Twin-brother of Norwegian Hollywood-actress Sigrid Gurie.
Lead the sabotage action against the German Heavy Water production at
Rjukan, Norway during WWII, considered by many historians to be the
most successfull (and important) act of sabotage during the entire war.
Played himself (together with the rest of Kompani Linge) in the classic
Norwegian movie "Kampen om tungtvannet" (1948), detailing the legendary
actions that halted the German Heavy Water production in Norway during
World War II.
Some say he was portrayed by Richard Harris in "The Heroes of
Telemark" (under the name 'Knut Straud'), however Harris' character was
more a combination of several different people - Haukelid being one of
them. To acknowledge Haukelid they gave the character the same first
name.
Haukelid became a lieutenant colonel in the Army Infantry in 1959 and
served as colonel and head of Greater Oslo Homeguard from 1966 until
his retirement in 1974.
At the time of his retirement, Haukelid was one of only three active
lieutenant generals (2 stars) in Norway. The only 3-star general, at
the time, was King Olav V.
Wrote his autobiography, "Det demrer en dag" in 1947 (revised edition
1953 under the name "Kampen om tungtvannet").