Jørgen Henrik Meinich (24 March 1820 – 8 September 1911) was a Norwegian jurist and industrialist. He was born in

Søndre Land Søndre Land is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Land, Norway, Land. The administrative centre of the municipality is the v ...

as a son of stipendiary magistrate Jens Christian Meinich (1787–1855) and Lisa Berg (1795–1824). He was a brother of Hans Thomas Meinich. In November 1847 in Christiania he married Claudine Birgitte Gulbranson (1823–1852), a daughter of Hans Gulbranson and half sister of Carl August Gulbranson. They adopted

Jens Bratlie Jens Kristian Meinich Bratlie (17 January 1856 – 15 September 1939) was a Norwegian attorney and military officer. He served as an elected official representing the Conservative Party. He was the prime minister of Norway from 1912 to 1913. Bi ...

. He grew up at the manor Kronviken. He attended school in

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

and took the

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 ...

in 1839, then studied law to graduate with the

cand.jur. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree in 1845. After a period as deputy judge in Ringerike, he worked in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

until 1853. He settled at the property

Bjølsen Bjølsen is a neighbourhood in the Sagene borough in central-northern Oslo, Norway. Originally a farm in the former Aker municipality, it was incorporated into Christiania (now Oslo) in 1878. It has been sawmill and mill operation as far back a ...

by the river

Akerselva The Akerselva or Akerselven () is a river which flows through Oslo, Norway. It starts at Maridalsvannet in Oslomarka, and traverses the boroughs of Nordre Aker, Sagene, Grünerløkka, central Oslo and Grønland, finally ending at Paulsenkai ...

. He was a pioneer in the development of the Norwegian

wood processing Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing. The major wo ...

industry and the use of

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

in the industry. He established Norway's second

pulp mill A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or ...

, Bjørsheim Træsliiberie, in 1865. He was a co-founder and first chairman of the association Akerselvens Brugseierforening from 1866 to 1891. He was also a joint owner of the companies Bentse Brug and Nydalens Compagnie. In Nydalens Compagnie he was a board member from 1868 to his death 1911, serving as chair since 1896. Outside of the Aker district, he was the first chairman of Ekers og Giethuus Papirfabriker when it was established as a joint stock company in 1873, and served as such until his death. Meinich also chaired

Norges Hypotekbank Norges Hypotekbank is a defunct Norway, Norwegian etat, government bank, created by law on September 18, 1851. Its function was to help commerce, and primarily the agriculture, agricultural sector, through cheap mortgages. The seat of the bank wa ...

from 1885 to 1908, was a board member of the

Norwegian State Railways 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 *Norwegian language, including the two ...

and was active in the

Royal Norwegian Society for Development The Royal Norwegian Society for Development (, also known as ''Norges Vel'' 'Norwegian Development', originally called ''Selskabet for Norges Vel'' 'Norwegian Society for Development') is a general development organization established in 1809 that ...

. He was mayor of Aker from 1875 to 1877, and when his district was incorporated in the city

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

in 1878 he became a city council member. He was decorated Commander of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; 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, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

(1897) and the Danish

Order of Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known as ''White Knights'' t ...

, and Knight of the Swedish

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

. He died in

in September 1911, 91 years old, and was buried at

Vår Frelsers gravlund The Cemetery of Our Saviour () 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 famine and cholera epidemi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meinich, Joergen 1820 births 1911 deaths People from Søndre Land University of Oslo alumni Norwegian jurists Norwegian civil servants Norwegian businesspeople Mayors of places in Akershus Politicians from Aker Politicians from Oslo Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour