to do their best. The tradition of Latin being mandatory was abolished in 1869 - students were then given the choice between a three-year-long school run with Latin or with natural sciences. During World War II, the German occupants employed parts of the school building, though teaching continued as usual. However, several of the teachers were involved in resistance activities against the Germans. One of the central figures of this resistance was caught while escaping to Sweden. He subsequently committed suicide in prison to avoid being coerced into revealing the resistance's activities. Patrick Thomas Stark, appointed in 2020, is the current headmaster of the school. Previous Headmasters Niels Treschow Jacob Rosted Hartvig Nissen Ludvig Vibe Eva Blomfeldt Notable alumni Caspar Wessel (1745-1818), mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829), mathematician Henrik Wergeland (1808-1845), poet Johan Sverdrup (1816-1892), prime minister of Norway Johannes Irgens (1869 - 1939), minister of foreign affairs Otto Bahr Halvorsen (1872-1923), prime minister of Norway Edvard Munch (1863-1944), painter Otto Ruge (1882-1961), general, commander-in-chief of the Norwegian Armed Forces Arne Sunde (1883-1972), president of the United Nations Security Council 1949 and 1950 Rolf Nordhagen (1894-1979), botanist Trygve Haavelmo (1911-1999), professor in economics, recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Economics Astrid Nøklebye Heiberg (1936-2020), former minister of administration and consumer affairs, former president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Harald V (1937-), king of Norway Johan Jørgen Holst (1937-1994), minister of foreign affairs and minister of defense Egil Kraggerud (1939-), philologist Jon Elster (1940-), philosopher and social scientist, professor at Columbia University and Collège de France Arne Treholt (1942-), diplomat, convicted of espionage in 1985 Mads Gilbert (1947-), doctor and humanitarian worker Jostein Gaarder (1952-), author Erik Solheim (1955-), diplomat, former minister of the environment and international development Jens Stoltenberg (1959-), secretary general of NATO (from October 1, 2014), former prime minister of Norway Kjetil Try (1959-), advertising agency executive and crime fiction writer Erling Kagge (1963-), explorer and publisher Espen Barth Eide (1964-), former minister of foreign affairs, minister of climate and environment Thomas Seltzer (1969-), musician (Turbonegro), TV talk show host Anders Danielsen Lie (1979-), actor, musician, physician Bjørnar Moxnes (1981-), leader of the Red Party See also List of the oldest schools in the world References External links Oslo katedralskole's web site Information in English The student council's web page (Norwegian) Oslo katedralskole's history (Norwegian) Dei skjulte bokskattane [The hidden book-treasures]