# Thorleif Paus

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Norwegian diplomat, estate owner and businessman

Thorleif Paus Born (1881-10-08)October 8, 1881 Died June 9, 1976(1976-06-09) (aged 94) Occupations Army officer, consul-general, businessman, estate owner

**Thorleif Paus** (pronounced [\[ˈtʊ̀lːæɪf ˈpæʉs\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Norwegian); 8 October 1881 – 9 June 1976), also known as **Thorleif de Paus** or **Thorleif von Paus**, was a Norwegian diplomat, estate owner and businessman. As a 23 year old consular secretary he became Norway's only diplomatic representative to the great power of [Austria-Hungary](/source/Austria-Hungary) in 1905 and in charge of obtaining diplomatic recognition of Norway following the [dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden](/source/Dissolution_of_the_union_between_Norway_and_Sweden); he later served as consul and acting [consul-general](/source/Consul-general) in Vienna. Paus left Austria-Hungary in 1918 and later became a businessman in Norway, an estate owner in Sweden, where he owned [Kvesarum Castle](/source/Kvesarum_Castle), and finally moved to [Copenhagen](/source/Copenhagen).[1][2]

## Background and family

A member of the [Paus family](/source/Paus_family), he was a son of the steel industrialist and banker [Ole Paus](/source/Ole_Paus_(businessman)) and Birgitte Halvordine [Schou](/source/Schou_(Norwegian_family)), and grew up in Christiania (now Oslo). His father was a first cousin of [Henrik Ibsen](/source/Henrik_Ibsen), whereas his mother was a first cousin of the industrialist [Halvor Schou](/source/Halvor_Schou). Prime Minister [Sigurd Ibsen](/source/Sigurd_Ibsen) was Thorleif Paus' second cousin. He was the brother of the businessman Christopher Blom Paus (1878–1959) and the brother-in-law of the historian of nobility [Otto von Munthe af Morgenstierne](/source/Otto_von_Munthe_af_Morgenstierne). His nephew was the steel industrialist Per Paus, who was married to Hedevig [Wedel-Jarlsberg](/source/Wedel-Jarlsberg).

In his first marriage, he was married to Gabriele (Ella) Stein (1883–1971), the daughter of the Viennese lawyer August Stein (1852–1890). August Stein left the [Jewish Community of Vienna](/source/Jewish_Community_of_Vienna) in 1877[3] and he and his children were baptized as Catholics in 1885/86. In his second marriage, he was married to the former countess Ella [Moltke](/source/Moltke), née Glückstadt (born 1899 in Copenhagen), a daughter of the prominent Danish Jewish businessman [Valdemar Glückstadt](/source/Valdemar_Gl%C3%BCckstadt) and widow of count Erik Moltke of Nør. In his first marriage, he was the father of Helvig Paus (born 1909 in Vienna) and Major-General [Ole Paus](/source/Ole_Paus_(general)) (born 1910 in Vienna). In his second marriage, he had a stepson, count Erik Moltke. He was the grandfather of the troubadour [Ole Paus](/source/Ole_Paus) and the great-grandfather of the composer [Marcus Paus](/source/Marcus_Paus).

## Career

He graduated from the [Norwegian Military Academy](/source/Norwegian_Military_Academy) and became a [second lieutenant](/source/Second_lieutenant) in the [cavalry](/source/Cavalry) in 1902; he was promoted to [first lieutenant](/source/First_lieutenant) in 1909. From 1902 he served as a consular secretary (deputy [head of mission](/source/Head_of_mission)) at the Swedish-Norwegian consulate general in Vienna. The industrialist [Carl Neufeldt](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carl_Neufeldt&action=edit&redlink=1) was honorary consul-general, but usually absent, and in practice the consulate-general was led by Paus.

Following the [dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden](/source/Dissolution_of_the_union_between_Norway_and_Sweden) the consulate-general in practice became the Norwegian diplomatic mission to Austria-Hungary, and Paus was tasked with obtaining diplomatic recognition of Norway as Norway's only representative in the country. At the time Paus was 23 years old and officially employed as a consular secretary. The Austrian newspaper *Die Zeit* noted that "Lieutenant Thorleif v. Paus manages the consulate's business. Rarely has a young diplomat found himself in such a responsible position as Mr. v. Paus, who will in a short time have to obtain recognition of his country from the Vienna government."[4] The newspaper expected him to become head of a new legation, but Norway chose to appoint [Thor von Ditten](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thor_von_Ditten&action=edit&redlink=1) as [minister](/source/Diplomatic_rank#Historical_ranks,_1815–1961) to Berlin with [secondary accreditations](/source/Dual_accreditation) to multiple countries including Italy and Austria-Hungary from 1906. Paus later served as [commercial attaché](/source/Attach%C3%A9) and from 1910 to 1917 formally as vice consul and oftentimes acting consul-general. As such he was the highest-ranking representative of Norway residing in Austria-Hungary.

