Christian Homann Schweigaard (14 October 1838 – 24 March 1899) 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 ...

politician of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. He served as the 3rd

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

for two months in 1884, a period after the impeachment of his predecessor Christian August Selmer called

Schweigaard's Ministerium Schweigaard's Ministerium, often referred to as the April Ministerium, was an interlude lasting from 3 April to 26 June 1884, following the impeachment of the Selmer cabinet, and prior to Sverdrup In oceanography, the sverdrup (symbol: Sv) is a ...

. Schweigaard held a number of key positions, including Chairman of the

from 1889–1891 and 1893–1896, as well as Parliamentary Leader from 1889–1891 and 1894–1895. He was

Emil Stang Emil Stang (14 June 1834 – 4 July 1912) was a Norwegian jurist and politician. He served as the 5th prime minister of Norway from 1889–1891 and again from 1893–1895. He also served as the first leader of the Conservative Party from 1884–18 ...

's indispensable partner, leading the Conservative Party's policy and organizational development in the 1880s and 1890s.

Background

Schweigaard was born in Christiania (now Oslo, Norway). He was the son of

Anton Martin Schweigaard Anton Martin Schweigaard (11 April 1808 – 1 February 1870) was a Norwegian educator, jurist, economist and member of the Norwegian Parliament. Background Schweigaard was born at Kragerø in Telemark, Norway. He was one of three children of ...

and Caroline Magnine Homan. He took his final exams in 1855 and then studied law. He studied law for a year in London and Paris becoming a lawyer in 1863.

Career

In 1864, he appeared as a lawyer before the

Supreme Court of Norway The Supreme Court of Norway (Norwegian Bokmål: ''(Norges) Høyesterett''; Norwegian Nynorsk: ''(Noregs) Høgsterett''; lit. ‘Highest Court’) was established in 1815 on the basis of section 88 in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway, whi ...

. He served as a Member of Norwegian Parliament from 1886 to 1897. Schweigaard was a member of the Royal Commission on the enlargement of Christiania in 1873 and a Member of the Parliamentary Tax Commission in 1877. Schweigaard served as Minister of the Audit from 1880 until 1882, as Minister of Justice from September to October 1881. He also served as a member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm from September 1882 to August 1883. He was the Finance Minister from September 1883 to April 1884. After Selmer's impeachment,

was commissioned to form a new government, but the Conservative Party's parliamentary group could not spare Stang's parliamentary talent, and it was therefore Schweigaard's task to lead the April Ministry, which came to be called

. The government, in which Schweigaard served as Prime Minister and as head of the Audit Department, took office on 3 April 1884. Threats of a new impeachment, a divided Conservative Party, a conflict of Swedish public opinion, and an uncertain King Oscar II eventually led to Schweigaard's resignation on 31 May, which was granted on 26 June 1884. Schweigaard was elected as the Member of Parliament from

Holmestrand is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Holmestrand. The town was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). ...

1886–1897. He was

Odelsting 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 bas ...

presidential and parliamentary leader from 1889-1891 and 1894–1895. Schweigaard was elected to the Christiania City Council 1873–1880 and 1885–1894 and was Mayor of Christiania from 1879–1880 and 1885–1888. He was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1889–1891 and 1893–1896.

Personal life

Schweigaard was married in 1867 to Thea Meyer (1846-1922). He was appointed Knight of the 1st Class Order of St. Olav in 1880 and commander of the 1st class 1890, he was commander of the Swedish

Nordstjärneorden The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of th ...

. Schweigaard died during 1899 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 Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schweigaard, Christian Homann 1838 births 1899 deaths Prime Ministers of Norway Government ministers of Norway Mayors of Oslo 19th-century Norwegian politicians Ministers of Finance of Norway Leaders of the Conservative Party (Norway) Ministers of Justice of Norway