Gregers Winther Wulfsberg Gram (10 December 1846 – 1 August 1929) was a Norwegian

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

and politician, and international arbitrator. He was a

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Assessor An assessor may be: * ''Assessor'' (fish), a genus of fishes * Assessor (law), the assistant to a judge or magistrate * Assessor (Oxford), a senior officer of the University of Oxford * Assessor (property), an expert who calculates the value of pr ...

, Norwegian prime minister in Stockholm from 1889 to 1891 and from 1893 to 1898 and County Governor from 1898 to 1915.

Personal life

Gram was born in

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

as the son of district stipendiary magistrate Paul James Reinhold Harald Gram (1818–1900) and Jensine Sophie Wulfsberg (1810–1902). He was a grandson of

Jens Jensen Gram Jens Jensen Gram (12 February 1779 – 2 November 1824) was a Norwegian jurist and politician. He was born in Copenhagen as the son of Jens Gram. He studied at the University of Copenhagen from 1798, and graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 180 ...

and

Gregers Winther Wulfsberg Gregers Winther Wulfsberg (26 October 1780 – 23 September 1846) was a Norwegian jurist and politician, and a member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll that wrote the Constitution of Norway on 17 May 1814. Personal life Wulfsb ...

, and a first cousin of

Jens Gram Jens Gram (15 November 1840 – 22 January 1912) was a Norwegian industrialist. Personal life He was born in Ask as a son of Johan Georg Boll Gram and Fredrikke Severine Mathea Stabell. He was a brother of Andrea Gram, grandson of Jens Jensen G ...

. In August 1878 he married Antoinette Augusta Brodtkorb (1857–1938). He was the father of politician

Harald Gram Harald Gram (18 September 1887 – 7 June 1961) was a Norwegian jurist, politician and genealogist. He was secretary general for the Conservative Party of Norway for 22 years, deputy mayor of Aker, Norway, Aker, member of parliament of Norway, P ...

(1887–1961) and through him the grandfather of resistance fighter Gregers Winther Wulfsberg Gram (1917–1944). His daughter Ida Fredrikke married diplomatist Johan Wollebæk.

Career

Gram took his

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 1864, and the

cand.jur. Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. ...

degree in 1869. He worked in France and in the

Norwegian Ministry of Justice The Royal Ministry of Justice and Public Security ( no, Det kongelige justis- og beredskapsdepartement) is a Norwegian government ministry that oversees justice, the police, and domestic intelligence. The main purpose of the ministry is to provide ...

, but then left Norway for some years. He worked as a jurist in Egypt, in

Ismailia Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...

from 1875 to 1882, and later in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. Back in Norway he was a

from 1884. Gram belonged to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. When the

first cabinet Stang The Stang's First Cabinet governed Norway between 13 July 1889 and 6 March 1891. It was led by Emil Stang and is one of two Conservative Party-only cabinets ever in Norway, the other being Willoch's First Cabinet from 1981 to 1983. It had the follo ...

assumed office in 1889, Gram was appointed Norwegian Prime Minister in Stockholm by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Emil Stang Emil Stang (14 June 1834 – 4 July 1912) was a Norwegian jurist and politician. He served as the 5th prime minister of Norway from 1889–1891 and again from 1893–1895. He also served as the first leader of the Conservative Party from 1884–18 ...

. He served this position until the resignation of Stang's government in 1891. He was again Prime Minister in Stockholm during Stang's government from 1893. By 1895 this government had become weak due to internal conflicts. Gram was the architect of a new cabinet with

Francis Hagerup George Francis Hagerup (22 January 1853 – 8 February 1921) was a Norwegian law professor, diplomat, politician for the Conservative Party and women's rights advocate. He was the 7th prime minister of Norway from 1895 to 1898 and from 1903 ...

as Prime Minister. This lasted from 1895 to 1898, but was unseated following the 1898 general election. During his last two tenures as Prime Minister in Stockholm, Gram had taken a moderate stance towards the

union between Sweden and Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Swede ...

, which many wanted to abolish. When a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

was held on the dissolution of the union in 1905, Gram is believed to have voted against it, though this view was outnumbered 368,392 to 184. After ending his political career he was County Governor of

Hedmark Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged i ...

from 1898 to 1915. He had declined several offers of ambassador positions during his career. Gram also served as a member of the arbitration tribunal in several international conflicts. He was a member of the

Institut de Droit International The Institute of International Law ( French: Institut de Droit International) is an organization devoted to the study and development of international law, whose membership comprises the world's leading public international lawyers. The organizat ...

from 1904, a board member from 1906 to 1910 and an honorary member from 1925. For his arbitration work he received the Grand Cross of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in 1893. He died in August 1929 in

Vestre Aker Vestre Aker (Western Aker) is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. It has a population of 50,157 as of 2020. The previous Aker Municipality was merged into the city of Oslo in 1948. The borough of Vestre Aker was organized as part of the 1 Ja ...

, and is buried at

Vestre gravlund Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a crematorium (''Vestre kre ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gram, Gregers Winther Wulfsberg 1846 births 1929 deaths Members of the Institut de Droit International People from Moss, Norway Norwegian jurists Supreme Court of Norway justices Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Government ministers of Norway County governors of Norway University of Oslo alumni Burials at Vestre gravlund 19th-century Norwegian politicians