Alf Bjercke

Alf Richard Bjercke (30 May 1921 – 9 December 2011) was a Norwegian business magnate, consul and sports official.

He was born in Oslo as a grandson of Alf Bjercke. Alf Bjercke (1851–1933) was a notable businessman, especially within paint and lacquer, and politician. Both are descendants of politician Lars Thorstensen Tønsager.

Alf R. Bjercke attended primary school at Majorstuen, in a class together with Øistein Parmann, Birger Mathisen and Rolf Kirkvaag. He later took what he himself has described as a "lousy" examen artium. He studied chemical technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1939 to 1941. He pledged the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI), but his studies were interrupted because of Bjercke's wish to participate in World War II. He served with the Royal Norwegian Air Force-in-exile, in Canada and the United Kingdom, from 1941 to 1945. He did not return to MIT after the war, but instead started a career in the family business. He also served in the Air Force from 1948 to 1949, and reached the rank of major as Senior Intelligence Officer in NATO's Northern HQ. He was initiated in 1989 at his chapter's centennial celebration.

In 1950 he became co-owner of the family company, named Alf Bjercke. He served as CEO from 1966 to 1971. When Alf Bjercke (the company) was incorporated into Jotun in 1972, Bjercke served as chairman of the board until 1983 and then chaired the corporate council until 1988. He has also chaired the employers' association for paint and coating companies. He has also started other companies and brands, including Fjordplast and the first Norwegian bottled water brand Norwater. From 1963 to 1993 he was the consul-general for Tunisia in Norway.

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