Former Norwegian diplomat Arne Treholt, convicted of spying in particular for the benefit of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 80, his family announced Sunday to the Norwegian daily Aftenposten. “Arne Treholt has passed away after a short illness,” the newspaper said after receiving confirmation from his family.
Protagonist during the Cold War of the “greatest spy affair” in Norwegian history, Arne Treholt has since lived in Moscow. Born on December 13, 1942, he became very young active in politics within the Labor Party before engaging in diplomacy. He had notably been posted to the Norwegian delegation to the United Nations in New York.
Twenty years behind bars
Arne Treholt, then head of the Foreign Ministry’s press service, was arrested at Oslo airport in 1984 when he was about to board a plane to meet a Soviet agent in Vienna. Sentenced in 1985 to twenty years in prison for espionage and high treason, he was pardoned in 1992 for medical reasons.
Subsequently, Arne Treholt had admitted to having provided foreign powers with documents, without importance according to him, and to having received financial compensation, while rejecting the charges of espionage. Upon his release, he had lived in Cyprus and Russia.