Peder Anker (8 December 1749 – 10 December 1824) was a prominent Norwegian landowner, businessman and politician. He served as the prime minister of Norway from 1814 until 1822.

Biography

Peder Anker was a member of a Danish-Norwegian noble family. He was born in Christiania, the son of the wealthy merchant

Christian Ancher Christian Ancher (27 July 1711 – 9 January 1765) was a Norwegian merchant, timber trader and ship owner. Biography Ancher was born in Søndre Land in Oppland, Norway. He was the son of Bernt Ancher (1680–1724) and Karen Tanche (1685– ...

. He had three brothers Iver (1745–1772), Bernt (1746–1805) and Jess (1753–1798). Following education in Christiania and a year as student at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

, Peder Anker and his brothers spent five years traveling with private tutors in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. They were pupils of the noted Swedish naturalist Carl von Linné at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

in 1764. He was granted Danish nobility in 1778 and was awarded the title of General War Commissioner in 1788. Peder Anker bought

Bogstad Bogstad Manor (''Bogstad gård'') is a historic Manor House and former estate located in the borough of Vestre Aker in Oslo, Norway. It is situated in the northwestern part of Oslo. Background Bogstad has its origin in a farm which was located ...

Manor with additional forest land and extended the existing house to make a splendid mansion. Bogstad had for about 100 years belonged to members of the Leuch family, his grandmother's family. He also acquired iron mines and foundries, notably

Bærums Verk Bærums Verk is a village in Bærum in Akershus, Norway, with a population of about 8000. It is located on both sides of the river Lomma. History Iron ore was found in the areas now known as Kirkerud and Eineåsen in Bærum in 1603 and 1604, a ...

and

Hakadal Verk Hakadal is a village in the northern part of Nittedal municipality in Akershus, Norway. The village and parish is the site of Hakadal Church (''Hakadal Kirke''). Hakadal Church dates to around 1610 and was originally constructed in a rectang ...

. The Vækerø manor (''Vækerø gård'') near Oslo was established as a port for the export of lumber. Anker rose to become one of Norway's richest individuals. Peder Anker was a delegate to the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised th ...

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information E ...

in 1814, representing

Akershus Amt Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

. He distinguished himself as a "unionist", whose members opposed complete independence for Norway. On 18 November 1814 he was appointed Prime Minister of Norway to Stockholm after the

Union between Sweden and Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Swede ...

was established, and remained in this office until 30 June 1822.

Honors

Peder Anker was decorated with the Royal Order of the Seraphim and the Order of Charles XIII. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog in 1812. In 1815, he was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

Legacy

Several roads in Norway have been named in honor of Peder Anker including ''Peder Ankers vei'' in

Jar A jar is a rigid, cylindrical or slightly conical container, typically made of glass, ceramic, or plastic, with a wide mouth or opening that can be closed with a lid, screw cap, lug cap, cork stopper, roll-on cap, crimp-on cap, press-on cap, ...

, ''Peder Anker gate'' in

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...

, and ''Peder Ankers Plass'' in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

.''Peder Ankers Plass i Oslo'' (norskegater.com)
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References

Other sources

* Frydenlund, Bård (2009) ''Stormannen Peder Anker : en biografi'' (Oslo: Aschehoug)
Government Administration Services ''Peder Anker''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anker, Peder Fathers of the Constitution of Norway Prime ministers of Norway Presidents of the Storting Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog University of Copenhagen alumni Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Knights of the Order of Charles XIII 1749 births 1824 deaths

Peder Peter is a common masculine given name. It is derived directly from Greek , ''Petros'' (an invented, masculine form of Greek ''petra,'' the word for "rock" or "stone"), which itself was a translation of Aramaic ''Kefa'' ("stone, rock"), the new na ...