Hans Kristian Seip (6 November 1881 - 25 March 1945) was a Norwegian road engineer and politician for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. He spent most of his professional career in the

Norwegian Public Roads Administration The Norwegian Public Roads Administration () is a Norwegian government agency responsible for national and county public roads in Norway. This includes planning, construction and operation of the national and county road networks, driver trainin ...

. As a politician he was Mayor of Bergen and County Governor of Sogn og Fjordane, and served two terms in 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 ...

. He is also known as the father of

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Jens Arup Seip.

Personal life

He was born in

Røyken Røyken is a district and village (''bygd'') and a former municipality in Buskerud in Viken County, Norway. In 2020 Røyken was merged with the municipalities of Hurum and Asker to form the new Asker Municipality (informally called "Greater As ...

as the son of priest Jens Laurits Arup Seip (1852–1913) and Marie Fredrikke Aubert (1853–1931), He was the brother of academic

Didrik Arup Seip Didrik Arup Seip (31 August 1884 – 3 May 1963) was a professor of North Germanic languages at the University of Oslo. He earned his doctorate ( dr.philos.) in 1916 and was appointed professor the same year, retiring in 1954. Together with Herman ...

, nephew of educator and politician Karl Seip, and great-grandson of military officer and politician Andreas Martin Seip. Hans Kristian was the father of political scientist Jens Arup Seip and thus father-in-law of historian Anne-Lise Seip. He was also the uncle of forester

Hans Kristian Seip Hans Kristian Seip (6 November 1881 - 25 March 1945) was a Norway, Norwegian road engineer and politician for the Liberal Party of Norway, Liberal Party. He spent most of his professional career in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. As ...

Career

Hans Kristian Seip graduated from the technical school in

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 1900, and after working for the

for two years he studied one year at Zürich Polytechnikum. He then returned to Norway to work for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration in Møre from 1903 to 1909,

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

from 1909 to 1915 and as engineer in Bergen from 1915 to 1921. From 1921 to 1929 he was the director of roads in Bergen county. Seip was elected to Bergen city council in 1913. He was re-elected several times, and served until 1928; from 1922 to 1924 he served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. He represented the small Prohibition Party. He was also a deputy representative to the

during the terms 1925-1927 and 1928–1930, but represented the

on the national level. On 2 November 1929 Seip was appointed County Governor of Sogn og Fjordane. While stationed here he was elected to the Norwegian Parliament twice; in 1934 and 1937. The scheduled election in 1940, however, was not held due to the German invasion of Norway in April 1940 and subsequent occupation. In 1941 Seip was removed from the position as County Governor. He retired to

Fjærland Fjærland or Mundal is a village in Sogndal Municipality, at the end of the Fjærlandsfjorden, in Vestland county, Norway. The Fjærlandfjorden is a branch going north off the Sognefjorden, the longest fjord in Norway. The village area is locate ...

, and worked on the history of Sogn og Fjordane County Municipality. He died in March 1945, a month and a half before the liberation of Norway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seip, Hans Kristian 1881 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Norwegian engineers Mayors of Bergen Members of the Storting Liberal Party (Norway) politicians County governors of Norway Hans Kristian People from Røyken