Johannes Wilhelm Christian Steen (22 July 1827 - 1 April 1906) 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 ...

statesman and educator who served as the 6th

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 ...

from 1891 to 1893 and from 1898 to 1902.

Background

He was born in Christiania (now Oslo, Norway). He grew up in Vesteraalen as the son of John Svaboe Steen (1798– 1872), a judge and member of Parliament, and Christine Fleischer (1805–1851). His brother Frederik Steen was also a member of Parliament. He took his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

at Tromsø in 1844. From 1844, he was a student 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 received his cand.philol. in 1848. Over the next 42 years, Steen combined his profession as teacher and educationist with a political career. He served as a teacher in Bergen (1850–55) and

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...

(1855–1866). He was mayor of Tromsø (1856–1862) and (1864–1866). From 1866 he was

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Stavanger Cathedral School.

Career

Steen was mayor of Stavanger (1872–1883) and (1885–1890). In 1859 he was first elected member of the Storting for Tromsø. In 1868, Steen was elected to the Storting for Stavanger. From 1871, the Storting became increasingly marked by political debate and struggle between liberal and conservative forces. Steen first served as the President of the lower house (''Odelstinget'') 1871–1873 and 1877–1881. He served as Prime Minister of Norway for two terms. Steen first became Prime Minister from 6 March 1891 – 2 May 1893. In 1894, Steen was re-elected to the Storting from

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. Steen became Prime Minister again from 17 February 1898 – 21 April 1902. Steen's final administration was responsible for the 1902 Land Sales Act, which limited the buying or leasing of state-owned land to fluent Norwegian speakers, barring the

Saami people The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several Ame ...

from the purchase of their traditional hunting and grazing grounds. 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 ...

.Indbydelse til at indtræde i Norsk Kvindesags-Forening stiftet den 28de Juni 1884
" ''

Bergens Tidende ''Bergens Tidende'' is Norway's fifth-largest newspaper, and the country's largest newspaper outside Oslo. ''Bergens Tidende'' is owned by the public company Schibsted ASA. Norwegian owners held a mere 42% of the shares in Schibsted at the end ...

'', 18 November 1884

Personal life

He was married in 1849 to Elise Henriette Stoltenberg (1826–1896). He was made a Knight in the

Order of St Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1887. He died in 1906 at

Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, ...

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

and 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steen, Johannes 1827 births 1906 deaths Schoolteachers from Oslo University of Oslo alumni Presidents of the Storting Members of the Storting Politicians from Tromsø 19th-century Norwegian politicians Prime Ministers of Norway Ministers of Finance of Norway Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people