Erik Solem

Erik Toralf Solem (1877 – 1949) was a Norwegian judge.

He was born in Kristiania. He worked as a Supreme Court barrister from 1905, district stipendiary magistrate (sorenskriver) from 1912 to 1927 and acting professor of jurisprudence from 1931 to 1932. He served as a Supreme Court Justice from 1938 to 1948, except for the period between December 1940 and May 1945, during the German occupation of Norway.[1] Instead, he was a member of the Hjemmefrontens Ledelse, and viewed as the successor of Paal Berg should Berg die.[2] Following the end of the occupation he was active in the legal purge, as an ad-hoc presiding judge in Eidsivating. Among others, he presided over the case where Vidkun Quisling was sentenced to death for high treason.[1] Harsh in his sentencing, he was nicknamed "Erik Bloodaxe" by some, but later remitted some of his own sentences.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Erik Solem" (in Norwegian). Store norske leksikon. Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. 2007. http://www.snl.no/Erik_Solem. Retrieved 3 December 2010. 
  2. ^ a b Dahl, Hans Fredrik (1995). "Solem, Erik". In Dahl, Hans Fredrik. Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45. Oslo: Cappelen. http://mediabase1.uib.no/krigslex/s/s6.html#solem-erik. Retrieved 2008-07-16.