Christian Fredrik Monsen (27 April 1878 – 31 January 1954) 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 ...

politician for the Labour Party and the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

History

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 ...

as a son of Ludvig Monsen (1854–1942) and Josefine Aurora Marcelie Dehn (1852–1942). Monsen edited the newspaper from 1913 to 1916 and was a member of

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

city council from 1907 to 1945, serving as mayor in 1916–1919. 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 ...

from the

Market towns of Hedmark and Oppland counties The Market towns of Hedmark and Oppland counties ( no, Kjøpstedene i Hedmark og Oppland fylker) was an electoral district for parliamentary elections in Norway. It comprised the market towns ( no, kjøpsteder) of Hamar and Kongsvinger in Hedmark co ...

in 1922, and was re-elected on six occasions. He represented the Labour Party, except for the term 1925–1927 when he represented the Communist Party. During his last term, from December 10, 1945 to January 10, 1949, he was the

President of the Storting 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 ...

. Already before the 1945 election, when the old Parliament was convened, Monsen was installed in the Presidium as the Labour Party dropped their former member of the presidium

Magnus Nilssen Magnus Nilssen (18 July 1871 – 20 November 1947) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour and Social Democratic Labour parties. He was born in Lillehammer as a son of shoemaker Mathias Nilssen (1834–1920) and his wife Eline Pedersen (183 ...

. Monsen headed the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

during the short-lived Hornsrud's Cabinet in 1928 and then during

Nygaardsvold's Cabinet __NOTOC__ Nygaardsvold's Cabinet (later becoming the Norwegian government-in-exile, Norwegian: ''Norsk eksilregjering'') was appointed on 20 March 1935, the second Labour cabinet in Norway. It brought to an end the non-socialist minority Governm ...

. Unusually for a Minister of Defence, Monsen was an

antimilitarist Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (especi ...

and wrote three anti-militarist pamphlets (, and ).

References

1878 births 1954 deaths Norwegian educators Norwegian newspaper editors Mayors of places in Hedmark Politicians from Hamar Presidents of the Storting Members of the Storting Labour Party (Norway) politicians Communist Party of Norway politicians Norwegian male writers Norwegian sports executives and administrators 20th-century Norwegian politicians Defence ministers of Norway {{Norway-politician-1870s-stub