Oscar Robert Themptander (14 February 1844 – 30 January 1897) was a Swedish politician and public official who was
Prime Minister of Sweden
The prime minister ( sv, statsminister ; literally translating to "Minister of State") is the head of government of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subj ...
from 1884 to 1888 during the reign of King
Oscar II
Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905.
Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...
, and Governor of Stockholm County from 1888 to 1896. He was also Minister for Finance.
At the age of 40 years and 92 days, Themptander is the
youngest person to become Prime Minister in
Swedish history
The history of Sweden can be traced back to the melting of the Northern Polar Ice Caps. From as early as 12000 BC, humans have inhabited this area. Throughout the Stone Age, between 8000 BC and 6000 BC, early inhabitants used s ...
. His death at the age of 52 years and 351 days makes him also the youngest prime minister at his death.
Biography
Robert Themptander was born 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 ...
, the son of
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
Nils Themptander and wife Adolphina Laurent. After law studies in
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
and a highly successful career in the civil service he became in 1879 a member of the Second Chamber. There from the beginning he was a member of the centre party, a party loyal to then incumbent government. Gradually he began move orientate towards the agrarian party. He married in 1874 with Frida Dahlberg, with whom he had three children. In the government of
Arvid Posse
Count Arvid Rutger Fredriksson Posse (15 February 1820 – 24 April 1901) was the prime minister of Sweden from 1880 to 1883.
Family background and education
Posse was born at Rosendal manor in Malmöhus County, as the son of Governor Count Fred ...
in 1880, he became Minister without Portfolio and, in 1881 Minister of Finance. He stayed on in this office in three years before he became Prime Minister at the age of 40. Only
Louis De Geer had become Prime Minister at a younger age.
Through good contacts in different parliamentary positions he was successful in breaking the political gridlock concerning the defense question. This issue was finally achieved in the year of 1885. He was less successful in his goal to protect the free trade system which Louis De Geer and Minister of Finance
Gripenstedt
Baron Johan August Gripenstedt (11 August 1813 – 13 July 1874) was a Swedish businessman and politician. During his political career, Gripenstedt was a member of the Swedish Estates Assembly (as a representative of the nobility) from 1840 to 184 ...
had instituted during their time in office. This political economy had with many good benefits contributed to the modernization of Sweden. As
food prices
Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food.
Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing an ...
on the world markets sank because of increased imports from all of North America, demand increased for high
tariffs
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and polic ...
to protect Swedish interests.
Eventually Themptander was constrained to retire, yet not through defeat in the 1887 election, when his resistance towards the new duty-friendly winds of opinion meant more election debate than before. Riksdag candidates were compelled to answer about which views they had, if they were Free Traders or Protectionists. This was seen by many at the time as uncommon. Lifelong members of the Riksdag had previously been elected on the basis of their high personal reputation and confidence. The Free Traders won in Stockholm and gained twenty-two parliamentary seats. But it appeared that one member had not paid his taxes and therefore the whole list was declared invalid. Lifelong members of the Riksdag who were free trade supporters were replaced with tariff supporters. Therefore, the Second Chamber returned a protectionist majority.
Themptander attempted to have King Oscar II announce a new election, but the King denied the request. Then Themptander resigned as Prime Minister. From 1888 to 1896 he was Stockholm County Governor and afterwards director for ''Trafik AB Grängesberg–Oxelösund''.
Themptander was a member of the men's association
Sällskapet Idun
is a Swedish association for men, founded in 1862 in Stockholm.
Founding
Sällskapet Idun traces its founding back to 22 November 1862 at the Hotel Fenix in Stockholm, Sweden. Its founders consisted of Edward Bergh and Johan Fredrik Höckert ...
.
Robert Themptander died on 30 January 1897 in Stockholm.
References
''This article draws heavily on the
corresponding article in the
Swedish-language Wikipedia, which was accessed in the version of November 11, 2005.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Themptander, Robert
1844 births
1897 deaths
Politicians from Stockholm
Prime Ministers of Sweden
Governors of Stockholm County
County governors of Sweden
Swedish Ministers for Finance
Uppsala University alumni
19th-century Swedish politicians
Members of the Första kammaren
Knights of the Order of Charles XIII