Henrich Herman Mejer Foss (17 September 1790 – 21 September 1853) was a Norwegian military officer and elected official.

Biography

He was born in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, Norway. He was the son of Jacob Finne Foss (1763-1822) and Margrethe Meyer (born 1763). He completed artillery exams in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

during 1811. He participated in the

Gunboat War The Gunboat War (, , Swedish: ''Kanonbåtskriget''; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and Great Britain supported by Sweden during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing sm ...

as artillery officer. In 1830 he became the military officer of charge in Christiania (now Oslo). In 1843 he became major and later colonel lieutenant and battalion chief. He eventually rose to lieutenant colonel in the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army () is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The ...

, a rank he acquired in 1843. Foss 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 1827 from the constituency

, in 1830 from

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

, and from Christiania in 1833, 1836, 1839, 1842 and 1845. Foss was a member of the Norwegian-Swedish Union Committee (1841–44). He was a minister of government in the Ministry of Marine Affairs (1845–48) He was mayor of Christiania in 1838, 1840 and 1841. Foss authored several publications, including ''Bergens Beskrivelse'' in 1824 (with

Lyder Sagen Lyder Sagen (13 March 1777 – 16 June 1850) was a Norwegian educator and author. References 1777 births 1850 deaths People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School Norwegian educators Norwegian writers {{Norway-writer-stub ...

), publications on politics as well as songs. Some of the songs were intended to celebrate the

Norwegian Constitution Day Constitution Day is the national day of Norway and is an official public holiday observed on 17 May each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to as ''Syttende mai'' ("Seventeenth of May"), ''Nasjonaldagen'' ("National Day"), or ''Grunnl ...

, of which Foss was a proponent. He also proposed a Norwegian

civil ensign A civil ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by civilian vessels to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and the naval ensign (or war ensign). It is also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag ...

during the personal union with Sweden. Streets have been named after him in Bergen and

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production and fo ...

as well as Herman Foss' gate in the district of St. Hanshaugen in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foss, Henrich Herman 1790 births 1853 deaths Military personnel from Bergen Norwegian Army personnel Norwegian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Mayors of Oslo Government ministers of Norway Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Politicians from Bergen Members of the Storting 1845–1847 Members of the Storting 1842–1844 Members of the Storting 1839–1841 Members of the Storting 1836–1838 Members of the Storting 1833–1835 Members of the Storting 1830–1832 Members of the Storting 1827–1829