Sjur Torgersen

Who is Sjur Torgersen?

Sjur Helge Torgersen was a Norwegian Ambassador and diplomat.

He was a cand.jur. by education. After first serving as local magistrate in Mandal, Norway he was accepted into the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1979, after establishing Norway's Consular Visa Office in Islamabad, Pakistan on behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice in 1977. Before completing his admission to the diplomatic ranks he worked for Norwegian Refugee Council providing emergency aid for arriving Afghan refugees in Pakistan after the invasion. His first posting for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 1981 to 1984, was as Secretary at the Norwegian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, which he would later return to as Ambassador. After Jakarta he was transferred to West Berlin where he served as Military Attaché, functioning as representative for Norway in the allied occupational forces in West Berlin between 1984-1987. In 1989 he returned to Islamabad, Pakistan where he served as charge d'affairs until 1995. Between 1995-1998 he returned home to serve as assistant secretary and sub-director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1998 to 2003 he served as the Norwegian ambassador to Indonesia. When East Timor became independent in 2002, he received responsibility for that country too, after being heavily involved in supporting the fledgling nation and developing deep personal relationships with East Timor's leaders, Ramos Horta and Xanana Gusmão. In 1999 he was decorated as a Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit.