Poul Christian (von) Stemann (14 April 1764 – 25 November 1855) was a Danish state official and leading minister from 1827 to 1848.

Early life and education

Born in Copenhagen, Stemann belonged to an old civil service family of German origin that has created many Danish local officials.

Career

As a young man he was relatively liberal, later becoming a deep conservative. As the son of a supporter of

Ove Høegh-Guldberg Ove Høegh-Guldberg (born ''Guldberg''; 1 September 1731 – 7 February 1808) was a Danish statesman, historian, and ''de facto'' prime minister of Denmark during the reign of the mentally unstable King Christian VII. Biography Guldberg ...

, his early state career was hampered for political reasons. Instead, he made himself a career in the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

besides establishing himself as a squire. Between 1798 and 1827, he was ''amtman'' (prefect) of

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

and showed himself a very industrious, masterful and active local official who attracted the attention of King Frederick VI. In 1827, Stemann was appointed President of Danish Chancellery (Home Office) and Minister of Juridical Affairs and from then he was for twenty years the last ”prime minister” of

Danish absolutism The history of Denmark as a unified kingdom began in the 8th century, but historic documents describe the geographic area and the people living there—the Danes—as early as 500 AD. These early documents include the writings of Jordanes and ...

(though not officially presiding in the State Council until 1842). His work fell in an age of growing opposition and reform demands of which he (like his royal employer) clearly disapproved. He reluctantly accepted the creation of Assemblies of Estates in the 1830s, but tried to limit their influence as much as possible, counteracting the moderate conservative wing of the government as well as concessions to the liberal opposition. To the latter Stemann stood as the reactionary, an unimaginative and authoritarian

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", ...

himself. Later historians have varied this verdict but on the whole he is still regarded as a very traditional representative of the non-enlightened absolutism regarding the squires as the foundation of the state. He was also an enemy of the

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

movement but it is still discussed whether this was due to his national feelings or to his disapproval of all opposition. During the reign of

Christian VIII Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederi ...

, Stemann continued in office but with less influence. At the fall of absolutism in March 1848, he was dismissed together with the other cabinet ministers, which marked the end of his direct political power. However, for some years he played a minor role behind the scenes as a councillor of conservative politicians.

Property

He owned Benzonslund from 1791 to 1800 and

Valbygård Valbygård is a manor house and estate located four kilometres northwest of Slagelse, Denmark. Created by Joachim Castenschiold in 1874 from land that had previously belonged to Antvorskov Abbey, the estate was in 1846 acquired by August Willads ...

from 1805 to 1846.

Personal life

He married Cathrine Elisabeth Wasserfall (1767 - 29 August 1850) in 1788. They had three children: Catharina Elisabeth Stemann (1789-1870), Christian Ludvig von Stemann (1791-1857) and Christiane Louise Stemann (1807-1837).

References

*''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon'', vol. 14, 1983. *''Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon'', vol. XXII, 1927. *Svend Thorsen: ''De danske ministerier'', vol 1., Copenh. 1967. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stemann, Poul Christian 1764 births 1855 deaths 19th-century Danish people Government ministers of Denmark Politicians from Copenhagen