Leif Vetlesen

Who was Leif Vetlesen?

Leif Vetlesen was a Norwegian sailor, political worker, organizational worker and writer.

He was born in Kristiania as a son of engineer Alf Vetlesen and teacher Aagot Bugge. He was a great-grandson of Frederik Moltke Bugge. He finished his secondary education at Oslo Cathedral School in 1939, and then went to sea. He was going to return to land after one year, but when Norway was involved in World War II in April 1940, their merchant fleet became a crucial asset in the war and Vetlesen stayed. He worked at sea for several years, but while hospitalized with jaundice in Cardiff, he became involved with the British Communist Party. As he became known as a good speaker, he was hired in the trade union Norwegian Seafarers' Union in 1944.

After the war he launched a campaign for better treatment of war sailors, but his agitation led to him being fired from the union in 1947. In 1949 he was also excluded from the Young Communist League of Norway. His marriage since 1943 to Lorna Dilys Peaty also ended in 1949; in 1951 he married Vesla Gunvor Hansen. After the Soviet invasion of Hungary he renounced Communism and joined the Norwegian Labour Party together with his wife.