Leif Klette

Leif Klette was born at the Hardanger fjord in the western part of Norway, but went to Oslo in the late 1940s to study law. He became a member of the new fencing club in Oslo, Fekteklubben av 1948, and started competing, specializing in foil. He was Norwegian champion 12 times (10 in foil, 2 in épée), and won the King’s cup on seven occasions between 1952 and 1970. Klette represented Norway at two Olympic Games, 1952 and 1960.

Klette finished his law studies in 1953, and worked as a lawyer in Oslo, until about 1980, when he was appointed to work as a secretary to the General Secretary of NATO at their headquarters in Bruxelles. During his stay in Belgium, he was a four-time Belgian Masters fencing champion. Klette died in 2017 at 89 years of age during a stay in France with his French-born wife.