Jens Peter Gløersen Debes (23 August 1776 – 1 August 1832) was a Norwegian judge and politician. He was born in

Gamlebyen The Old Town of Oslo ( no, Gamlebyen, ) is a neighbourhood in the inner city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo and is the oldest urban area within the current capital. This part of the capital of Norway was simply called ...

as a son of Ole Gløersen Debes and Maren Jensdatter Schultz. His father worked as manager of

Oslo Hospital Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

. Debes graduated from Christiania Cathedral School in 1792, and with 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 1796. He was an assessor in

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 ...

from 1806 to 1814 and 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 from 1814 to his death. As such he participated in the

Impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

trials of 1815–1816, 1821–1822 and 1827. Debes served as a deputy member of 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 ...

during the first term, from 1815. He met in Parliament from 1816. His work here is known from the diaries of

Claus Pavels Claus Pavels (8 January 1769 – 16 February 1822) was a Norwegian priest and diarist. His diaries from 1812 to 1822 are an important source for cultural and biographical history. He was the Bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin from 1817 until 1 ...

. Debes wrote diaries himself, as well as topographical books: ''Samlinger til Agger Sogns og Aggershuus Fæstnings Beskrivelse'', ''Samlinger til Christianias Beskrivelse'', ''Samlinger vedkommende Norges Sprog, Historie og Geographie'' and ''Samlinger til Oslos beskrivelse''. His book collection was auctioned off after his death. He died in August 1832 in Christiania.

References

1776 births 1832 deaths Supreme Court of Norway justices Deputy members of the Storting Politicians from Oslo Norwegian diarists Norwegian topographers {{Norway-politician-1770s-stub