Nils Christian Egede Hertzberg (26 October 1827 – 8 July 1911) was a Norwegian theologian, educator and politician.

Background

He was born in Ullensvang in Hordaland, 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 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 here in 1846. He later graduated from the Royal Frederick University 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 from 1853, and Asker Seminary from 1860. He was an avid outdoorsman, and took further education in 1865 when he attended the Central Gymnastic School. After that he took over the physical education 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 The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports ( no, Norges idrettsforbund og olympiske og paralympiske komité; NIF) is the umbrella organization for sport in Norway. It is the largest volunteering organization in N ...

. 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 Olaus Arvesen (26 September 1830 – 1 July 1917) was a Norwegian educator and politician for the Liberal Party. He was born in Onsøy. He graduated as cand.theol. in 1862, and was influenced by the pastor and educator N. F. S. Grundtvig. While ...

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 was implemented in Norway for the first time. In the

1885 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway in 1885.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 The result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 84 of the 114 seats in the Storting The Stort ...

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 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.

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