Nicolai Theodorius Nilssen Rygg (29 February 1872 – 27 September 1957) was a Norwegian economist and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Central Bank of Norway.

Biography

He was born in Stavanger as a son of shoemaker Ole Nilssen Rygg (1842–1908) and Ane Severine Larsdatter (1841–1913). He was a brother of journalist Andreas Nilsen Rygg. In 1910 he married physician's daughter Agnes Isidore Margrethe Sibbern Møller (1872–1963). He finished his secondary education in 1889, and graduated from the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

with the cand.jur. degree in 1894. He was a deputy judge in Vesterålen District Court before studying economics in

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

and Genève in 1896 to 1897, later statistics in the United States from 1904 to 1905. He worked in Statistics Norway from 1898, and from 1907 he doubled as secretary in Statistics Norway and

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

at the Royal Frederick University. His special field was

social statistics Social statistics is the use of statistical measurement systems to study human behavior in a social environment. This can be accomplished through polling a group of people, evaluating a subset of data obtained about a group of people, or by obser ...

, and he also chaired ''Norsk Forening for Socialt Arbeide'' from 1909 to 1915. From 1910 to 1913 he was a professor at the Royal Frederick University in economics and statistics. Important publications include ''Den norske Creditbank. 1857–1907'' (with

Ebbe Hertzberg Ebbe Carsten Hornemann Hertzberg (11 April 1847 – 2 October 1912) was a Norwegian professor and social economist. He was also a legal historian and published several works in that field. Biography Hertzberg was born at Holmestrand in Vestf ...

, 1907) and ''Norges Banks historie. Del 1. 1816–1850'' (1918), histories on Den norske Creditbank and the Central Bank of Norway. From 1913 to 1920 he served as the director of Statistics Norway. In November 1920 he took over as Governor of the Central Bank of Norway. Norway experienced a serious financial and banking crisis during the 1920s. Rygg spearheaded the "par policy", in which the goal was to lead the value back to pre-World War I level. In 1928 the Norwegian krone was finally connected to the

gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the l ...

, but this only lasted until 1931. In 1931–1932, the Central Bank also averted a serious banking crisis. Rygg was regarded as an active financial politician, and as being a more independent bank governor than his successors. He is also known for pressuring opposition leader

Johan Ludwig Mowinckel Johan Ludwig Mowinckel (22 October 1870 – 30 September 1943) was a Norwegian statesman, shipping magnate and philanthropist. He served as the 16th prime minister of Norway during three separate terms. Biography Johan Ludwig Mowinckel was born ...

to file a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

against the socialist Hornsrud's Cabinet in February 1928. After retiring as Central Bank Governor at the age of 74, he returned to his academic writing. He released ''Norges Bank i mellomkrigstiden'' in 1950 and ''Norges Banks historie. Del II. 1850–1920'' in 1954. He was a fellow of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

. He was decorated as a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

and 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 Commander of the Order of St. Olav (1925), 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 Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

, the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...

and the

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sultana ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rygg, Nicolai 1872 births 1957 deaths Writers from Stavanger Norwegian jurists Norwegian economists Norwegian statisticians 20th-century Norwegian historians Economic historians Governors of the Central Bank of Norway University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders of the Order of Vasa Grand Knights of the Order of the Falcon