April 13, 1887 - Vidkun Quisling
His name became so synonymous with betrayal that "quisling" entered the English language as a common noun for traitor — a rare distinction that measures the depth of his legacy. What made him historically significant was less any personal ruthlessness than his willingness to lend a veneer of Norwegian legitimacy to a foreign occupation, heading a collaborationist government that served German administrative ends. His path to that role was not straightforward: he had earlier earned genuine international standing through humanitarian work and diplomatic service before turning toward fascism in the 1930s, founding a party that remained marginal until the Germans found him useful. He was executed by firing squad in October 1945, convicted of treason and war crimes.
From Wikipedia
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (; Norwegian: [ˈʋɪ̂dkʉn ˈkʋɪ̂slɪŋ] ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Nazi collaborator who headed the puppet government of Norway during the country's occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II.
He first came to international prominence as a close collaborator of the explorer Fridtjof Nansen and through organising humanitarian relief during the Russian famine of 1921 in Povolzhye. He was posted as a Norwegian diplomat to the Soviet Union and for some time also managed British diplomatic affairs there. He returned to Norway in 1929 and served as minister of defence in the agrarian governments of Peder Kolstad (1931–1932) and Jens Hundseid (1932–1933).
In 1933, Quisling founded the fascist Nasjonal Samling (National Gathering). Although he gained some popularity after his attacks on the political left, his party failed to win any seats in the Storting, and by 1940, it was still little more than peripheral. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he attempted to seize power in the world's first radio-broadcast coup d'état but failed since the Germans sought to convince the recognised Norwegian government to legitimize the German occupation, as had been done in Denmark during the simultaneous invasion there, instead of recognizing Quisling. On 1 February 1942, he formed a second government, approved by the Germans, and served as minister president. He headed the Norwegian state administration jointly with the German civilian administrator, Josef Terboven.
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