Ludvig Meyer (22 April 1861 – 3 January 1938) was a Norwegian barrister, newspaper editor and politician. He belonged to the Norwegian Labour Party 1891 to 1903, and was both party leader, party secretary as well as editor of the party organ ''

Social-Demokraten :''This is about the Swedish newspaper. For the American newspaper see Social-Demokraten (Chicago newspaper). For the Norwegian newspaper see Dagsavisen.'' ''Social-Demokraten'' ("The Social Democrat") was a Swedish daily Social Democratic newsp ...

'' for a period. Before this he had made his mark as the defender of writer

Hans Jæger Hans Henrik Jæger (2 September 1854, Drammen, Norway – 8 February 1910, Oslo) was a Norwegian writer, philosopher and anarchist political activist who was part of the Oslo (then Kristiania)-based bohemian group known as the Kristiania Bohe ...

Biography

Meyer was born in Borre, and was the older brother of Nanna Meyer. He graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1882, and spent his professional life as a barrister, with access to Supreme Court cases, from 1886 to 1936. He became known as the defender of writer

in a high-profile case over censorship. Jæger's book '' Fra Kristiania-Bohêmen'', published on 11 December 1885, was instantly banned by the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

for its indecency, and confiscated by the police. On 24 December a court order for Jæger was issued. In April 1886 he was sentenced to eighty days in jail and ordered to pay of costs. The sentence was appealed, and with Meyer as the defender, the jail sentence was lowered to sixty days. Politically Meyer belonged to 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 ...

in the 1880s,Sørensen, 1984: p. 120 but became disenfranchised with the party during the Hans Jæger case, citing that by censoring the book, the Liberal Party and its associated press did not live up to its name. In 1891 he joined the Norwegian Labour Party. He quickly rose to prominence within the young party; he became party leader in 1897, and the next year he became editor-in-chief of the party organ ''

'' as well as party secretary. He was also a member of

Kristiania 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 ...

city council. In the 1890s Meyer had become wealthy due to

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

speculation. He spent money to prop up both the party newspaper and the party itself. Some within the Labour Party saw the party as being increasingly dependent on Meyer's funding, which led to unrest. When the booming real estate market in Kristiania busted in 1899, Meyer was hit hard. His political position was also affected, and in 1900 he lost the positions as both party leader, party secretary and editor of the party newspaper. When he subsequently left the Labour Party in 1903, this was described as a "

political suicide Political suicide is a concept by which a politician or political party loses widespread support and confidence from the voting public by proposing actions that are seen as unfavourable or that might threaten the status quo. A politician who is se ...

" by some. In 1923 he briefly became a member of the newly founded

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

Historian

Øystein Sørensen Øystein Sørensen (born 17 October 1954) is a Norwegian historian. A professor at the University of Oslo since 1996, he has published several books on the history of ideas, including Norwegian nationalism and national socialism, as well as gener ...

has described Meyer's later life as "vagrant", in the figurative sense.

Works

* ''Tvungen mægling og voldgift'' (1914) * ''Socialistisk beskatning og samfundsordning'' (1917) * ''Kommunisme'' (1930)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Ludvig 1861 births 1938 deaths Norwegian newspaper editors 19th-century Norwegian lawyers Politicians from Oslo Leaders of the Labour Party (Norway) Dagsavisen editors 20th-century Norwegian lawyers