Ole Bajlum

Since 2008 Ole has been an owner and partner in ad Astra Translatører ApS together with Benjamin Holst Kjeldsen. His specialist areas of expertise include EU, contracts, legislation, judgments and rulings from all legal courts and judicial bodies, annual accounts, issue prospectuses, articles of association, official company extracts, the environment, medicine, development policy, and private documents such as education and training certificates, marriage and death certificates, probate court certificates, deeds and property transcripts. As an extra feather in his cap, Ole has also specialized in cosmetic products and course documentation for clothing fashion.

Ole graduated in 1991 as a two-way translator in Spanish, with a BA in Specialized Language for Business (English) from the School of Business and Social Sciences at Aarhus University (Aarhus BSS). Since obtaining his licence to practise as a state-authorized translator and interpreter in Spanish in March 1991, Ole has pursued a professional career as a translator. Over the years Ole has had his own business as a practising translator as well as being a partner in various translation companies in Copenhagen.

Ole is something of an expert in Spanish historical, political and economic matters—a committed interest for which the foundations were laid during lengthy periods of study in Malaga and Madrid during his student years. During the past 30 years he has travelled to Spain and Argentina and stayed there any number of times.

Even while studying in Copenhagen, Ole took up the linguistic challenges of acting as a Spanish translator for Denmark’s two large adoption organizations. That commitment and interest continued for more than 20 years.

Following his training as a translator in Aarhus, Ole received a Robert Schumann grant for a six-month stay as a stagiaire (trainee) at the European Parliament’s Danish translation department in Luxembourg. During this period Ole received a thorough induction into EU law and underwent practical training in the craft of the translator. This development as a translator assumed great importance for Ole’s career and over a number of years resulted in him translating hundreds of EU texts, primarily for the European Parliament.

After returning to Denmark, Ole set up as a freelancer in Copenhagen, and a short while afterwards he had an opportunity to move to San Francisco with work for six months, where he would work primarily on translation in the striking Latin-American setting of California.

Ole subsequently came into contact with Danida, Denmark’s Development Cooperation, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and translated a large array of publications and presentations focusing on Danida’s programme countries, including Nicaragua. His contact with the Danish Environmental Protection Agency came later, at a time that saw political and commercial attention focusing on the environment; and for a number of years Ole formed part of a team of translators working on large reports and presentations. Among other things, Ole translated the Ministry of the Environment’s book “Environmental Administration in Denmark”.

Since 2008 Ole has acted as translator, partner and general manager of ad Astra Translatører ApS. His great interest in translating legal, economic, financial, environmental, medical and EU texts has gradually been supplemented with extensive knowledge of Swedish and Norwegian affairs. In an age that has increasingly seen the spotlight on Swedish-Danish communications, partly as a result of the integration of the Øresund region, this has been reflected in the market demand for qualified, specialist linguistic skills for translation from Swedish to Danish. As a former auxiliary nurse in Stockholm, Ole has risen to the challenge, and over time, with his Spanish and English translation training, he has developed an extensive knowledge of Swedish language and culture, having enjoyed a wealth of personal and business connections in both South Sweden and Stockholm for a number of years now.