# Harald Sandvik

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{{Short description|Norwegian military officer and sports administrator}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Harald Sandvik
| image = King Haakon VII, Prof.Leif Tronstad, Capt. Harald Sandvik and Crown Prince Olav 1944.jpg
| caption = King [Haakon VII](/source/Haakon_VII_of_Norway), Prof. [Leif Tronstad](/source/Leif_Tronstad), Capt. Harald Sandvik and Crown Prince [Olav](/source/Olav_V_of_Norway), Glenmore Lodge, Scotland 1944, Kompani Linge training facility
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1911|10|1}}
| birth_place = [Horten](/source/Horten), Norway
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1992|11|27|1911|10|1}}
| death_place = 
| resting_place = [Vestre gravlund](/source/Vestre_gravlund)
| monuments = 
| other_names = 
| education = 
| alma_mater = [University of Oslo](/source/University_of_Oslo)
| occupation = Military officer<br>sports administrator
| years_active = 
| employer = 
| organization = 
| known_for = 
| notable_works = 
| style = 
| television = 
| spouse = 
| partner = 
| children = 
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| relatives = 
| awards = [St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch](/source/St._Olav's_Medal_With_Oak_Branch)<br>[Defence Medal 1940–1945](/source/Defence_Medal_1940%E2%80%931945)<br>[Haakon VII 70th Anniversary Medal](/source/Haakon_VII_70th_Anniversary_Medal)<br>[1939–45 Star](/source/1939%E2%80%9345_Star)<br>[Defence Medal (United Kingdom)](/source/Defence_Medal_(United_Kingdom))<br>[War Medal 1939–1945](/source/War_Medal_1939%E2%80%931945)<br>[King's Commendation for Brave Conduct](/source/King's_Commendation_for_Brave_Conduct)<br>[United Nations Medal](/source/United_Nations_Medal)
}}

'''Harald Sandvik''' (1 October 1911 – 27 November 1992) was a Norwegian military officer and sports administrator. He is best known as commander of the [SOE](/source/Special_Operations_Executive) branch [Kompani Linge](/source/Kompani_Linge) from 1943 to 1944 and chief of the Norwegian Defence Sports Council from 1955 to 1971.

==Early life and education==
Sandvik was born in [Horten](/source/Horten) as a son of cannoneer Johannes Sandvik (1877–1936) and his wife Jette Elida Sund (1877–1966). He [finished](/source/examen_artium) secondary education in 1931 and officer's training in 1934. As the [Norwegian Armed Forces](/source/Norwegian_Armed_Forces) was running on reduced capacity for political reasons, he decided to enrol in university education, graduating from the [University of Oslo](/source/University_of_Oslo) with the [cand.philol.](/source/cand.philol.) degree in 1940 and the teacher's qualification in 1941.<ref name=heh-1973>{{cite encyclopedia|year=1973|title=Sandvik, Harald|encyclopedia=[Hvem er hvem?](/source/Hvem_er_hvem%3F)|editor=Steenstrup, Bjørn|publisher=Aschehoug|location=Oslo|url=https://runeberg.org/hvemerhvem/1973/0483.html|page=483|language=Norwegian|access-date=23 April 2013}}</ref> Before the war he was also an active skier, participating among others in [Nordic combined](/source/Nordic_combined) at the [Holmenkollen ski festival](/source/Holmenkollen_ski_festival).<ref name=obit2>{{cite news|title=Harald Sandvik (obituary)|work=Aftenposten|date=4 December 1992|page=11|author=Wergeland, Paal|language=Norwegian}}</ref>

