Sundby was born and grew up at Sundby farmyard in Vestby, Akershus, as the youngest child out of six. His father, Julius James Sundby was a farmer and a political spokesman for Høyre, the conservatives, in Vestby, married to Othilie Strand. Jon Sundby married Bertha Marie Mørk on 29 April 1915. Jon Sundby was the great-grandfather of the Olympic ChampionSiren Sundby.
Sundby worked as a teacher and for a while he was working as an elected officer at Sem during the period from 1906-12. From 1912 to 1960 he was a farmer at Sundby farmyard in Vestby.
Politician
Sundby was a board member of the Party of Agriculture from 1928 to 1945, and represented the party in Vestby for two periods. He was a member of the parliament from 1922 to 1945. During the governance of the Party of Agriculture, Sundby was a Norwegian Minister of Agriculture, 1931–1932, as well as head of the Ministry of Finance in 1932 under Jens Hundseid, then Minister of Finance 1932-1933. He was initially unwilling to become a council of the state, but gave in due to an ultimatum from Peder Kolstad when he was the Minister of Agriculture in 1931. Sundby was pivotal in developing the Norwegian subsidy schemes of agriculture.
Public engagements
In parallel to his political career Sundby had central positions of trust in the organizations of agriculture. He was the chief officer for Østlandets Melkesentral 1930-57, where he became an honorary member in 1958. He was also in trusted positions in Norske Melkeprodusenters Landsforbund and Meieribrukets Sentralstyre, as well as being the chairman of Felleskontoret for the central federation of agriculture 1945-57. Sundby was at the board of directors of the Norges Bank from 1938 to 1944, and continued for some more years after the war. In the period from 1909-21 he undertook several visits to Western-Europe as a consultant for Norsk Hydro. Sundby was a clever academic- and political writer, and he was the author behind many books questioning and discussing agricultural concerns. He also wrote several articles within academic- and the daily press, especially as a member of staff in Tidens Tegn and Nationen.
Jon Sundbys medal of honor is awarded every second year to a person who has conducted achievements within dairy or agriculture more over. The medal of honor was first awarded in 1956. It is financed by the proceeds from Jon Sundbys fund. Among winners to be mentioned are professor Roger K. Abrahamsen, farmer Kåre Syrstad, professor Berge Furre, the general secretaryHans Haga, the Norwegian 4H and professor Harald Skjervold.
