Alfred Henningsen Alfred Meyer Henningsen ( 26 April 1918 – 12 September 2012 ) was a Norwegian military officer and politician for the Labour Party . He was introduced to spying and military service in World War II , and made this his career path after the war as well . He was mayor of Bardu and a three - term member of the Parliament of Norway . Early life . He was born in Sør - Varanger as a son of fisherman Martin Henningsen ( 1873 – 1954 ) and his wife Hilda Marie Rydning ( 1888 – 1964 ) . He had a politicized childhood , and Ellisif Wessel was a family friend . He became politically active in the interwar period and joined the Workers ' Youth League . He finished middle school in 1937 , and enrolled at the Norwegian 6th Division Under - Officers ' Training School in 1938 . From 1943 he attended a teacher ' s college in Tromsø . World War II . At that time Norway was occupied by Germany as a part of World War II . Together with Torstein Raaby , Henningsen was recruited as a Soviet spy with connections to Murmansk . It only took a few months before the Gestapo tracked them down , and they both had to flee the country . Via Sweden , Henningsen went to England where he received telegraphy training as well as commando - style training in melee combat . In total he had four stays in Norway . One time he barely survived a submarine wrecking . On the last journey he participated in the liberation of Northern Norway , where Norwegian troops cooperated with the Red Army . The Germans used the scorched earth tactic as they retreated south . One day , Henningsen travelled down the Porsangerfjord in a small boat , which German troops managed to board . After discarding the radio transmitter , Henningsen plunged into the water , was shot , managed to swim ashore but was captured here and taken prisoner - of - war . He spent some weeks imprisoned at Akershus Fortress before Victory in Europe Day . In 1945 he was decorated with the Defence Medal 1940 – 1945 , the St . Olav ' s Medal With Oak Branch and British decorations . Two Russian decorations followed in 1968 and 1994 . Post - war life . After the war his career took a military path . He served as aide - de - camp in Finnmark from 1947 to 1948 and captain in Troms from 1948 to 1954 , except for 1950 to 1951 when he served in the Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany . He headed Infantry Regiment 16 ( IR16 ) from 1954 to 1956 , and was then promoted to lieutenant colonel and head of the local Home Guard . He retired from that position in 1974 . Henningsen became acquainted with Thor Heyerdahl during the liberation of Northern Norway , and in 1947 he was asked to join the Heyerdahl - led Kon - Tiki expedition . He declined due to his forthcoming marriage . Torstein Raaby was chosen instead . Politics . Henningsen was mayor of Bardu municipality during the terms 1955 – 1959 , 1959 – 1962 and 1975 – 1979 . From 1955 to 1962 he was also a member of Troms county council . He was elected to the Parliament of Norway from Troms in 1961 , and was re - elected on two occasions . His main political interest lay in improving the communication systems in Troms county . He received some attention in his 1961 electoral campaign when he fell off a wharf in Senja . Henningsen has stated that he originally was uninterested in Parliament , but accepted the party nomination when it came . He has referred to the Parliament as " the loony bin " , and was reputed for not following the political mainstream . In 1972 he supported the possible Norwegian membership in the European Communities , against the overwhelming opinion of his county Troms . His reasoning was grounded in uniting Europe to avoid more conflicts . In 1983 he resigned his membership in the Labour Party . He also had a rather unsuccessful attempt to import muskox to Troms , serving as board chairman of the company Norsk Moskus from 1969 to 1980 . He was also a board member of Nordisk Polarinvest from 1983 to 1988 and executive of the Svea - based company Tundra from 1984 to 1988 . In 1989 the book " Partisan og politiker " was released ; told by Alfred Henningsen and penned by Hans Christian Finstad . He has resided in Setermoen since 1951 . He died at Barduheimen in September 2012 .