Ivar Aavatsmark (11 December 1864 – 1 July 1947) was a Norwegian officer and politician for the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
. He finished his military career in 1928, as Major General, head of the
2nd Division and Commander of
Akershus Fortress
Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress h ...
. As a politician he was a five-term
MP between 1907 and 1921, and served as
Minister of Defence
A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...
from 1919 to 1920 and 1921 to 1923.
Personal life
He was born at Aavatsmark in
Høylandet
Høylandet is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Høylandet. Other villages include Kongsmoen and Vassbotna.
The municipality is th ...
as a son of farmers Anders Pedersen Aavatsmark (1820–1906) and Margrethe Salomonsdatter Mørkved (1821–1902). He was an uncle of the forester
Ivar Aavatsmark and a first cousin of
Ole Severin Aavatsmark and brother-in-law of Høylandet mayor
Lorents Mørkved
Lorents Mørkved (16 March 1844 – 7 February 1924) was a Norwegian farmer and politician for the Liberal Party.
Personal life
He was born at Mørkved in Høilandet in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. He was a son of farmers Anders Lorentsen Mørkved ...
.
In November 1898 in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
he married the singer Ida Emilia Basilier Flodin (1870–1957). She was a daughter of politician
Frithiof Ferdinand Flodin and sister of
Ida Basilier-Magelssen.
[
]
Career
Military positions
He attended school in Namsos
( sma, Nåavmesjenjaelmie) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Some of the villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Kl ...
before finishing his secondary education at Trondhjem Cathedral School in 1886. He then took officer training at the Norwegian Military Academy
The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway.
History
The Commander- ...
, which he finished in 1889. He was promoted to Premier Lieutenant in 1890 and graduated from the Norwegian Military College in 1892. After one year in the King's Guard
The King's Guard and King's Life Guard (called the Queen's Guard and the Queen's Life Guard when the reigning monarch is female) are the contingents of infantry and cavalry soldiers charged with guarding the official royal residences in the ...
he was an aspirant in the general staff from 1894 to 1898. He was then promoted to Captain, and after a period as an adjoint from 1900 to 1903 he was a teacher at the Norwegian Military College from 1903 to 1911. Following the death of his older brother he took over the family farm in Høylandet in 1904, and resided there from 1906 to 1911.[
In 1911 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and leader of the Namdalen Battalion. In 1915 he was promoted to Colonel, and leader of the Infantry Regiment 13. He was promoted to Major General in 1919, and led the 5th Division in Trondhjem. From July 1928 to December 1932 he led the 2nd Division and served as Commander of ]Akershus Fortress
Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress h ...
.
National politics
Aavatsmark was elected as a representative 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 constituency of Snaasen in 1906, 1909
Events
January–February
* January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
* January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
* Januar ...
, 1912
Events January
* January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established.
* January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens.
* January 6 ...
, 1915
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction".
*January 1 ...
and 1918
This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide.
Events
Below, the events ...
.[
In 1906 he barely edged out contenders from his own party. In the first round of voting there were four Liberal candidates, with Aavatsmark taking the lead with 1,210 votes against incumbent six-term MP ]Hans Konrad Foosnæs
Hans Konrad Henriksen Foosnæs (2 February 1846 – 30 July 1917) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He served as Minister of Agriculture from 1908 to 1910.
Personal life
He was born in Namdalseid. He was the grandson of politic ...
' 1,145 votes. In the second round of voting, Aavatsmark took in his former contestant Ole Olsen Five
Ole Olsen Five (21 May 1846 – 26 April 1930) was a Norwegian teacher and politician for the Liberal Party.
He was born in Stod as a son of teacher, sexton and farmer Ole Larsen Sunde and Olava Andersdatter Kirkol. In 1876 he married Charlotte ...
as running mate and beat Foosnæs more comfortably with 2,157 votes against 1,476. In 1909 Aavatsmark's running mate was his own brother-in-law Mørkved, whereas his main opponent was partyfellow Thorvald Løchen with running mate Ole Langhammer. The contesting issue was the Nordland Line
The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsbanen, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through the counties of Trøndelag (formerly Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trønd ...
