member of the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
from 1966 to 2000. He took over for Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen
Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen
Olaf Christian "Tit" Ditlev-Simonsen, Jr. was a Norwegian bandy player, footballer, sailor, sports administrator and businessperson.-Early and personal life:...
, in a tradition since 1905 that Norway had one IOC member at any time. However, in 1992 Olaf Paulsen took a second seat (which he left in 1995), and in 1994 Gerhard Heiberg
Gerhard Heiberg
Jens Gerhard Heiberg is a Norwegian industrialist who was head of the Lillehammer Olympic Organising Committee and the Lillehammer Paralympic Organizing Committee and member of the International Olympic Committee....
took a third seat. Staubo became an honorary member of the IOC after retiring at the age of 80. A board member of the Lillehammer Olympic Organising Committee, he is said to have contributed to the 1994 Winter Olympics
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...
being held in Norway, and also to the establishing of the Norwegian Olympic Museum
Norwegian Olympic Museum
Norwegian Olympic Museum is located in Håkons Hall, Lillehammer, Norway.Norwegian Olympic Museum in Hakon's Hall in Lillehammer, was officially opened by King Harald V and Queen Sonja on November 27, 1997. It is the only museum in northern Europe that presents the entire history of the Olympic...
.
He was a member of Oslo city council from 1961 to 1967 for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
. He held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In his professional career Staubo was a ship-owner. He was a deputy chairman of the Oslo Port Authority, deputy board member of the Norwegian Shipowners' Association
Norwegian Shipowners' Association
The Norwegian Shipowners Association is an employers' organization and interest group for Norwegian shipping and offshore companies. The organization's primary fields are national and international industry policies, employer issues, competence and recruitment, environmental issues and innovation...
and a member of the marine committee of the International Chamber of Shipping
International Chamber of Shipping
The International Chamber of Shipping is the world's principal shipping organisation, representing around 75% of the world’s merchant tonnage; through membership of national shipowners' associations, concerned with all regulatory, operational and legal issues....
. He established the electronics company Statronic in Kilsund
Kilsund
Kilsund is a village in the municipality of Arendal in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located on the island Tverrdalsøya. Its population is 729. The village is located just north of Flosta island. It is about northeast of Strengereid, northeast of Eydehavn, northeast of the city of...
in the 1960s; the company later changed its name to Kitron, merged with Sonec and moved to Sonec's locality at Hisøy
Hisøy
Hisøy is an island and a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. Today, the island is a part of the municipality of Arendal. Hisøy is an island separated from the mainland by the river Nidelv. The village of Kolbjørnsvik is located across the harbor from the town of Arendal...
.
Staubo lived at a farm in Staubø
Staubø
Staubø is a village in Arendal municipality, Aust-Agder, Norway....
in his later life. He died in June 2003.