Carl Christian Berner (20 November 1841 – 25 May 1918) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

politician for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He was member of the Council of State Division 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 ...

1891–92, and Norwegian Minister of Education and Church Affairs 1892–93.

Background

Berner was born 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 ...

, Norway. He was the son of Oluf Steen Julius Berner (1809–55) and Marie Louise Falkenberg (1816–41). He studied science and mathematics before he started working as a teacher at several different schools in Oslo. Berner studied at the Royal Frederick University (now

University of Oslo 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 ...

) where he earned his cand.philol. in 1861. In 1874 he was appointed director of the newly established polytechnical school of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

; a position he held until 1891.

Political career

In Bergen he started his political career and in 1883 he was elected to the county council. In 1885 he was elected as a member of 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 ...

. He had a brilliant career in the Parliament, and in his second period he was appointed President of the lower house (''Odelsting''). As the President of the

Odelsting 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 ...

, he was central in the conflict leading to Prime Minister

Emil Stang Emil Stang (14 June 1834 – 4 July 1912) was a Norwegian jurist and politician. He served as the 5th prime minister of Norway from 1889–1891 and again from 1893–1895. He also served as the first leader of the Conservative Party from 1884–18 ...

s stepping down from office. In 1891 he stepped up as Minister of Education and Church Affairs under the government of

Johannes Steen Johannes Wilhelm Christian Steen (22 July 1827 - 1 April 1906) was a Norwegian statesman and educator who served as the 6th prime minister of Norway from 1891 to 1893 and from 1898 to 1902. Background He was born in Christiania (now Oslo, Nor ...

. Between 1895–03, Berner represented Bergen as a member of Parliament, and between 1903-1909 he represented

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...

. He was appointed President of the Norwegian parliament in 1898—a position he held until 1908. He played an important role in the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905. In 1909, Berner did not get elected to Parliament from the district of

Nedre Romerike Nedre Romerike is the lower (southern) part of the Romerike traditional district in Akershus, Norway. It consists of the municipalities Fet, Lørenskog, Nittedal, Rælingen, Skedsmo, Sørum and Aurskog-Høland. It make up the area served by Nedre ...

. He gradually stepped down from his political offices, though he did hold several administrative and representative offices. In 1884 he was a co-founder of the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights ( no, italic=no, Norsk Kvinnesaksforening; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's and girls' rights organization and works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights thr ...

Personal life

He was married in 1868 to Olivia Mathilde Jacobine Berner (1841-1919). They were the parents of the architects Jørgen Haslef Berner (1873-1955) and Carl Berner (1877-1943).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berner, Carl Christian 1841 births 1918 deaths Politicians from Oslo University of Oslo alumni Norwegian educators Government ministers of Norway Presidents of the Storting Members of the Storting Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people Ministers of Education of Norway