==World War II==
Sandvik was hired as a teacher at Arendal Upper Secondary School in 1941. However, he became involved in [resistance](/source/Norwegian_resistance_movement) towards the [occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany](/source/occupation_of_Norway_by_Nazi_Germany) and had to flee to Sweden. He headed the Sports Office at the [Norwegian Legation in Stockholm](/source/Norwegian_Legation_in_Stockholm) in 1942. In the same year he married Elizabeth Thorsen from [Sandefjord](/source/Sandefjord). From 1943 to 1944 he was in command of the [SOE](/source/Special_Operations_Executive) branch [Kompani Linge](/source/Kompani_Linge) in Great Britain,<ref name=heh-1973/> at the same time as being responsible for physical training at the special training school 26 in Scotland. In 1944 he headed the special operation Varg where a team of five was paradropped between [Fyresdal](/source/Fyresdal) and [Setesdal](/source/Setesdal).<ref name=obit2/><ref name=obit1>{{cite news|title=Harald Sandvik (obituary)|work=Aftenposten|date=17 December 1992|page=11|author=Solli, Arne|authorlink=Arne Solli|language=Norwegian}}</ref>

==Post-war career==
After the war Sandvik headed the Norwegian Defence Gymnastics and Sports School from 1945 to 1947, and was then a physical education consultant from 1947 to 1955.<ref name=heh-1973/> During this time he also chaired the sports club [Stabæk IF](/source/Stab%C3%A6k_IF), from 1946 to 1948.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stabæk IF-ledere gjennom 100 år|work=Budstikka|date=19 October 2012|page=54|language=Norwegian}}</ref> Chairing the instruction committee of the [Norwegian Confederation of Sports](/source/Norwegian_Confederation_of_Sports) from 1945 to 1949, he wrote several books on sports instruction, in particular on skiing and gymnastics.<ref name=heh-1973/>

From 1955 to 1971 he headed the Norwegian Defence Sports Council ({{langx|no|Forsvarets Idrettsråd}}) in Norway, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served as a United Nations liaison officer to India and Pakistan (1965–1966), and [Red Cross](/source/Red_Cross) representative to [South Vietnam](/source/South_Vietnam) (1968). After retiring from the Sports Council he was a researcher in the Norwegian Defence department on war history.<ref name=heh-1973/> In 1975 he issued ''Frigjøringen av Finnmark 1944–1945'' on the [liberation of Northern Norway](/source/liberation_of_Northern_Norway), and in 1979 he issued ''Krigsår: med Kompani Linge i trening og kamp''.<ref>[http://ask.bibsys.no/ask/action/result?cmd=&kilde=biblio&fid=forfatter&term=sandvik%2C+harald&op=and&fid=alle&term=&bibliografi=&arstall=&sortering=sortdate-&treffPrSide=50 List of publications]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} in [BIBSYS](/source/BIBSYS)</ref>

For his war efforts he was decorated with the [St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch](/source/St._Olav's_Medal_With_Oak_Branch), the [Defence Medal 1940–1945](/source/Defence_Medal_1940%E2%80%931945) and the [Haakon VII 70th Anniversary Medal](/source/Haakon_VII_70th_Anniversary_Medal) from Norway as well as the British [1939–45 Star](/source/1939%E2%80%9345_Star), [Defence Medal](/source/Defence_Medal_(United_Kingdom)), [War Medal 1939–1945](/source/War_Medal_1939%E2%80%931945) and [King's Commendation for Brave Conduct](/source/King's_Commendation_for_Brave_Conduct).<ref name=obit1/> He later received Finnish, Liberian and Portuguese medals and orders as well as the [United Nations Medal](/source/United_Nations_Medal).<ref name=heh-1973/> He died in 1992<ref name=obit1/> and was buried at [Vestre gravlund](/source/Vestre_gravlund).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.disnorge.no/gravminner/index.php?language=engelsk|title=Cemeteries in Norway|publisher=DIS-Norge|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandvik, Harald}}
Category:1911 births
Category:1992 deaths
Category:People from Horten
Category:Norwegian male Nordic combined skiers
Category:University of Oslo alumni
Category:Norwegian schoolteachers
Category:Norwegian resistance members
Category:Norwegian expatriates in Sweden
Category:Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom
Category:Norwegian Army personnel of World War II
Category:Norwegian sports executives and administrators
Category:Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel
Category:Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch
Category:Recipients of the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct
Category:Norwegian military historians
Category:Burials at Vestre gravlund
Category:20th-century Norwegian writers
Category:20th-century Norwegian sportsmen

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Harald Sandvik](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Sandvik) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Sandvik?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.