Peder Anker (8 December 1749 – 10 December 1824) was a prominent
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 ...
landowner, businessman and politician. He served as the
prime minister of Norway
The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...
from 1814 until 1822.
Biography
Peder Anker was a member of a Danish-Norwegian noble family. He was born in Christiania, the son of the wealthy merchant
Christian Ancher. He had three brothers Iver (1745–1772),
Bernt Bernt is a Scandinavian variant of the German masculine given name Berend, which is the Low German form of Bernard (Bernhard). The name Bernhard means "strong bear" (from Old German ''bero'', "bear", and ''harti'', "strong"). Its use in Sweden was ...
(1746–1805) and Jess (1753–1798). Following education in
Christiania and a year as student at the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
, Peder Anker and his brothers spent five years traveling with private tutors in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. They were pupils of the noted Swedish naturalist
Carl von Linné
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
at
Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...
in 1764. He was granted Danish nobility in 1778 and was awarded the title of General War Commissioner in 1788.
Peder Anker bought
Bogstad Manor with additional forest land and extended the existing house to make a splendid mansion. Bogstad had for about 100 years belonged to members of the Leuch family, his grandmother's family. He also acquired iron mines and foundries, notably
Bærums Verk
Bærums Verk is a village in Bærum in Akershus, Norway, with a population of about 8000. It is located on both sides of the river Lomma.
History
Iron ore was found in the areas now known as Kirkerud and Eineåsen in Bærum in 1603 and 1604, a ...
and
Hakadal Verk
Hakadal is a village in the northern part of Nittedal municipality in Akershus, Norway.
The village and parish is the site of Hakadal Church (''Hakadal Kirke''). Hakadal Church dates to around 1610 and was originally constructed in a rectang ...
. The
Vækerø manor (''Vækerø gård'') near Oslo was established as a port for the export of lumber. Anker rose to become one of Norway's richest individuals.
Peder Anker was a delegate to the
Norwegian Constituent Assembly
The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised th ...
at
Eidsvoll
Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.
General information
E ...
in 1814, representing
Akershus Amt. He distinguished himself as a "unionist", whose members opposed complete independence for Norway. On 18 November 1814 he was appointed Prime Minister of Norway to Stockholm after the
Union between Sweden and Norway
Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Swede ...
was established, and remained in this office until 30 June 1822.
Honors
Peder Anker was decorated with the
Royal Order of the Seraphim
The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) 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 P ...
and the
Order of Charles XIII
The Royal Order of Charles XIII ( sv, Kungliga Carl XIII:s orden) is a Swedish order of merit, founded by King Charles XIII in 1811.
Membership
The Lord and Master of the Order is the King of Sweden, currently King Carl XVI Gustaf. Membership o ...
. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the
Order of 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 ...
in 1812. In 1815, he was elected a member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...
.
Legacy
Several roads in Norway have been named in honor of Peder Anker including ''Peder Ankers vei'' in
Jar
A jar is a rigid, cylindrical or slightly conical container, typically made of glass, ceramic, or plastic, with a wide mouth or opening that can be closed with a lid, screw cap, lug cap, cork stopper, roll-on cap, crimp-on cap, press-on c ...
, ''Peder Anker gate'' in
Halden
Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...
, and ''Peder Ankers Plass'' in
Oslo
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 ...
.
''Peder Ankers Plass i Oslo'' (norskegater.com)
/ref>
References
Other sources
* Frydenlund, Bård (2009) ''Stormannen Peder Anker : en biografi'' (Oslo: Aschehoug)
Government Administration Services ''Peder Anker''
Related Reading
Holmøyvik, Eirik (2012) ''Maktfordeling og 1814'' (Bergen, Fagbokforlaget
Fagbokforlaget (literally, 'the textbook press') is a Norwegian publishing company that publishes nonfiction works and teaching aids for instruction at various levels: preschool, primary school, secondary school, adult education, and higher educ ...
)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anker, Peder
Fathers of the Constitution of Norway
Prime Ministers of Norway
Presidents of the Storting
Norwegian expatriates in Sweden
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog
University of Copenhagen alumni
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Knights of the Order of Charles XIII
1749 births
1824 deaths
Peder
Peter is a common masculine given name. It is derived directly from Greek , ''Petros'' (an invented, masculine form of Greek ''petra,'' the word for "rock" or "stone"), which itself was a translation of Aramaic ''Kefa'' ("stone, rock"), the new na ...
Norwegian landowners
18th-century Norwegian businesspeople
19th-century Norwegian businesspeople