Fridtjof Nansen particularly in the polar regions. The Nansen family originated in Denmark. Hans Nansen (1598–1667), a trader, was an early explorer of the White Sea region of the Arctic Ocean. In later life he settled in Copenhagen, becoming the city's "borgmester" in 1654. Later generations of the family lived in Copenhagen until the mid-18th century, when Ancher Antoni Nansen moved to Norway (then in a union with Denmark). His son, Hans Leierdahl Nansen (1764–1821), was a magistrate first in the Trondheim district, later in Jæren. After Norway's separation from Denmark in 1814, he entered national political life as the representative for
Nansen International Office for Refugees finding shelter in specially constructed houses in villages in Syria and Lebanon for 40,000 Armenians, after the resettlement of another 10,000 in Yerevan. The Nansen International Office for Refugees was responsible for the successful settlement of the Saar refugees in Paraguay after 1935. The Nansen International Office for Refugees was awarded the 1938 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to establish the Nansen passports. Nansen International Office for Refugees The Nansen International Office for Refugees ("") was an organization established in 1930 by the League of Nations and named after Fridtjof Nansen, soon after his death, which was internationally in