Jonas Collett (25 March 1772 – 3 January 1851) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

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 ...

public official, legislator, and statesman. Born on the

Rønnebæksholm Rønnebæksholm is a former manor house located just outside Næstved in south-eastern Denmark. The estate covers 230.5 hectares of land. It was acquired by Næstved Municipality in 1998 and is now run as a cultural centre, hosting a wide range of ...

estate at

Næstved Næstved () is a town in the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five elementary schools - and has at least one of each type of the four ...

in Denmark, he remained in Norway after the termination of the personal union with Denmark in 1814. He was the

First minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of '' ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

(1822-1836).

Background

Collett was born at the family manor house

(''Rønnebæksholm Gods'') in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. He was the son of Johan Collett (1734-1806) and Maureen Elisabeth Jensen (1746-1788). He was educated 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 ...

and graduated in 1791. Educated in the law, he soon entered public service. In 1795, he was appointed Bailiff in

Numedal Numedal () is a valley and a traditional district in Eastern Norway located within the county of Buskerud. It traditionally includes the municipalities Flesberg, Nore og Uvdal and Rollag. Administratively, it now also includes Kongsberg. Geog ...

and later

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...

year. He replaced

Herman Wedel Jarlsberg Count Johan Caspar Herman Wedel Jarlsberg (21 September 1779 – 27 August 1840) was a Norwegian statesman and nobleman. He played an active role in the constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814 and was the first native Norwegian to hold th ...

as acting County Governor of

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardan ...

in 1813 and was succeeded by his brother

Johan Collett Johan Collett (22 March 1775 – 19 June 1827) was a Norwegian politician and public administrator. He served as a member of the Constituent Assembly at Eidsvold in 1814. Background He was born at Rønnebæksholm in Næstved, Denmark, as the yo ...

in 1814.

Political career

Collett was a Member of

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 ...

in 1814, 1818, 1824 and 1827. He played an important role in the events of

Norway in 1814 In 1814, the Kingdom of Norway made a brief and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to regain its independence. While Norway had always legally been a separate kingdom, since the 16th century it had shared a monarch with Denmark; Norway was a subo ...

and became known as one of the "

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 ...

men". Together with

Niels Aall Niels Aall (1 December 1769 – 23 October 1854) was a Norwegian estate owner, businessman and politician. Family Niels Aall was the son of lumber merchant Nicolai Benjamin Aall (1739–98) from Porsgrunn and his wife Amjørg Jørgensdatter ...

, he led the negotiations with

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

general Magnus Björnstjerna which resulted in the

Convention of Moss The Convention of Moss (''Mossekonvensjonen'') was a ceasefire agreement signed on 14 August 1814 between the King of Sweden and the Norwegian government. It followed the Swedish-Norwegian War due to Norway's claim to sovereignty. It also becam ...

. Later, he participated in several government positions. He was a prominent minister and received the post of

when the former First minister

Mathias Sommerhielm Mathias Otto Leth Sommerhielm (22 August 1764 15 November 1827) was a Danish-Norwegian politician who served as the Norwegian prime minister in Stockholm. Biography Mathias Otto Leth Sommerhielm was born in the seaport of Kolding in southern Den ...

left Christiania in 1822. His position made him the most prominent minister, although with political power than that of the Governor of Norway. When governor Baltzar von Platen died in 1829, no new governor was appointed, and Collett subsequently became the highest authority in Norway until he left office in 1836, except for a brief period in 1833 when Crown Prince Oscar was appointed

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

Personal life

He was married in 1797 to Maren Christine Collett (1777-1860), daughter of landowner Peter Collett (1740-1786) and his second wife Johanne Henriche Ancher (1750-1812). He died in Christiania (now Oslo) 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 ...

References

External links

The family tree of Jonas Collett on Geni.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collett, Johan 1772 births 1851 deaths 19th-century Norwegian politicians

Jonas Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States People with the name * Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas * Jonas, one of ...

Ministers of Finance of Norway University of Copenhagen alumni Norwegian people of English descent People from Næstved Municipality Danish emigrants to Norway Ministers of Education of Norway Defence ministers of Norway