Maria Quisling

Maria Quisling
Born	Maria Vasilyevna Pasek or Pasetchnikova (1900-10-10)10 October 1900 Kharkiv, Russian Empire
Died	17 January 1980(1980-01-17) (aged 79) Uranienborg, Oslo, Norway
Resting place	Gjerpen, Telemark, Norway
Nationality	Russian/Soviet Norwegian (from 1923)
Known for	Wife of Norwegian fascist politician Vidkun Quisling
Spouse	Vidkun Quisling ​ ​ (m. 1923; died 1945)​

Maria Quisling, born Maria Vasilyevna Pasek or Pasetchnikova^[1] (10 October 1900 – 17 January 1980), was known as the wife of the Norwegian fascist politician Vidkun Quisling, but historians have doubts on whether the couple were legally married.^{[2][failed verification]} The couple met in Kharkiv in 1923, and they were formally and informally married in September that year. For a few years, she lived in Norway and France and was often separated from Vidkun because of his work and travels. They settled permanently in Norway in 1929 where Vidkun was one of the founders of the fascist party Nasjonal Samling. During the German occupation of Norway, Vidkun led a pro-German puppet regime. Maria lived with him in the Villa Grande from 1941 to 1945 and served as hostess for social gatherings there and at the Royal Palace.

After Vidkun was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death, she made several appeals to authorities on his behalf but was unsuccessful. She was briefly arrested in 1946 for her actions during the occupation, but all charges were dropped. She fought for many years to get back the apartment and other properties that she and Vidkun had owned. A final settlement was reached in 1955, which gave her the apartment, many paintings and furniture and a sum of money. In 1959, she also got an urn with her husband's ashes, which she buried at Gjerpen Church yard in a small ceremony. After having lived a secluded life in Oslo after the war, she died in 1980, leaving her assets to a charity fund bearing her and Vidkun's name that each year gives a small sum of money to a limited number of elderly persons.