Bjarne Braatoy
 Bjarne Braatoy    (spook) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1900 US |
| Died | 1957 (Age 56) |
| Nationality | US |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics |
| Interests | • Kurt Schumacher • Erich Ollenhauer • Haakon Lie • Norwegian Labour Party |
CIA operative who became Secretary-General of the Socialist International
| |
Bjarne Braatoy was a US/Norwegian intelligence operative and later leader of the Socialist International.
Background
Braatoy was born to Norwegian parents in the United States, and studied in Minneapolis, Boston, Oslo, Berlin, Paris and at the London School of Economics[1].
Career
He worked for a while in London as a journalist for the Daily Herald and for Scandinavian workers' newspapers
In 1940, Braatoy started working as information officer in Nortraship, the shipping organization of the Norwegian government-in-exile.
Braatoy, who was a US citizen, later worked for the Office of War Information, but soon moved to the intelligence service Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor of the CIA. Braatoy led a department in charge of of keeping an eye on the political attitudes and newspapers of immigrant populations and exiles. Braatoy helped form the connection between Haakon Lie and the Jewish Labour Movement in New York.
A lot of things hint that Braatoy kept working for the CIA after the war. In the first few years he worked in Austria and Germany as an envoy for the United States Displaced Persons Commission. He worked as "technical assistant" for the SPD and the party leaders Kurt Schumacher and Erich Ollenhauer for 4 years, in effect a liaison between the then almighty US occupation authorities and the Social Democratic Party,
In 1956, Braatoy became candidate for Secretary-General in the Socialist International. The French Socialist Party was originally opposed to his candidature, as they allegedly had been warned against him by French intelligence services.
If Braatoy was an intelligence officer, it means Haakon Lie, Ole Colbjørnsen and the Norwegian Labour Party had closer contacts with the CIA than previously known.[2]
References
- ↑ https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/03/16/85006018.html?pageNumber=19
- ↑ Helge Røed, Ola Tiltak, Gyldendal 2018, pages 249-251
