Advertisement

Resistance hero Gunnar Sønsteby dies aged 94

NTB/The Local
NTB/The Local - [email protected]
Resistance hero Gunnar Sønsteby dies aged 94
Gunnar Sønsteby attends the unveiling in 2011 of a statue in honour of fellow resistance fighter Max Manus (Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum/Scanpix)

Norway’s most decorated citizen, Gunnar Sønsteby, has died at the age of 94.

Advertisement

Sønsteby spearheaded some of the most importation sabotage missions carried out by resistance fighters during the Nazi occupation of Norway in World War II, targeting train stations, industrial centres and fuel stores.

The one-time head of a highly effective sabotage unit known as the Oslo Gang, Sønsteby was also known as Kjakan, Erling Fjeld and Nr. 24.

Sønsteby is the only Norwegian ever to have received the War Cross with three swords.

In April he also became the first person to receive the Norwegian Defence Cross of Honour.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also