, and whether it should run through Snaasen or Beitstad
Beitstad () is a village in the municipality of Steinkjer in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located along the Beitstadsundet strait at the end of the Beitstadfjorden at the inner end of the Trondheimsfjord, about southwest of the vi ...
. Aavatsmark fought for Snaasen, and won the seat already in the first round. In 1912, again with Mørkved as running mate, they won equally comfortably with 2,642 votes against Foosnæs' 1,513. The 1915 election was tougher, as Labour had grown in strength and their candidate was Aavatsmark's closest contender. In the first round, Aavatsmark (with Mørkved as running mate) won 2,169 votes. He carried the seat in the second round with 3,057 votes. In 1918 Aavatsmark's running mate was Albert Fredrik Eggen
Albert Fredrik Eggen (29 September 1878 – 1966) was a Norwegian farmer and politician for the Liberal Party.
He was born at Østborg in Levanger landsogn as a son of farmer and petty officer Martin Gunerius Eggen (1839–1917) and his wife Kare ...
, who had fielded for the Agrarians in 1915.
In Parliament he chaired the Standing Committee on the Military for his last four terms. He served as Vice President of the Storting
The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing (assembly), Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The Unicameralism, unicameral parliament has 169 members and ...
from 1917 to 1918, and then President of the Odelsting in 1919. He then served as Minister of Defence
A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...
in Knudsen's Second Cabinet from 1919 to 1920 and in Blehr's Second Cabinet from 1921 to 1923.[
His advancement from Captain in early 1911 to Major General in 1919 has been noted as one of the swiftest advancement in Norwegian military history. The cabinet probably placed Aavatsmark in his position to contain a possible socialist revolution in Trondhjem. He also carried through a secret provision that the King's Guard would not allow recruits who worked as industrial labourers. However, he was more willing to compromise with the left wing in Norwegian politics than several other generals, and kept his liberal stance throughout the 1930s. As a parliamentarian he is remembered for his work with the Defence Organisation of 1910 and the Naval Plan of 1912.][ Another major interest was railway expansion. Already in 1900 he traveled to the Kingdom of Austria on a scholarship to study military rail transport.][ He was one of the proponents of the ]Nordland Line
The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsbanen, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through the counties of Trøndelag (formerly Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trønd ...
.[
]
Other positions and awards
He was a board member of the Det frivillige Skyttervesen
Det frivillige Skyttervesen (DFS) (), known in English as the National Rifle Association of Norway, and by DFS themselves as the Norwegian Civilian Marksmanship Association since 2020, is a civilian marksmanship association in Norway and the lar ...
and chaired the officers' union ''Hærens fastlønte Offiserers Landsforening'' from 1930 to 1934. In business and banking he chaired the board of Grong Gruber and was a supervisory council member of Norges Bank
Norges Bank / Noregs Bank is the central bank of Norway. The bank shall promote economic stability in Norway. Norges Bank also manages the Government Pension Fund of Norway and the bank’s own foreign exchange reserves.
History
The history of ...
(1918–1930) and Trondhjems Sparebank (1925–1928). He was also a board member of Trondheims bys vel from 1924 to 1928 and Trondheim and Trøndelag Folk Museum from 1925 to 1928.[
Aavatsmark was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav (1910), then promoted to Commander with Star in 1920. He held the Grand Cross of the ]Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...
, the Order of the White Rose of Finland
The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...
and the Order of the Crown of Italy
The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...
. He died in July 1947 in Oslo.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aavatsmark, Ivar
1864 births
1947 deaths
People from Høylandet
People educated at the Trondheim Cathedral School
Norwegian Military Academy alumni
Norwegian Military College alumni
Academic staff of the Norwegian Military College
Norwegian Army generals
Liberal Party (Norway) politicians
Members of the Storting
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog
Defence ministers of Norway