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Alvar Hanso

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Alvar Hanso is the enigmatic leader of a fictional organization called The Hanso Foundation, the group behind The Dharma Initiative, from TV's Lost. By now little is known about this enigmatic character, but it is known that he was/is a Danish weapon conveyer who started the Hanso Foundation. His face was only shown in a brief moment in an orientation movie.


Brief Biography

According to the website of The Hanso Foundation,

"Driven by a need for privacy and a deep-seated sense of humility, Alvar Hanso has released few details of his personal life to the public.
He first made his mark during the Second World War, providing munitions to various resistance movements around Europe. After the War, Hanso became the leading purveyor of high-technology armaments for NATO.
After decades of keeping the world safe through the development of sophisticated weapons systems, Hanso turned his attention to critical areas of science and technology - always searching for new ways to improve the human experience, and create a brighter future for all humanity.
Still running his vast network of companies, Hanso has set new standards for philanthropy and the support of pure scientific research for the betterment of the entire race."

Quotes

“From the dawn of our species, Man has been blessed with curiosity. Our most precious gift, without exception, is the desire to know more - to look beyond what is accepted as the truth and to imagine what is possible.”

Alvar Hanso, Address to the U.N. Security Council, 1967


“Children shoulder the most burdensome responsibility and perpetuate the most essential legacy of mankind. The young illuminate the path towards truth, the means to step outside our perception and grasp what lies beyond what we call knowledge. These lessons enable the old to fight the albatross within, and, in doing so, force the ducklings to give more than any being should.”

Alvar Hanso, DeGroot BSP Forum, Keynote Address, 1971a

Possible Clues Regarding Hanso's Name

The character name Alvar Hanso may be a play on the names of scientists Hans Oersted, who discovered electromagnetism in the 19th Century and Hannes Alfvén, a 20th century Nobel Prize winner on the same subject. There are clues suggesting that electromagetism is an important phenomenon on the Island (i.e., the Bunker's power source attracting metal, compasses not working properly on the Island, etc.).