From 1906 to 1918, Paus operated his own business as an [agent](/source/Law_of_agency) in Vienna, representing large Norwegian industrial companies, mainly [Norsk Hydro](/source/Norsk_Hydro), in Austria-Hungary. As consul he became the only Scandinavian to witness the [assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria](/source/Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria) in [Sarajevo](/source/Sarajevo) in 1914.[5]

Kvesarum Castle

He returned to Norway in 1918 and continued his business as Thorleif Paus A/S in Oslo. He also became the owner of two factories in [Ålesund](/source/%C3%85lesund). He lived in [Scania](/source/Scania), [Sweden](/source/Sweden) from 1935 to 1964, where he owned [Kvesarum Castle](/source/Kvesarum_Castle) from 1936 and the large estate Ejratal from 1948. He also inherited the manor house [Magleås](/source/Magle%C3%A5s) outside Copenhagen from his relative, count [Christopher (de) Paus](/source/Christopher_de_Paus) in 1943, but sold the property to the Catholic Church in Denmark a few years later. During the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War) he received many Norwegian refugees at his castle Kvesarum, and there was built a Norwegian refugee camp near the castle. He moved to Copenhagen in 1964.[6][5]

In Austria-Hungary, his name was usually and officially spelled *Thorleif von Paus* (commonly abbreviated to *v. Paus*).[7] He also sometimes used the spelling *Thorleif de Paus*.[8] The spelling *von Paus* was regarded as a rendering of the name in a German/Austro-Hungarian linguistic and cultural context, and not a native form of the name, which he continued to spell simply as Thorleif Paus within Scandinavia. In Austria-Hungary, he received the [Order of the Iron Crown](/source/Order_of_the_Iron_Crown_(Austria)), one of the country's highest orders and which previously conferred automatic ennoblement.

## Honours

- [Order of Saint John of Prussia](/source/Order_of_Saint_John_(Bailiwick_of_Brandenburg))

- [Order of the Iron Crown of Austria](/source/Order_of_the_Iron_Crown_(Austria))

- [Order of Franz Joseph of Austria](/source/Order_of_Franz_Joseph)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Paus, Thorleif,"](https://runeberg.org/vemarvem/skane48/0440.html) in *Vem är Vem?; Skåne* [Who's Who; Scania], 1948, p. 440

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Alf Petersen, "Paus, Thorleif," in *Den norske hærs vernepliktige officerer : 1864–1933*, Hanche, 1936, p. 447

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Staudacher, Anna (2009). *‘... meldet den Austritt aus dem mosaischen Glauben’: 18000 Austritte aus dem Judentum in Wien, 1868–1914: Namen – Quellen – Daten*. Peter Lang. p. 8. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9783631558324](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9783631558324). Stein, Dr.jur. August (...)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-zeit_4-0)** "[Die Vertretung Schweden-Norwegens in Wien](http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=zei&datum=19050610&seite=3)," *Die Zeit*, 10 June 1905, p. 3

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Jacobsen_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Jacobsen_5-1) Palle Koster Jacobsen: "[Han så erkehertugen dø ...](https://beta.nb.no/items/ee066467d67a1686d69933fd4beb6e1c;page=3)," *[Fædrelandsvennen](/source/F%C3%A6drelandsvennen)*, 14 December 1968, p. 4

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Aftenposten1971_6-0)** "[90 år: Tidligere konsul i Wien, Thorleif Paus](https://beta.nb.no/items/a3ed08e8a0bb617db17d1b1b2e740114;page=9)," *[Aftenposten](/source/Aftenposten)*, 8 October 1971, p. 10

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** E.g. *Verordnungsblatt des K. K. Justizministeriums*, vol. 24, 1908, p. 8 and p. 12, and vol. 33, 1917 p. 46 and 47, K. K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, and *High-Life-Almanach: Adressbuch der Gesellschaft Wiens und der österreichischen Kronländer*, vol. 9 p. 253, 1913

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** E.g. *Mitteilungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Geographischen Gesellschaft*, vol. 52 p. 615, 1909, and vol. 59, 1916, p. 310

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