Wolfgang Wenzel von Haffner (23 November 1806 – 11 September 1892) was a Norwegian naval officer and politician.

Early life and career

He was born in Christiania in 1806, as the son of Lieutenant Colonel Johan Friedrich Wilhelm Haffner and Sara Vilhelmine, née Hagerup. In 1834 in

Ullensaker Ullensaker is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality i ...

he married Louise Claudia le Normand Malthe (1806, Solum – 1872, Kristiania). His career began in the navy. He became Sub-Lieutenant (

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

or ''fenrik'') in 1824, and Lieutenant in 1830. From 1839 to 1848 he had an interlude as a private tutor in

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

and mathematics to the three eldest sons of Crown Prince Oscar of Sweden, namely

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, Gustaf and Oscar. After this period, Haffner returned to the navy in 1848. He was promoted to Commodore in 1860.

Political career

In 1861 he entered politics. He was appointed chief of the Ministry of the Navy and Postal Affairs in December 1861, being the fourth person to hold that position that year. In October 1863 he left to serve as a member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm. The next year he returned as Minister of the Navy and Postal Affairs, only to return to Stockholm in 1867. He returned one final time to the Ministry of the Navy and Postal Affairs to head it from June 1868 to March 1869. During this final period, the

Parliament of Norway 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 ...

became severely disappointed with monetary amounts granted to enlargement of Karljohansvern. Johan Sverdrup set forward a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

, and this motion passed in what has been called a "foreplay of

parliamentarism A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

". In May 1875, July 1875 and 1881 King Oscar II (whom Haffner had formerly tutored) appointed Haffner an acting member of the interim governments in Stockholm. Such interim governments were established when the King travelled abroad. On 21 March 1884, when

Selmer's Cabinet The Selmer Cabinet governed Norway between 11 October 1880 and 1 March 1884. It was led by Christian Selmer. All but three of the cabinet's ministers were impeached after a dispute about whether or not the cabinet should be required to meet in the ...

fell due to the impeachment trial, Haffner was again named a member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm. He was also appointed acting Prime Minister in Stockholm, as the previous Prime Minister in Stockholm, Otto Richard Kierulf, went down in the Selmer impeachment case. Over Haffner, two people served as acting Prime Ministers in Kristiania: Ole Bachke from 11 to 29 March and

Niels Mathias Rye Niels Mathias Rye (24 August 1824 – 6 February 1905) was a Norwegian politician. Biography Niels Rye was born at Bø i Telemark in 1824, as the son of Lieutenant Colonel Johan Mathias Rye (1793–1860) and Christiane Elisabeth Sparre, née Gasman ...

from 29 March to 3 April 1884. On 3 April a new cabinet, Schweigaard's Cabinet, was finally constituted, and Haffner was relieved of both his positions. The Schweigaard's Cabinet lasted only two months, being replaced by the Liberal Sverdrup's Cabinet on 26 June. Haffner died in his birth city in 1892. He was buried at Vår Frelsers gravlund.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haffner, Wolfgang Wenzel von 1806 births 1892 deaths Politicians from Oslo Royal Norwegian Navy personnel Government ministers of Norway Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour 19th-century Norwegian politicians Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword