Jacob Sverdrup Smitt
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jacob Sverdrup Smitt (6 January 1835 – 6 June 1889) was a Norwegian bishop and politician.


Career

Smitt was born in
Land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...
(present-day Nordre Land Municipality),
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. He was the son of the dean Anton Elias Smitt (1805–1875) and Livia Sverdrup (1808–1840), and brother of Jonas and Livius Smitt. His father was a
curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...
in
Land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...
from 1835 until 1840, when he became vicar in Vinje Church. Jakob Sverdrup Smitt was home schooled, except for one year of 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 ...
from 1852 to 1853. He took his
examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...
in 1853, enrolled in theology studies and graduated with a Candidatus theologiæ degree in 1860. In June 1862 Smitt became a curate, working under his father in Voss Church. In April 1865 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 ...
he married Letta Nicolaysen (1843–1923). In January 1865 he moved to
Hammerfest Hammerfest or Hámmárfeasta is a town/cityIn the Norwegian language, the word ''by'' can be translated as "town" or "city". that is also the administrative centre of Hammerfest Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located on the nor ...
to become a catechist and school teacher. He was promoted to vicar in July 1867, then dean in November 1870. In 1876 he succeeded Fredrik Waldemar Hvoslef as bishop in the Diocese of Tromsø. He first showed some willingness to adapt to the "religious peculiarity" of "certain congregations" in the high north, and tolerated
Laestadianism Laestadianism (; ; ; ), also known as Laestadian Lutheranism and Apostolic Lutheranism, is a Pietism, pietistic Lutheranism, Lutheran revival movement started in Sápmi in the middle of the 19th century. Named after Church of Sweden, Swedish Lu ...
. However, he came to follow the official assimilation policy of the state, especially pertaining to language and culture of the
Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...
and
Kven people Kvens (; ; ; ; ) are a Balto-Finnic ethnic group indigenous to the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and parts of Russia. In 1996, Kvens were granted minority status in Norway, and in 2005 the Kven language was recognized as a mino ...
. Smitt was a member of the city council of
Hammerfest Municipality Hammerfest (; ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality being the Hammerfest (town), town of Hammerfest which is considered the List of no ...
from 1867 to 1876. In 1874 he was elected to the
Parliament of Norway 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 ...
, representing the constituency of ''Tromsø, Hammerfest, Vadsø og Vardø''. He was re-elected in 1877 and 1880. For his last term he served as President of the Lagting. However, in the ensuing struggle between liberal and conservative politicians, where the liberals tried to gain control of the Lagting and henceforth the High Court of the Realm, Smitt was perceived as not radical enough. He believed that the King (the
executive branch of government The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...
) should have an absolute veto in constitutional cases. He was "swept" out of politics, notes the ''
Norsk biografisk leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. It is part of the '' Great Norwegian Encyclopedia''. Origin The first print edition (NBL1) was issued between 1923 and 1983; it included 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. Kunnskapsforlaget to ...
''. In 1885 Smitt applied for the post as Bishop of the Diocese of Kristiansand. He was appointed in June 1885, by Minister of Education and Church Affairs Elias Blix. Only two months later, Blix was replaced by Jakob Sverdrup in a highly controversial move. Jacob Smitt Sverdrup was a first cousin of Jakob Sverdrup—and Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, Jr,
Georg Sverdrup Georg Sverdrup (born Jørgen Sverdrup; 25 April 1770 – 8 December 1850) was a Norwegian statesman, best known as one of the presidents of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll Manor in 1814. He was a member of the Norwegian Parlia ...
and
Edvard Sverdrup Johan Edvard Sverdrup (22 June 1861 – 21 January 1923) was a Norwegian educator, author and church leader. Sverdrup was one of the key theologians in the Church of Norway in the first few decades of the 1900s. Biography Sverdrup was born in Ba ...
, as well as a maternal grandson of Jacob Liv Borch Sverdrup and nephew of Prime Minister Johan Sverdrup,Cf. the article on his brother: who conducted the replacement of Elias Blix. He was also an uncle of Anton Elias Smitt, Jr. through his half-brother. He died in June 1889 in
Holla, Telemark Holla is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Nome Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Ulefoss. The municipality was c ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smitt, Jakob Sverdrup 1835 births 1889 deaths People from Nordre Land University of Oslo alumni Bishops of Hålogaland Bishops of Agder og Telemark 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran bishops Finnmark politicians Members of the Storting 1880–1882 Members of the Storting 1877–1879 Members of the Storting 1874–1876