Ørnulf Tofte

Ørnulf Tofte (12 February 1922 – 26 August 2020) was a Norwegian police officer and a major figure in the Norwegian intelligence service during the Cold War. He served as assistant chief of police and head of counter-intelligence in the Police Surveillance Agency. Tofte uncovered several illegal Soviet spies and personally arrested Asbjørn Sunde, Gunvor Galtung Haavik and Arne Treholt. Tofte was widely recognized for his role during the Cold War, and received the King's Medal of Merit in Gold in 1987. He published the biography Spaneren in the same year.

Personal life

Tofte was born in Kristiania, a son of Tor and Gudrun Tofte. He was married to Odlaug Larsen.

Career

Tofte graduated from the police academy in March 1940 and joined the police force as a constable. During World War II, he took part in the resistance during 1940. In 1942 he fled to Sweden and served in the Norwegian police troops in Sweden until the end of the war. In 1948, he joined the Police Surveillance Agency. He was promoted to sergeant in 1952 and inspector in 1954. He eventually rose to become Assistant Chief of Police and Head of Counter-Intelligence, reporting directly to the Director of the Police Surveillance Agency.

Tofte was involved in the investigations of all the three major spy cases in Norway during the Cold War: The Sunde case, the Haavik case and the Treholt case. He personally arrested all three and headed the investigations of the Haavik and Treholt cases. He has said that "Treholt's abilities to manipulate people around him are the reason why the Treholt case is still kept alive". In 2016 interview, he stated that Norway and the West are in a New Cold War with Russia.

Biography In 1987 he published his autobiography, Spaneren.

Honours

He received the King's Medal of Merit in Gold upon his retirement in 1987.

Publications Ørnulf Tofte: Spaneren: Overvåkning for rikets sikkerhet, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1987,