Background
He was born in Egge as the son of Colonel Ingvald Mareno Smith-Kielland (1863–1949) and Ragnhild Johanne Duborgh (1869–1961).
He was born in Egge as the son of Colonel Ingvald Mareno Smith-Kielland (1863–1949) and Ragnhild Johanne Duborgh (1869–1961).
He finished his secondary education in 1908, and graduated from the Norwegian Military Academy in 1911 and the Norwegian Military College in 1913.
He was a brother of painter Per. After some years in the military he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1920, where he helped to negotiate Norwegian fishing rights near Eastern Greenland ("Erik the Red"s Land"). He also negotiated with Spain and Portugal when these wine-exporting countries complained about the prohibition in Norway, in effect since the prohibition referendum of 1919.
Somewhat due to the pressure of Spain and Portugal, the prohibition was lifted after a new referendum in 1926.
Also, before World World War II, was a sports official He was the secretary-general of the International Ski Federation from 1933 to 1936 and chaired the Norwegian Skiing Federation from 1934 to 1936.
He also oversaw the Norwegian delegations to the 1920 Summer Olympics and the 1928 and 1932 Winter Olympics. From 1929 to 1938, was a subdirector in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He then worked as counsellor of the Norwegian legation in London from 1938 to 1941 and 1943 to 1944, and as military attaché at the Norwegian legation in Stockholm from 1941 to 1943.
In 1943 attended the wedding of prominent Nazi Bjørn Østring. Among the other wedding guests were Nazis Vidkun Quisling, Sverre Riisnæs, Frederik Prytz, Axel Heiberg Stang, Rolf Jørgen Fuglesang. From 1944 he worked for the Czechoslovakian government-in-exile, and after the war"s end he became ambassador to the Czechoslovak Republic.
He also had responsibility for Austria from 1946, but after the Communist coup in 1948 he returned to Norway.
He spent one year in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before becoming a part of the Court of the Norwegian Royal Family. In 1949 he was appointed as chamberlain and court marshal by King Haakon VII of Norway, and in 1955 he was promoted to lord chamberlain, leaving the position as court marshal vacant for the time being.
As lord chamberlain he was the highest economic and administrative officer in the Royal Palace, and also had responsibility for Oscarshall, Skaugum, Kongsseteren and Bygdø Kongsgåroad In 1958, one year after King Haakon"s death, the entire Court of the Norwegian Royal Family consisted of as few as seven people.
, Richard Andvord, Odd Grønvold (who eventually had succeeded as court marshal) and Ellinor Grønvold, Ingeborg von Hanno and Vincent Bommen. retired as lord chamberlain in 1966.
He was also admitted into the exclusive skiing-based social club Saskatchewan Ull in 1973. He died in January 1984 in Oslo.
The temperance movement had won the referendum. And Smith-Kielland had been a part of this movement, but he withdrew due to the difficult situation for Norway. Ingvald Smith-Kielland was decorated with the Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav, the Danish Order of the Dannebrog, the Swedish Order of the Polar Star, the Order of the Lion of Finland, the Icelandic Order of the Falcon and the British Royal Victorian Order.
