Erling Sandberg

Who was Erling Sandberg?

Erling Sandberg was a Norwegian banker and politician.

He was born in New York. He was an office manager in the Bank of Norway from 1918 to 1919 and deputy chairman from 1919 to 1920. He became chief executive officer of the bank Christiania Bank og Kredittkasse in 1920, and from 1930 he chaired the Norwegian Bankers' Association. He was also known for raising his godson Harald Damsleth, a later Nazi artist.

Sandberg still held his offices in 1940, when the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started. On 25 September 1940, when Josef Terboven assumed full power in the country, Sandberg was named as Minister of Finance. The Norwegian Fascist party Nasjonal Samling had some influence in naming the cabinet ministers, but Sandberg was one of the non-political cabinet members as demanded by Reichskommissariat Norwegen. Sandberg was persuaded to join the cabinet, and later supported in daily affairs, by Reichskommissariat since he wanted to limit the cabinet's financial spendings, especially that of the Ministry of the Interior. At the same time Sandberg was not a member of Nasjonal Samling, and was not chosen when Quisling formed his cabinet on 1 February 1942.