August Geelmuyden Spørck (13 September 1851 – 14 July 1928) was a Norwegian 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. For example, while the political systems ...

. He is best known as the Norwegian Minister of Defence from 1909 to 1910.

Career

He was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

. 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 ( ; ) 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 based on party-list proportional represe ...

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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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 ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

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, 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 Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Members of the Storting 1900–1903 Military personnel from Oslo Ministers of defence of Norway Norwegian Army generals Politicians from Trondheim {{Norway-mil-bio-stub