The new biography of Hauge is considered one of Norway's most important in decades. Hauge meeting with Israeli leader Golda Meir in 1961. Author Olav Njølstad PHOTO: TOR GREINER STENERSEN Hauge being honoured by former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland in 1995. PHOTO: JON EEG

The biography of Hauge by Olav Njølstad describes Hauge as a great strategist and "gigantic" leader. It also notes that Hauge lied and bluffed his way to power, and consciously misled both the Norwegian Parliament and important government commissions.

He was active in building up a post-war surveillance system, for example, and contributed to the illegal surveillance of communists. He denied this, however, even while addressing Parliament. He also lied about his surveillance involvement 40 years later when interviewed by the Lund Commission, which was investigating the illegal surveillance.

Hauge told the commission that as Defense Minister at the time, he had little to do with either surveillance or intelligence-gathering operations. He also claimed he hadn't had direct contact with the chief of the military's intelligence operation. Neither claim was true, according to Njølstad, an accomplished author and director of research for the Norwegian Nobel Institute who spent years working on the biography. He also inteviewed Hauge several times before Hauge died in 2006.

Hauge, a great defender of Israel, also knowingly gave incorrect information to the Norwegian government about Israel's intended use of heavy water sold by Norway. He'd been sent to Israel in 1960 as an attorney in private practice, to ensure that the heavy water would be used only for peaceful purposes, according to conditions of the sale. In a report to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, Hauge wrote that the Israelis were not using the heavy water for military purposes, even though he knew better.

He had visited a nuclear reactor in the Israeli desert, according to his own diary. He'd carried out the task after the US suspected Israel was developing an atomic bomb, and had been denied inspection.

Njølstad also wrote that Hauge bluffed about his own personal contribution at the start of the war. Hauge was anti-military during the time leading up to the German invasion on April 9, 1940, and a doctor had helped label him as medically unsuited for combat even though he was a well-trained athlete. That meant he didn't need to do service, leading to the biggest paradox of his life: The man who led the armed resistance to the Germans hadn't taken part himself in any of the battles right after the invasion.

That changed when he became active in the Resistance, but he delegated liquidations. After the war, he wanted controversial author Knut Hamsun to be handed a death sentence because Hauge viewed Hamsun as a traitor.

Hauge became a powerful government official, a champion of industry, an attorney and politician after the war, achieving top positions at a relatively early age. He was only 30 when the war ended, and already a national hero.

Hauge was "an elitist," says Njølstad. "He felt himself above others." He also, Njølstad says, was a brilliant lawyer who played a major role in shaping Norway after the war. Njølstad's book was released Monday, and has been branded as one of Norway's most important biographies in recent decades.