Jógvan Poulsen (February 19, 1854 –January 21, 1941) was a Faroese teacher and writer, and a politician for the Union Party. Poulsen was born in

Svínáir Svínáir ( da, Svinåer) is a village located on Eysturoy in the Faroe Islands, in Eiði Municipality. It is located 4 km north of Ljósá and 6.5 km west of Funningur. It is located 8.5 km south of Eiði, 4.6 km south of Ljósá and 2 km north o ...

Eysturoy Eysturoy (pronounced estroimeaning 'East Island') is a region and the second-largest of the Faroe Islands, both in size and population. Description Eysturoy is separated by a narrow sound from the main island of Streymoy. Eysturoy is extremely ...

, the son of Poul Joensen and Birgithe Joensen (née Thomasdatter). His parents originally came from

Eiði Eiði (''Northern Faroese'' �ɔiːjɪ) is a village located on the north-west tip of Eysturoy in the Faroe Islands. It is the seat of Eiði Municipality. It is located 4 km north of Ljósá and 6.5 km west of Funningur. History Eiði was first ...

and

Funningur Funningur is a village on the Faroe Islands. It is located on the northwest coast of Eysturoy (). It was the only village in the municipality called ''Funnings kommuna'', which on 1 January 2009 became part of Runavíkar kommuna. To the west of ...

, respectively, and Svínáir was a new "

settlement village A settlement village ( fo, niðursetubygd) is a settlement in the Faroe Islands that was founded during the 1800s or early 1900s. The population of the islands grew quickly from 1800 onward, resulting in a shortage of land in the older villages. Ma ...

" ( fo, niðursetubygd) when they moved there. Jógvan Poulsen grew up in a poor home, and eventually served as a farmhand living at the Látrinan farm in Eiði.Debes, Hans Jacob. 1982. ''Nú er tann stundin … Tjóðskaparrørsla og sjálvstýrispolitikkur til 1906''. Tórshavn: Føroya Skúlabókagrunnur, pp. 229–230. In 1874 he moved to

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

to obtain an education. He graduated as a teacher from the

Faroese Teachers School The Faroese Teachers School ( fo, Føroya Læraraskúli) is a college in Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands, which became part of the University of the Faroe Islands on 1 August 2008. Since 2008 it has offered bachelor's degrees in general and specia ...

in 1876 and taught at the primary schools in

Strendur Strendur ( da, Strænder) is a village on the Faroese island of Eysturoy, located along the Skálafjørður fjord. It is the seat and main settlement of the Sjóvar Municipality. The 2012 population was 785. Its postal code is FO 490. ''Strendu ...

Selatrað Selatrað ( da, Selletræ) is a village on the west coast of the Faroese island of Eysturoy in Sjóvar Municipality. The name ''Selatrað'' refers to ''a breeding place for seals''. The 2010 population was 38. Its postal code is FO 497. The vill ...

Morskranes Morskranes ( da, Morskrenæs) is a village on the west coast of the Faroese island of Eysturoy in the Sjóvar Municipality. The 2013 population was 28. Its postal code is FO 496. Morskranes can translate roughly as "Moors of the Corner". Externa ...

, and

Skála Skála (reclaimed its original name ''Skála'' as opposed to incorrect ''Skáli'' in 2011;Landverk

until 1917. He gave up his teaching position because of illness. He published ''Förisk ABC og lesingabók'' (A Faroese ABC and Reader) together with

Christian Ludvig Johannesen Christian Ludvig Johannesen (1862–1935) was a Faroese teacher and independence activist. Johannesen was one of the nine men that signed the invitation to the Christmas Meeting of 1888, which is considered to have marked the beginning of the F ...

in 1891, but this was soon superseded by Hammershaimb's normative guide. Poulsen's ''Bibliusøga'' (Bible Stories) from 1900 became a standard work because the Bible had not yet been translated into Faroese. Poulsen was a board member of the

Faroese Teachers' Association The Faroese Teachers' Association ( fo, Føroya Lærarafelag) is a trade union for educators in the Faroe Islands. The association was established in 1898,Sigurðardóttir, Turið. 2009. Translation in Faroese Children's Literature. In: B. J. Epst ...

from 1898 to 1903 and from 1906 to 1912, and later a member of the school committee for the Faroe Islands from 1924 to 1928. Poulsen was a council member for the former Parish Municipality of

, and later for the Municipality of Sjóvar, and he served as mayor for a time. He served in the

Faroese Parliament Faroese ( ) or Faroish ( ) may refer to anything pertaining to the Faroe Islands, e.g.: *the Faroese language * the Faroese people Faroese people or Faroe Islanders ( fo, føroyingar; da, færinger) are a North Germanic peoples, North Germanic ...

as a representative from Eysturoy from 1883 to 1928, and he was affiliated with the Union Party after 1906. He ran as a candidate from the Faroes for the

Højre Højre (, ''Right'') was the name of two Danish political parties of Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The c ...

party for the

Danish Parliament The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands a ...

's lower house (the ''Folketing'') in 1901, but he lost all of the constituencies except Eysturoy to

Jóannes Patursson Jóannes Patursson (May 6, 1866 – August 2, 1946) was a Faroese nationalist leader and poet. He served as a member of the Parliament of Denmark and the Parliament of the Faroe Islands. Background Jóannes was born in 1866 as the eldest s ...

, with a result of 356 votes for Patursson and 199 for Poulsen. Poulsen was an opponent of the

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

and supported the king's right to designate ministers, and he did not want the

Faroese language conflict The Faroese language conflict is a phase in the history of the Faroe Islands in the first half of the 20th century (approx. 1908 to 1938). It was a political and cultural argument between advocates of Faroese and Danish to serve as the official ...

to play a role in the electoral campaign. He tried to present himself as the candidate representing the average citizen, and Patursson as the candidate representing wealthy farmers. Poulsen succeeded only partially in doing so because for many voters the Højre party appeared to represent the interests of government officials. Poulsen died in Strendur. He was depicted on a Faroese stamp in 2008.Simonsen, Kim. 2013. Frimærker og national identitet. Færøske frimærker som erindringssted. ''Posta Stamps'' 17: 2–8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poulsen, Jogvan Faroese writers Members of the Løgting 1854 births 1941 deaths People from Eiði Municipality