About Roald Dysthe
Lived 1903 – 1997 (aged 94). Roald Dysthe was a Norwegian businessperson and chief officer.
Roald Rachlew Dysthe (16 April 1903–28 December 1997 as a son of alcohol importer Carl Schøyen Dysthe and Alfhild Dorothea Rachlew Dysthe. He had one older brother, Sven, and the younger siblings Gunnar, Ingeborg and Helge. He finished his secondary education in 1921, and took his education abroad, in commerce, wine and liquor production.
From 1928 to 1930 they were involved in a major public case. On 4 May 1928 they wrote a letter to the government, complaining that the state semi-monopoly Vinmonopolet disfavorized their father's wine importing agency Dysthe & Co. A scrutiny commission was set up to review Vinmonopolet's business practice. Vinmonopolet, on the other hand, sued the Dysthe brothers to have the complaints declared null and void, but a year later, in April 1930, Vinmonopolet lost the legal case. The Dysthe brothers' defender was Ole Røed. The case became a major scandal in the media as Vinmonopolet's role was unveiled. The board chairman Hans Halvorsen, who was a brother-in-law of the Prime Minister Johan Ludwig Mowinckel, had to resign together with board member Trygve Wettre and three employees.
From the 1930s the brothers were active in the Norwegian-Third Reich friendship society Norsk-Tysk Selskap. He worked at McKesson & Robbins. and was a board member of Dysthe & Co. Christie was a Norwegian nationalist and Quisling supporter, and as Dysthe was a special supervisor in the NRK from September 1941 he reported Christie to the Reichskommissariat, who fired him. NRK had earlier been scrutinized by police inspector Gard Holtskog; however he advised to keep Christie and to limit the German influence. The Norwegian News Agency also had one share, but Nordisk Radio-Press took over the News Agency's task of delivering news to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Historian Hans Fredrik Dahl has referred to Dysthe's company as a "pure parasite". It bought news from the Norwegian News Agency, and sold this expensively to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation without changing it. Members of the company's supervisory council were paid refunds for meetings that were never held. Nordisk Radio-Press was the publisher of Norsk Programblad,
Dysthe had a personal campaign against cabinet member Albert Viljam Hagelin. In 1944 Dysthe intrigued and advised the Reichskommissariat to depose Quisling and his cabinet. For this Dysthe was excluded from Nasjonal Samling, and imprisoned.
Post-war life After the war, when the Nazis were ousted and the legal purge in Norway after World War II took place, Dysthe was released from prison but subsequently convicted for treason in September 1946. He was sentenced to six years of forced labour, payable in compensation and the loss of his civil rights. He was later acquitted for treason in 1950, and moved to Canada in 1951. Around that time he was still living, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Roald Dysthe's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Roald Dysthe's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Roald Dysthe?
Norwegian businessman (1903–1997)
When was Roald Dysthe born?
Roald Dysthe was born on 16 April 1903.
When did Roald Dysthe die?
Roald Dysthe died on 28 December 1997.
What was Roald Dysthe's occupation?
Roald Dysthe was a businessperson and chief officer.
What nationality was Roald Dysthe?
Roald Dysthe was Norwegian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Roald Dysthe. https://biography.guide/roald-dysthe/
MLA: "Roald Dysthe." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/roald-dysthe/.
Chicago: "Roald Dysthe." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/roald-dysthe/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:04 UTC