Ole Anton Qvam (5 August 1834 – 8 July 1904) was a Norwegian lawyer and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician, who was the

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 ...

minister of Justice 1891–1893, 1898–1899 and 1900–1902, minister of the Interior 1899–1900, as well as head of the ministry of Auditing, ministry of Agriculture and ministry of Justice in 1900, and

Norwegian prime minister 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 Stockholm 1902–1903.

Biography

Ole Anton Qvam was born in Bolsøy in today's Molde in

Romsdal Romsdal is a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named after ...

, Norway. He was the son of Ole Larsen Qvam (1782–1844) and Johanne Pedersdatter Ryen (1797–1850). Qvam worked as a teacher in Christiania, Arendal and Setesdal. He began studying law 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 became cand.jur. 1862. He founded the Sparbu and Egge savings bank in 1872, where he was chairman of the board 1873–1886. Mayor of Egge from 1869 to 1885. Qvam was elected to the Storting for Nordre Trondhjems ( Nord-Trøndelag) from 1874 to 1885 and for Søndre Trondhjems ( Sør-Trøndelag) from 1885 to 1888. He served as president of the Odelstinget from 1886 to 1888. Qvam was Minister of Justice in the first government of Johannes Steen from March 6, 1891 to May 1, 1893, and later also Justice Minister of Johannes Steen's second government from February 17, 1898 to April 1899. On April 21, 1902, Qvam became Norway's Prime Minister in Stockholm during the first government of

Otto Blehr Otto Albert Blehr (17 February 1847 – 13 July 1927) was a Norwegian attorney and newspaper editor. He served as a politician representing the Liberal Party. He was the 8th prime minister of Norway from 1902 to 1903 during the Union between Swede ...

Personal life

He was married to feminist pioneer

Fredrikke Marie Qvam Fredrikke Marie Qvam (née Gram) (31 May 184310 September 1938) was a Norwegian humanitarian leader, feminist, liberal politician and the wife of Prime Minister Ole Anton Qvam. She was the founder (1896) of the Norwegian Women's Public Health Ass ...

(1843-1938) who was President 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 ...

and founded the Norwegian Women's Public Health Association. Both he and his wife were co-founders of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights in 1884. He retired from government during 1903. He died at Egge on July 8, 1904.

References

1834 births 1904 deaths People from Molde University of Oslo alumni Norwegian educators 19th-century Norwegian lawyers Government ministers of Norway Members of the Storting Ministers of Agriculture and Food of Norway 19th-century Norwegian politicians Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people Ministers of Justice of Norway {{Norway-politician-1830s-stub