Christian August Selmer (16 November 1816 – 1 September 1889) 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 ...

lawyer and a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

. He served as a member of the Norwegian

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, Minister of Defense and Minister of Justice. He was the 2nd

prime minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...

in Christiana between 1880 and 1884.

Background

Selmer was born at Fredrikshald in

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side ...

, Norway and grew up 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 mun ...

. He was the son of Johan Christian Selmer (1783-1830) and Johanne Ditlevine Michea Vibe (1788-1879). Selmer studied law at the University of Christiania from 1837, achieved his legal degree in 1842. In 1842, he was magistrate in Sør-Hedmark. In 1848, he was appointed law clerk in the office of attorney P.A. Midelfart in Drammen. In 1850, he took over the firm and developed an extensive legal practice. He served as a stipendiary magistrate in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konne ...

from 1862 until 1874. In 1848 he married Anna Sylvia Leganger (1825–1896).

Career

Selmer served as deputy to Parliament for

from 1871 until 1873 and permanent representative from 1874 until 1876. In 1874 joined the cabinet of Prime Minister

Frederik Stang Frederik Stang (4 March 1808 – 8 June 1884) was a Norwegian lawyer, public servant, and politician who served as Norway's 1st prime minister in Christiana. Stang was born on the Nordre Rostad farm at Stokke in Vestfold, Norway. He was the so ...

. Following the surprising resignation of

as Prime Minister in September 1880, King

Oscar II of Sweden 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 Norwe ...

had Selmer in mind as Norwegian Prime Minister. Selmer's record as Prime Minister was characterized by conflict over whether members of the cabinet were required to appear in Parliament to answer questions. He influenced King Oscar II to reject efforts at a compromise, setting the stage for impeachment proceedings. In April 1883 the members of the lower house (''Odelsting'') decided to impeach the members of the Selmer cabinet. Selmer was subsequently

convicted In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is co ...

under articles of impeachment and resigned as Prime Minister on March 1, 1884. Subsequently, Selmer became acting General Auditor (''Generalauditør'') of the

Royal Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

and

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

, He held this office until his death at

Bygdøy Bygdøy or Bygdø is a peninsula situated on the western side of Oslo, Norway. Administratively, Bygdøy belongs to the borough of Frogner; historically Bygdøy was part of Aker Municipality and became part of Oslo in 1948. Bygdøy is a popul ...

in Aker during September 1889. He was buried at

Vår Frelsers gravlund The Cemetery of Our Saviour ( no, Vår Frelsers gravlund) is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It is located adjacent to the older Old Aker Cemetery and was created in 1808 as a result of the great ...

in Kristiania.

References

External links

Biography at the Norwegian National Government website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selmer, Christian August 1816 births 1889 deaths People from Halden University of Oslo alumni 19th-century Norwegian lawyers Prime Ministers of Norway Government ministers of Norway Presidents of the Norwegian Red Cross Members of the Storting 19th-century Norwegian politicians Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour Ministers of Justice of Norway Defence ministers of Norway