Henrik Ameln (29 April 1879 – 17 September 1961) 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 ...

jurist and politician for 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 ...

. He was a mayor of Bergen, and served five terms in 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 ...

Personal life

He was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

and grew up on Fjøsanger. He was the son of Theodor Poul Lauritz Ameln (1847–1925) and his wife Olivia Dorothea Hildegund Wilander (1849–1912). He was the nephew of Johan Gerhard Theodor Ameln, and a brother of Haakon Ameln. In 1906, he married Aagot Christensen (1881–1968).

Career

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

his secondary education in 1897, and in 1902 he had taken 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. He then worked as a jurist. He also edited the publications ''Norsk Forsikringstidende'' and '' Bjørgvin''. In 1911 he took extra education to work as an average adjuster like his father. From 1920 to 1923 he worked as director of the bank Den Norske Handelsbank. Ameln chaired the local Conservative Party chapter for several non-consecutive periods, and was a member of the national central committee from 1916 to 1919. He was elected to Bergen city council in 1910, and was re-elected several times until 1925; from 1920 to 1922 he served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. He was the first mayor from his party in Bergen since

Christian Michelsen Peter Christian Hersleb Kjerschow Michelsen (15 March 1857 – 29 June 1925), better known as Christian Michelsen, was a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman. He was the first prime minister of independent Norway and Norway's 9th prime minis ...

in 1893. Ameln had also been elected to the

in 1913, and initially served only one term. After his period as mayor he was re-elected in 1922, 1925, 1928 and 1931 to serve four more terms in Parliament. From 1926 to 1927 he was the President of the Odelsting. He also served in Bergen city council for a second term, from 1934 to 1945. Ameln held a very large number of memberships in various boards and committees, both public and private. He was a board member of the Comité Maritime International, the

International Law Association The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...

in Norway,

Bergenshalvøens Kommunale Kraftselskap Eviny is a Norwegian power company based in Bergen. Eviny is owned by Statkraft (47.9%), Bergen municipality (37.8%) and 16 other municipalities between Sognefjorden and Hardangerfjorden. It performs production and distribution of electricity. An ...

, Bergens Handelsbank, the

Union of Norwegian Cities The Union of Norwegian Cities ( no, Norges Byforbund) was an employers' organisation in Norway. It was founded in 1903. Hans Thomas Knudtzon has been credited with taking the initiative. Its headquarters were in the street ''Arbiens gate'', later ...

from 1921 to 1923 and of

Norwegian State Railways Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach se ...

from 1933 to 1939. He chaired

Det Norske Veritas DNV (formerly DNV GL) is an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Høvik, Norway. The company currently has about 12,000 employees and 350 offices operating in more than 100 countries, and provides ser ...

from 1929 to 1945. In 1939 he was proclaimed an honorary member of the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters ( da, Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab, DKNVS) is a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ameln, Henrik 1879 births 1961 deaths University of Oslo alumni Norwegian jurists Norwegian newspaper editors Mayors of Bergen Members of the Storting Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal