Hagbart (or Hagbard) Emanuel Berner (12 September 1839 – 24 January 1920) was a Norwegian lawyer, Liberal Party politician and newspaper editor. He was one of Norway's leading liberal progressives of his time. He represented the Liberal Party as a member of parliament from 1880 to 1888, as Auditor General of Norway from 1883 to 1898 and as Burgomaster of Christiania from 1892 to 1912. He was the first editor-in-chief of the liberal newspaper '' Dagbladet'' and the co-founder (with

Gina Krog Jørgine Anna Sverdrup "Gina" Krog (20 June 1847 – 14 April 1916) was a Norwegian suffragist, teacher, liberal politician, writer and editor, and a major figure in liberal feminism in Scandinavia. She played a central role in the Norwegian l ...

) and first president of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights. In 1882 he introduced the parliamentary act that admitted women to the university.

Background

Berner was born in Sunndal in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

county, Norway. He was the son of parish priest Ole Christian Berner and Laura Nicoline Collin. The family moved to

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

in 1850. He married Selma Augusta Hovind in 1871. He was the brother-in-law of both industrialist

Hans Mustad Hans Mustad (26 January 1837 – 27 February 1918) was a Norwegian businessperson. He was instrumental in shaping the company O. Mustad & Søn. Mustad was born in Vardal as the son of Ole Hovelsen Mustad. He was a brother of Kristian Mauri ...

and

Hans Gerhard Stub Hans Gerhard Stub (23 February 1849 – 1 August 1931) was an American Lutheran theologian and church leader. He served as Bishop of the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America. Background Hans Gerhard Stub was born in Muskego, Wisconsin. His paren ...

(1849–1931), Bishop of the

Norwegian Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) was a Lutheran denomination that existed from 1917, when it was founded as the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (NLCA), until 1960, when it joined two other church bodies to form the second American Luthe ...

Career

Berner graduated as a student in 1858, and as a jurist in 1863. In Christiania he befriended intellectuals such as

Ernst Sars Johan Ernst Welhaven Sars (11 October 1835 – 27 January 1917) was a Norwegian professor, historian, author and editor. His main work was ''Udsigt over den norske Historie'', four volumes issued from 1873 to 1891. He co-edited the magazines ...

and Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, and became politically active and a supporter of the Nynorsk language. He co-founded the publishing house

Det Norske Samlaget Det Norske Samlaget is a Norwegian publishing house founded on 24 March 1868 with the aim to promote and publish books in Landsmål, now known as Nynorsk. ''Det Norske Samlaget'' is now divided into two institutions: a literature organization, ''L ...

in 1868, and was its chairman until 1877. In 1868 he co-founded the newspaper '' Dagbladet'', together with Danish-born author and literary figure, Anthon Bang (1809–1870). He was editor of ''Dagbladet'' from 1869 to 1879. The newspaper had close connections to the political movement that later came to be the Liberal Party of Norway. ''Anthon Bang'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref> His demand for a "clean" Norwegian flag, instead of the then-flag with a union badge (popularly known as ''Sildesalaten''), led to political turbulence in 1879. The parliamentary majority voted for the removal of the union badge three times, but was defeated by royal veto twice. Finally, in 1898, the third royal veto was overruled and the union badge was removed from the national and the state flag. He was elected as a member of 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 1879, representing

, and was re-elected in 1882 and 1885. Berner co-founded the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights in 1884, together with

, and was the organization's first president. He was Auditor General of Norway from 1883 to 1898, and burgomaster of Kristiania from 1898 to 1912.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berner, Hagbard Emanuel Norwegian jurists Norwegian newspaper editors Auditors general of Norway Members of the Storting 1839 births 1920 deaths Norwegian civil servants Norwegian women's rights activists Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Nynorsk People from Sunndal Politicians from Oslo 19th-century Norwegian politicians 19th-century Norwegian writers Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people