Severin Løvenskiold

Severin Løvenskiold
Governor
In office
1841–1856
Monarch King Oscar I
Preceded by Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg
Succeeded by Position abolished.
Prime Minister
In office
1828–1841
Monarch Karl III Johan
Preceded by Mathias Sommerhielm
Succeeded by Frederik Due
Personal details
Born (1777-02-07)7 February 1777
Porsgrunn, Norway
Died 15 September 1856(1856-09-15) (aged 79)
Gjerpen, Norway
Nationality Norwegian
Occupation Nobleman
Profession Politician
Signature

Severin Løvenskiold (7 February 1777 – 15 September 1856) was a Norwegian nobleman, politician and Prime Minister of Norway.[1][2]

Family

Severin Løvenskiold, the younger, was born in Porsgrunn in Telemark, Norway to Severin Løvenskiold, the elder, and Benedicte Henriette née Aall. In 1802, he married Countess Hedevig Sophie Knuth.[3]

Education and offices

When Løvenskiold was nine years old, he was sent to Germany, where he received his formal education. After studies in Wandsbek near Hamburg, in Eutin, in Saxony and in Silesia, where he studied mining, he returned in 1794 at the age of 17 years. He earned a degree in law at the University of Copenhagen in 1796. After a few years of public service in Christiania, he assumed responsibility for some of the family’s holdings in 1802, at which time he was also made the King’s representative for his area.[4]

Political life

After nine years as the Dano-Norwegian king’s representative, Severin Løvenskiold resigned this position in 1813, and in the following year, he was elected to the constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll. Løvenskiold was during the convention an enthusiastic member of the so-called ‘Union Party’, which advocated a union with Sweden, and he made notable efforts to retain the nobility in Norway. When noble titles and privileges in fact were abolished in a process starting with the Nobility Law of 1821, Løvenskiold went on record against the decision, finding it unjust and in violation with promises of eternal noble status in 1739 given from the king to his father, Severin Løvenskiold, the eldest.[5]

His position against the dissolution of nobility is a good example of Løvenskiold’s position in many contemporary political issues. His conservatism, which sometimes could appear as reactionary, was reflected in his refusal of measures leading to a popular democracy, particularly so in 1836 when the laws on municipal democracy were sanctioned by the king—against Løvenskiold’s advice. He maintained that the peasants lacked the necessary level of education and political understanding to govern national affairs, a view the king in reality shared with him. However, King Charles III John accepted the municipal laws. Løvenskiold was very loyal to the King, and he was granted the position of prime minister in Stockholm for several years until he was appointed governor of Norway in 1841.[6][7]

Political legacy

Despite his strongly conservative political views, Severin Løvenskiold was not without interest in progress in a more technical way. During the last years of his position, Norway established its first railroad, its first telegraphic lines, and a system of common postage and stamps. Several laws were established, helping the development of different types of industries in Norway. The honour for this goes mostly to Frederik Stang, but Løvenskiold must definitely have accepted and probably, at least to some extent, approved of this change. When Løvenskiold died in 1856, it was politically impossible to appoint a new governor. His anti-democratic attitude had left both him and the position isolated from most of the political establishment in Norway.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Severin Løvenskiold (Stortingsaktivitet/Statsrådsaktivitet)
  2. ↑ Severin Løvenskiold (1777-1856) (Eidsvoll 1814)
  3. ↑ Løvenskiold, Severin (Eidsvollsmann)
  4. ↑ Severin Løvenskiold, Statsminister 1828 - 1841. Stattholder 1841 - 1856 (Norwegian Government Administration Services)
  5. ↑ Severin Løvenskiold (1777–1856) (lokalhistoriewiki.no)
  6. ↑ Løvenskiold, Severin, 1777-1856 (Dansk biografisk Lexikon / X. Bind)
  7. ↑ Severin Løvenskiold (Den Store Danske)
  8. ↑ Tore Pryser: Severin Løvenskiold (Norsk biografisk leksikon)

Other Sources

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Preceded by
Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg		 Governor of Norway
1841–1856 		Succeeded by
position abolished
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