Andreas Bredal Wessel (7 May 1858 – 7 April 1940) was a Norwegian physician and politician for the
Labour Party.
He was born in
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
as a son of engineer Peter Mathias Wessel (1821–1890) and Mathilde Cecilie Ross (1829–1902). He grew up in
Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...
, where he took the
examen artium
Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...
in 1877. He enrolled in medicine studies at the
Royal Frederick University
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
, whence he graduated with the
cand.med. degree in 1885. In March 1886 in
Dovre
Dovre is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre. Other villages in Dovre include Dombås and Hjerkinn. The m ...
he married his first cousin
Ellisif Müller (1866–1949). The newly married couple moved to
Kirkenes, where Wessel had been hired as district physician of
Sør-Varanger
Sør-Varanger ( sme, Máttá-Várjjat, fkv, Etelä-Varenki, fi, Etelä-Varanki, russian: Сёр-Вара́нгер/Syor-Varánger) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town ...
.
They had seven children, but all died young.
Wessel served as deputy mayor of Sør-Varanger from 1892 to 1898, and deputy representative to the
Parliament of Norway for the constituency
Finmarkens Amt during the term 1895–1897. He represented the
Conservative Party.
When mining commenced in Sør-Varanger, the conservative Wessel became more aware of poverty and its detrimental medical effects, and aligned with the Labour Party. He was elected mayor and served from 1905 to 1910,[ and in the ]1906 Norwegian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Norway between 5 and 27 August 1906, with a second round held between 26 August and 22 October. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 It was the first parliamen ...
he was elected deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway again, this time from the constituency ''Øst-Finmarken'' as a running mate of Isak Saba
Isak Mikal Saba (15 November 1875 – 1 June 1921) was a Norwegian Sámi teacher and politician. He was born in 1875 in Nesseby, Norway to Per Sabasen and Bigi Henriksdatter Aikio. Saba married Marie Gunneva Hansdatter Holm (1876–1961), daught ...
. His wife was also an important political activist in the region.[
From 1918 to 1927 he served as county physician of Finnmark. He was also an amateur anthropologist, ornithologist and local historian. In 1930 he was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav. He died in Kirkenes in April 1940, two days before the ]German invasion of Norway
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**G ...
.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wessel, Andreas
1858 births
1940 deaths
Amateur anthropologists
People from Fredrikstad
University of Oslo alumni
Norwegian municipal physicians
Conservative Party (Norway) politicians
Labour Party (Norway) politicians
Mayors of places in Finnmark
Deputy members of the Storting