Tønnes Andenæs

Who was Tønnes Andenæs?

Tønnes Madsson Andenæs was a Norwegian jurist, book publisher and politician for the Labour Party.

He was born in Innvik as a son of vicar Mads Olsen Andenæs and his wife Signe Theoline Mydland. The family moved to Bærum when Tønnes Andenæs was two years old. He was a brother of Johs. Andenæs, and through him an uncle of Mads H. Andenæs.

During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, young Andenæs became involved in the illegal press. He was arrested, but escaped via Sweden to the United Kingdom. He underwent pilot training in Little Norway, from 1944. After the war he was decorated with the Defence Medal 1940–1945.

He enrolled at the University of Oslo, and graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1955. He finished lawyer training in 1958. At the same time he was the chief executive of a publishing company, Akademisk Forlag. In 1956 it changed its name to Universitetsforlaget. He remained here until his death. He also wrote books himself. His 1949 release Grunnloven vår. Utgave for selvstudium about the Constitution of Norway has been reissued twelve times, the last in 1993, and has been translated to English, French and German.