Rolf B. Wegner

He grew up in Halden and is a son of chief of police and judge Rolf Benjamin Wegner (the elder), a grandson of chief of police and county governor Benjamin Wegner, a great-grandson of the timber merchant Heinrich Benjamin Wegner and a 2nd great-grandson of the industrialist Benjamin Wegner. His father published a book about the Wegner family.{{cite book |last=Wegner |first=Rolf B. (the Elder) |year=1963 |title= Familien Wegner |url= |location=Halden |publisher=s.n. |isbn= }} He rarely uses the name Benjamin, joking that he prefers people to believe the "B" stands for "Bastian, bank box or something like that.""Navnet Rolf – og B for Benjamin," Aftenposten, morning edition, 30 August 2003, section 4, p. 35

He graduated as a jurist at the University of Oslo in 1967 and worked as a deputy judge in Horten 1967–1969 and as a junior police prosecutor at Romerike 1969–1972."Wegner er åpen for comeback i Bergen," Bergensavisen, 26 December 2002

He served as Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions 1972–1974, as assistant

chief of police (corresponding to assistant chief constable in the United Kingdom) and education director of the Police Academy 1974–1980, as chief of police (corresponding to chief constable in the United Kingdom) in Bodø and director of the rescue coordination centre for Northern Norway and of the Security Service in Northern Norway 1980–1985, as director-general in the Ministry of Justice and head of the Prison Board 1985–1990, as the first director of the Norwegian Police University College 1990–1992, as chief of police in Bergen 1992–2001 and as chief of police in the National Police Directorate 2001–2010.{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://snl.no/Rolf_B._Wegner |title=Rolf B. Wegner |encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon |date=2009-02-14 |accessdate=2015-09-06}}

He has written several books and articles on policing and criminal law, private law and criminology, as well as historical topics. He is chairman of the board of the Halden Prison Museum Foundation.{{cite web|url=http://www.nrk.no/ostfold/fengselsmuseum-i-halden-kan-bli-fredet-1.12135684 |title= Vil frede unikt museum |publisher=NRK |date=2015-01-08 |accessdate=2015-09-07}} He has also been chairman of the parish council of Vestre Aker.{{cite web|url=http://oslo.kirken.no/vestre-aker/organisasjon/people_organization/11928 |title= Menighetsrådet |publisher=kirken.no|accessdate=2015-09-07}} He has been a member of the council of Halden Historical Festival."Wegner ble første medlem," Halden Arbeiderblad, 8 May 2009

As chief of police in Bergen, he had a central role in the so-called Fagereng case, in which the city's chief municipal executive Ragnar Fagereng and his wife were put on trial for filing false police reports and for insurance fraud after reporting repeated vandalism to their home. Wegner was convinced they were innocent and tried to stop the prosecution, which generated much controversy.Haakon B. Schrøder, Finn Bjørn Tønder, Kammerspill : en thriller med Rolf B. Wegner i hovedrollen, Fagbokforlaget, 1997, {{ISBN|9788276743852}} Ragnar Fagereng was ultimately acquitted, while his wife was convicted. The case later became known as a miscarriage of justice, after a gangster confessed to terrorizing the Fagereng family in the 1990s and manipulating the police to prosecute them,"[http://www.ba.no/krim/fagereng-er-uskyldig/s/1-41-2470938 - Fagereng er uskyldig]," Bergensavisen 15 December 2006 and the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission reopened the case in 2010, resulting in the acquittal of Fagereng's wife."[http://www.aftenbladet.no/nyheter/innenriks/Fagereng-far-3-millioner-i-oppreisning-fra-staten-3366955.html Fagereng får 3 millioner i oppreisning fra staten]," Stavanger Aftenblad, 28 February 2014

He was appointed as a commander of the Order of the Falcon in 1997.{{cite web|url=http://www.forseti.is/Falkaordan/Falkaordan1997/ |title=Falkaordan 1997|publisher=forseti.is |date=|accessdate=2015-09-06}} He received the highest award of the Norwegian police force, the Norwegian Police Cross of Honour, in 2002, after leaving office as chief of police of Bergen.{{cite web |url=http://politiforum.07.no/id/4536 |title=Disse har fått Politiets Hederskors |publisher=Politiforum |accessdate=2015-09-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006153409/http://politiforum.07.no/id/4536 |archivedate=2014-10-06 }}

He received the Clear Speech Prize in 1996, after he had authorized a protest against the visiting Chinese President; when asked if he was aware that Chinese authorities did not like protests, he responded that "here in Bergen, I am the one who makes the decisions"."Politimester fikk pris for klar tale," Aftenposten 12 October 1996, p. 6

;Law and policing

• Privatrett for elever ved Politiskolen, 1976
• Alminnelig strafferett for elever ved Politiskolen, 1977, 1985
• Kriminologi for elever ved Politiskolen, 1978
• Ordenspolititjeneste for elever ved Politiskolen, 1979
• Politimessig lederskap, 1980
• Alminnelig strafferett, 1989
• Ordenstjeneste for studenter ved Politihøgskolen, 1994
• Politistrategi : belyst gjennom praktisk politiarbeid, Universitetsforlaget, 2007
• Strafferett, 2 vols., 2014

;History

• Mine tippoldeforeldre Henriethe og Benjamin Wegner forteller, 2013
• Barkskipet «Dronningen» af Fredrikshald og kaptein Ludvig Bernhard Martinsen, 2012
• Oldefar Heinrich Wegner forteller, 2010
• Andreas Vibe: «Onkel major», 1801–1860, 2009
• "Halden gamle fengsel," in Wiwar : gammelt fra Østfold på ny måte, 2009

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Category:1940 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Ålesund

Category:People from Halden

Category:University of Oslo alumni

Category:Norwegian police chiefs

Category:Norwegian jurists

Category:Directors of government agencies of Norway

Category:Norwegian non-fiction writers

Category:Recipients of the Order of the Falcon