August Geelmuyden Spørck (13 September 1851 – 14 July 1928) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

military officer and politician for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He is best known as the

Norwegian Minister of Defence The Norwegian defence minister, Minister of Defence is the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence. The position has existed since 1814. The incumbent minister since 12 April 2022 is Bjørn Arild Gram of the Centre Party (Norway), Centre Party. ...

from 1909 to 1910.

Career

He was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. He became a military officer in 1872. Through the rifle associations he became affiliated with the Liberal Party. He was elected to the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

in 1900, representing the constituency of ''Trondhjem og Levanger''. He held the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

at that time. He served only one term, but had previously served as a deputy representative during the term 1898–1900. On 20 August 1909, he was appointed as the new

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

in the

first cabinet Knudsen Knudsen's First Cabinet governed Norway between 19 March 1908 and 2 February 1910. It had the following composition: Cabinet members State Secretary Not to be confused with the modern title State Secretary. The old title State Secretar ...

. He held this position until 1 February 1910, when the cabinet resigned. In 1914 he was promoted to

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, and from 1916 to 1919 he was the Inspector-General of the Infantry. He died in July 1928.

Personal life

His granddaughter Mimi Reimers married Olaf D. Thommessen.

References

1851 births 1928 deaths Military personnel from Oslo Norwegian Army generals Members of the Storting Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Defence ministers of Norway Politicians from Trondheim {{Norway-mil-bio-stub