On 9 April 1940, Norway had been invaded by Germany as a part of World War II. The ruling cabinet Nygaardsvold and the Royal Family fled the capital Oslo, and Fascist politician Vidkun Quisling took advantage of the situation to perform a coup d'etat. However, this was highly unpopular among the Norwegian people, and the newly arrived German occupants did not support such a government either. The Supreme Court of Norway, with support by directors in business life and civil administration, were given the green light by German envoy Curt Bräuer to establish the so-called Administrative Council. On 3 May 1940, the Administrative Council established the Committee for Industry and Trade ("Nemnda for industri og omsetning"), to maintain industrial production in Norway throughout the hardships of the war. Conrad Wilhelm Eger had a central role in this committee, together with Carl Bøyesen, Einar Schjelderup, Elias Volan and chairman Einar Sunde. Eger was also a member of a committee which reviewed the potential for building more aluminium plants.