Nils Christian Egede Hertzberg (26 October 1827 – 8 July 1911) 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 Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

theologian, educator and politician.

Background

He was born in

Ullensvang Ullensvang is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre is the town of Odda. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Lofthus, Utne, Vikebygd ...

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...

, Norway. He was a son of vicar and politician

Niels Hertzberg Niels Hertzberg (13 August 1759 – 21 October 1841) was a Norwegian priest and politician. He was born at Finnås in Hordaland, Norway. He was the eldest son of vicar Peder Harboe Hertzberg (1728–1802) and Christiane Winding (1737–1801 ...

(1759–1841) and Anna Christine Egede Thomsen (1789–1860). His sister Maja Elisabeth Weinwich Hertzberg (1824–1881) was the wife of author Claus Pavels Riis (1826–86). The family moved to

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 ...

when he was nine. He enrolled in

Bergen Cathedral School Bergen Cathedral School (Norwegian: ''Bergen Katedralskole'', Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Bergensis'', formerly known as Bergens lærdeskole and Bergen latinskole and colloquially known as Katten) is an upper secondary school in Bergen, Norway. Loc ...

in 1841 and took the

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

here in 1846. He later 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.theol. Candidatus theologiæ (male), Candidata theologiæ (female), abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six-year higher education in theology in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. In Norway, the title has re ...

degree in 1851.

Career

He was a teacher 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- ...

from 1853, and

Asker Seminary Asker Seminary was a teachers' seminary at Bjerke near Tanum. Tanum is located in Bærum, which then was a part of Asker parish. The seminary was established in 1834 to educate teachers that conformed with the School Act of 1827. The education s ...

from 1860. He was an avid

outdoorsman Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

, and took further education in 1865 when he attended the Central Gymnastic School. After that he took over the

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

for the future teachers at Asker Seminary, and organized both gymnastics, shooting and hikes. He also helped start teachers' courses in Centralforeningen for Udbredelse af Legemsøvelser og Vaabenbrug. Physical education was officially included in the teacher seminary curricula in 1867. In 1867 Hertzberg took over as headmaster of Hamar Teachers' College. In Hamar city, he was an opposing force of the

Grundtvig Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (; 8 September 1783 – 2 September 1872), most often referred to as N. F. S. Grundtvig, was a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian, teacher and politician. He was one of the most influential peo ...

ianism proposed by Olaus Arvesen and

Herman Anker Herman Anker (15 July 1839 – 9 August 1896) was a Norwegian school teacher and educationalist. He was born at Rød Manor in Halden, a son of wholesaler Peter Martin Anker. He was the brother of Christian August Anker, and father of Kat ...

who founded Norway's first folk high school in the city. Hertzberg propagated his views in the periodical ''Norsk Skoletidende'', started by him in 1869 and edited by him until 1873. In 1873 he was appointed as deputy under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Church Affairs. In 1882 he was chosen as

Minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

in the same ministry, as a part of the cabinet of Prime Minister

Christian August Selmer Christian August Selmer (16 November 1816 – 1 September 1889) was a Norwegian lawyer and a magistrate. He served as a member of the Norwegian Parliament, Minister of Defense and Minister of Justice. He was the 2nd prime minister of Norway ...

. On 1 March 1884 he changed to being a member of the Council of State Division in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. In April 1884 the cabinet was dissolved as it was

impeached 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 ...

. He became Minister of Church Affairs and Education in the successor Schweigaard's Cabinet, but in June 1884 it fell because

parliamentarism 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 ...

was implemented in Norway for the first time. In the 1885 Norwegian parliamentary election he was elected 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 ''Kristiania, Hønefoss og Kongsvinger''. He was re-elected in

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

, and served two terms.

Personal life

In December 1864 he married Martha Catharina Marie Clauson (1844–1928). They had the sons: author Nils Christian Egede Hertzberg (1866-1941), missionary priest Arthur Johan Hertzberg (1870-1940), rector Johan Hertzberg (1872-1954) clergyman Mikael Skjelderup Hertzberg (1874-1927) and colonel Jens Skjelderup Hertzberg (1877-1940). Hertzberg wrote several books, mostly after retiring as a government minister. His memoirs were published in two volumes in 1909 and 1910; ''Fra min Barndoms og Ungdoms Tid 1827–1856'' and ''Minder fra min Skolemestertid 1844–1873''. Hertzberg was a fellow of the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters ( da, Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab, DKNVS) is a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The s ...

from 1883, and an honorary member of Centralforeningen and Animal Protection Norway. He was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1877 and promoted to Commander in 1893. He died in July 1911 in

Kristiania 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hertzberg, Nils Christian Egede 1827 births 1911 deaths People from Ullensvang Civil servants from Bergen People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School University of Oslo alumni Government ministers of Norway Members of the Storting Politicians from Oslo Heads of schools in Norway Norwegian magazine editors Norwegian non-fiction writers Norwegian memoirists Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Academic staff of the Norwegian Military Academy Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Ministers of Education of Norway