Christian Homann Schweigaard (14 October 1838 – 24 March 1899) was a Norwegian politician of the Conservative Party. He served as the

prime minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

for two months in 1884, a period after the impeachment of his predecessor

Christian August Selmer Christian August Selmer (16 November 1816 – 1 September 1889) was a Norwegian lawyer and a magistrate. He served as a member of the Norwegian Parliament, Minister of Defense and Minister of Justice. He was the prime minister of Norway in ...

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 Conservative Party from 1889–1891 and 1893–1896, as well as Parliamentary Leader from 1889–1891 and 1894–1895. He was Emil Stang'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: ; Norwegian Nynorsk: ; lit. 'Highest Court') is the highest court in the Norwegian judiciary. It was established in 1815 on the basis of section 88 in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway, ...

. 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, Emil Stang 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 Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

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 List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Holmestrand Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality. It is located along the shore of the Ytre Oslofjord, about northwest of the Horten ...

1886–1897. He was

Odelsting 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 ...

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 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 ...

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''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order ...

. Schweigaard died during 1899 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 ...

in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schweigaard, Christian Homann 1838 births 1899 deaths Prime ministers of Norway Government ministers of Norway Mayors of Oslo Ministers of finance of Norway Leaders of the Conservative Party (Norway) Ministers of justice of Norway Members of the Storting 1895–1897 Members of the Storting 1892–1894 Members of the Storting 1889–1891 Members of the Storting 1886–1888