Peter Johan Bøyesen (13 January 1799 – 24 November 1867
in volume two of ''Porsgrunns historie'', by Joh. N. Tønnessen. Hosted by Porsgrunn public library.) 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 ...

businessperson and politician.

Personal life

Peter Johan Bøyesen was born in Western

Porsgrund Porsgrund Porcelain Factory (''Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik'', abbreviated PP) is a porcelain flatware company located at Porsgrunn in Telemark county, Norway. History The company's production plant is a popular tourist attraction. The company wa ...

1799 as the son of shipmaster and boat pilot Peter Bøye Larsen.Nye veier, nye menn, nye kriser
in volume two of ''Porsgrunns historie'', by Joh. N. Tønnessen. Hosted by Porsgrunn public library. One of his sons, named Peter, became a shipbuilder.

Career

Bøyesen started his career as a shipmaster and trader. He had been a trainee with

Hans Eleonardus Møller, Sr. Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

at an early age, from 1813, and then bought his first ship in 1818, sailing from Porsgrund to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. Timber and iron were traded for grain. While losing the ship at sea, he replaced it by investing in new ships. The trade routes were later expanded to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. In 1834 he acquired burghership, and expanded his business as a grain and timber merchant and ship-owner. Bøyesen was active in the local community. First, he was a benefactor for the literary circle ''Porsgrunds Læseselskab'', founded by Jens Gasmann in 1833. For the purpose of general enlightenment, Bøyesen founded the ''Henrik Wergelands Almuebogsamling'', a public library.Byens liv. Foreninger, organisasjoner og selskaper. Aviser og politisk interesse
in volume two of ''Porsgrunns historie'', by Joh. N. Tønnessen. Hosted by Porsgrunn public library. Of the latter organization he was the first chairman of the board. He was a board member of the first

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

society in Porsgrund, named the ''Porsgrunds Forening mod Brændevins-Drik'', founded in December 1845 with former mayor Ole Hersted Schjøtt as chairman. He was also a founder and board member of the local seamen's society, one of the first of its kind in Norway. In 1843 he proposed establishing the local savings bank. Skipsassuranse og banker
in volume two of ''Porsgrunns historie'', by Joh. N. Tønnessen. Hosted by Porsgrunn public library. This, however, was done in the role of politician. Bøyesen was elected mayor of

municipality for the years 1843, 1844 and 1846,Ordførere og viceordførere
by Carl Lund. Hosted by Porsgrunn public library. having first been elected to the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

in 1842. Bøyesen was then elected to the

Norwegian Parliament 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 base ...

in 1845, 1854, 1857 and 1859/60, representing the constituency

.Peter Johan Boyesen born 1799
- Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD) In 1848 he had been elected deputy representative from the constituency ''Porsgrund og Brevig''. In his political views, he was described by one historian as proto-

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

(political parties did not exist until 1884), having been vocally supported by later Liberal Party founder and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Johan Sverdrup Johan Sverdrup (30 July 1816 – 17 February 1892) was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party. He was the first prime minister of Norway after the introduction of parliamentarism and served as the 4th prime minister of Norway. Sverdrup was ...

in their common opposition of Conservative

Anton Martin Schweigaard Anton Martin Schweigaard (11 April 1808 – 1 February 1870) was a Norwegian educator, jurist, economist and member of the Norwegian Parliament. Background Schweigaard was born at Kragerø in Telemark, Norway. He was one of three children of J� ...

during the 1860 debate on the Merchant Shipping Act (''Sjøfartsloven''). Bøyesen went bankrupt in July 1867, following general economic hardships. The city had seen only one bankruptcy in 1866, but 32 from 1868 to 1871. This depression was partially caused by the difficult transition from

wooden Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...

steam ship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ca ...

s. Four months after his bankruptcy, Bøyesen died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boeyesen, Peter 1799 births 1867 deaths Politicians from Porsgrunn Mayors of places in Telemark Members of the Storting Norwegian businesspeople in shipping Norwegian temperance activists