Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt (27 January 1807 – 10 July 1865) was a Norwegian jurist and politician. He served five terms in 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 ...

, including two years as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. He was also a professor at the

University of Christiania The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

and an Assessor of 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 ...

Personal life

Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt was born on the island St. Thomas, then part of the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colonization of the Americas, Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas ...

. His father, Peter Motzfeldt (1777–1854) was a noted military officer and father of the

Norwegian Constitution nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov , jurisdiction = Kingdom of Norway , date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814 , date_ratified =16 May 1814 , system =Constitutional monarchy , ...

who was stationed on St. Thomas from 1802 to 1809, Ulrik's mother, Ernesta Birgitte Margrethe Stenersen (1789–1848), was the daughter of the B. C. Stenersen,

stipendiary magistrate Stipendiary magistrates were magistrates that were paid for their work (they received a stipend). They existed in the judiciaries of the United Kingdom and those of several former British territories, where they sat in the lowest-level criminal ...

of St. Thomas. Ulrik's younger brother

Ketil Ketil is a Norwegian masculine given name, and may refer to: * Ketil Askildt (1900-1978), Norwegian discus thrower * Ketil Bjørnstad (born 1952), Norwegian pianist * Ketil Flatnose (9th century), Norwegian hersir * Ketil Haugsand (21st century) ...

was also a noted statesman. In addition, their paternal great-grandmother Birgitte Andrea BullGenealogy of Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt
/ref> was a first cousin of Johan Lausen Bull and Norway's first Supreme Court Justice

Johan Randulf Bull Johan Randulf Bull (29 April 1749 – 28 February 1829) was a Norwegian judge. He was born in Stod, as the brother of Johan Lausen Bull. He took the jurist examination in Copenhagen in 1778, and was a member of ''Det Norske Selskab'' there. ...

. Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt married twice. The marriage with his first wife produced two daughters. Their daughter Marie Sophie Erneste married jurist and politician Ulrik Fredrik Christian Arneberg. Motzfeldt later married Anna Pauline Jørgine Birch, and the couple had two sons and one daughter. Their oldest son

Ernst Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975-) ...

became a government minister.

Career

Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt enrolled as a law student in 1823, and graduated with the

cand.jur. Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. ...

degree in 1826. In 1829 he was hired as a lector at the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

(now University of Oslo). He was promoted in 1834, to professor of jurisprudence. His most important publications include ''Den norske Kirkeret'' (1844) and ''Lovgivningen om Odelsretten og Aasædesretten'' (1846). From 1842 Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt also served as a

Assessor. Motzfeldt was elected to the

in 1851, representing the constituency of Smaalenenes Amt (now Østfold). He was re-elected in 1854, but this time representing the city of Christiania (now Oslo). He was then re-elected in 1857, 1859 and finally in 1862.Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt
– Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD) He served as

President of the Storting 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 1857 to 1858, and President of the Lagting from 1859 to 1860. He also served as mayor of Kristiania from 1853 to 1860.Mayors of Oslo and Aker 1837-2007
Oslo municipality.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Motzfeldt, Ulrik Anton 1807 births 1865 deaths People from the Danish West Indies University of Oslo alumni Members of the Storting Presidents of the Storting Østfold politicians Politicians from Oslo Mayors of Oslo Norwegian legal scholars Academic staff of the University of Oslo Supreme Court of Norway justices Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters