Henrich Herman Mejer Foss (17 September 1790 – 21 September 1853) was a Norwegian military officer and elected official.

Biography

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 ...

, Norway. He was the son of Jacob Finne Foss (1763-1822) and Margrethe Meyer (born 1763). He completed artillery exams in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

during 1811. He participated in the

Gunboat War The Gunboat War (, ; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the materially superior Royal Nav ...

as artillery officer. In 1830 he became the military officer of charge in Christiania (now Oslo). In 1843 he became Major and later Colonel Lieutenant and Battalion Chief. He eventually rose to

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

, a rank he acquired in 1843. Foss was elected to the

Norwegian Parliament 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 base ...

in 1827 from the constituency

, in 1830 from

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 ...

, and from Christiania in 1833, 1836, 1839, 1842 and 1845. Foss was a member of the Norwegian-Swedish Union Committee (1841-44). He was a minister of government in the Ministry of Marine Affairs (1845-48) He was mayor of Christiania in 1838, 1840 and 1841. Foss authored several publications, including ''Bergens Beskrivelse'' in 1824 (with

Lyder Sagen Lyder Sagen (13 March 1777 – 16 June 1850) 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 Norw ...

), publications on politics as well as songs. Some of the songs were intended to celebrate the

Norwegian Constitution Day Constitution Day is the national day of Norway and is an official public holiday observed on 17 May each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to as ''Syttende Mai'' ("Seventeenth of May"), ''Nasjonaldagen'' ("National Day"), or ''Grunnlo ...

, of which Foss was a proponent. He also proposed a Norwegian

civil ensign A civil ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by civilian vessels to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and the naval ensign (or war ensign). It is also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag. ...

during the personal union with Sweden. Streets have been named after him in Bergen and

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...

as well as Herman Foss' gate in the district of

St. Hanshaugen St. Hanshaugen (Norwegian for St. John's Hill) is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. Area It has a triangular shape, with its northern border just north of the buildings of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and Ullevål University Hos ...

in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foss, Henrich Herman 1790 births 1853 deaths Military personnel from Bergen Norwegian Army personnel Norwegian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Members of the Storting Mayors of Oslo Government ministers of Norway Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Politicians from Bergen