Christian Birch-Reichenwald (4 January 1814 – 8 July 1891) was a Norwegian jurist and politician who served as mayor of

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( or ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of towns and cities in Norway, most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a Counties of Norway, county and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a populat ...

. He was born at

Blaker Blaker is a village and a former municipality of Akershus county, Norway. History The municipality was established on 1 July 1919, when Aurskog was split in two. At the time of establishment, Blaker had a population of 2,533. On 1 January 1962, ...

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

, Norway. He was the son of to Paul Hansen Birch and Anna Catharina Hoffmand Stenersen. He married Jacobine Ida Sophie Motzfeldt, daughter of Peter Motzfeldt and niece of his own mother. The couple had two children; Anna Ernesta (born 1839) and

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

(born 1843).Genealogy
/ref> He studied at the University of Christiania (now University of Oslo), completing his law degree in 1834. During his university studies, he had been chairman in the

Norwegian Students' Society Norwegian Students' Society () is Norway's oldest student society. The Norwegian Students' Society was established during 1813 in Oslo, Norway. Two years after the Royal Frederick University (today named the University of Oslo) was founded, 18 of ...

. He was a member of the social circle '' Intelligenspartiet'', and befriended such notable figures as Anton Martin Schweigaard, Bernhard Dunker and Johan Sebastian Welhaven there. He served as mayor of Christiania (now Oslo) in 1846. In 1847 he was appointed County Governor of ''Smaalenene'' (today named Østfold).Norwegian Counties
— World Statesmen.org While stationed here he was elected to the

Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( ; ) 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 based on party-list proportional represe ...

in 1848 and 1854, representing the constituency of ''Moss og Drøbak''.Christian Birch-Reichenwald
— Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD) In 1855 he was appointed County Governor in the more central county of

. In 1858 he was appointed Minister of Auditing. The road had been opened for Christian Birch-Reichenwald and his supporters, as Crown Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway, who was viceroy of Norway at that time, had requested

first minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

and head of government

Jørgen Herman Vogt Jørgen Herman Vogt (21 July 1784 – 12 January 1862) was a Norwegian politician who served as First Minister of Norway from 1856 to 1858, during the personal union between Sweden and Norway. The first minister was subordinated to the gover ...

to "tender his resignation". According to historians, Birch-Reichenwald and his friend Georg Christian Sibbern "used" Crown Prince Carl to their own gains.Georg Christian Sibbern 1816-1901
- Government.no Birch-Reichenwald was Minister of Auditing for one year, then became a member of the Council of State Division in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

from 1859 to 1860, and then served as Minister of Justice and the Police from 1860 to 1861. In 1861, the

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

position was discussed. Carl, who in the meantime had been crowned

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

, was unwilling to abolish this position, provoking Christian Birch-Reichenwald (and

Ketil Motzfeldt Ketil Melsted Johnsen Motzfeldt (10 August 1814 – 17 November 1889) was a Norwegian naval officer and government official. Background Motzfeldt was born in Bergen, Norway. His parents were government minister Peter Motzfeldt (1777-1854) and E ...

) to resign. The governor-general office was not abolished until 1873. In 1862 Birch-Reichenwald was elected mayor of Christiania for the second time, serving through that year. He was also elected to a third parliamentary term, representing the constituency of ''Christiania, Hønefoss og Kongsvinger''. From 1864 to 1865 he was mayor of Christiania for the third time, and in 1865 he was again elected to parliament. From 1869 to 1889 he served as district stipendiary magistrate (''sorenskriver''). He died in 1891 and was buried at Vår Frelsers gravlund.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birch Reichenwald, Christian 1814 births 1891 deaths People from Sørum University of Oslo alumni Mayors of Oslo Government ministers of Norway County governors of Norway Norwegian jurists Østfold politicians Akershus politicians Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour Ministers of justice of Norway Members of the Storting 1865–1867 Members of the Storting 1862–1864 Members of the Storting 1854–1856 Members of the Storting 1848–1850