Johan Ludwig Mowinckel (22 October 1870 – 30 September 1943) was a Norwegian statesman, shipping magnate and philanthropist. He served as the

prime minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway (, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet of Norway, Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government departme ...

during three separate terms.

Biography

Johan Ludwig Mowinckel was born in

Bergen, Norway Bergen (, ) is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 2025 the population is 294 029 according to Statistics Norway. The municipali ...

. His parents were Johan Anton Wilhelm Mohr Mowinckel (1843–1918) and Edvardine Magdalene Margrethe Müller (1851–71). His father was a merchant and a member of one of Bergen's old merchant families. He was educated at

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

, graduating in 1889. After graduation, he traveled abroad to

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to better learn the business of shipping. In 1893 he returned to Bergen and joined the offices of

Christian Michelsen Peter Christian Hersleb Kjerschow Michelsen (15 March 1857– 29 June 1925), better known as Christian Michelsen, was a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman. He was the first prime minister of independent Norway from 1905 to 1907. Michelse ...

. In 1912, he became the founder and principal in the joint-stock shipping company, A/S J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi. He was also involved in founding the Norwegian America Line.

Political career

Mowinckel entered public service in Bergen where he became Chairman of the local branch of 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 ...

(''Bergens Venstreforening'') . He was elected to the Bergen City Council in 1899 and subsequently mayor of Bergen 1902-1906 and 1911–1913. In 1906, he became Member of Parliament (''Storting'') for the Liberal party representing Bergen during 1906-1909 and 1913–1918. He became President of the Storting in 1916. He was voted out of office in the 1918 elections. During the period between

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and 1935 he remained active in national politics. In 1921 Mowinckel was re-elected to the Storting. He served as Minister of Trade in 1921-1922 and Foreign Minister in 1922–1923. Mowinckel was Norway's Prime Minister during three periods in office; 1924–1926, 1928-1931 and 1933–1935. These were all periods dominated by economic and fiscal crisis. In 1930 Mowinckel initiated the Oslo Convention on customs cooperation between Norway, Denmark and the

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

countries, to prevent higher customs walls. In 1925 he became a member of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. Mowinckel took the initiative during the Oslo Convention (''Oslokonvensjonen'') of 1930 to encourage free trade between the nations of the

Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union The Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union (, , , ), abbreviated to BLEU or UEBL, is an economic union between Belgium and Luxembourg, two countries in the Benelux, Benelux Union. BLEU was created by a treaty, signed on 25 July 1921, despite a 1919 ...

and Nordic countries, anticipating postwar efforts toward the formation of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. He also took an active interest in the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

, serving on the council and becoming president in 1933. In September 1933, Ukrainian public figures appealed to Johan Ludwig Mowinckel as the Head of the Council of the League of Nations with the request to consider the question of the man-made famine in Ukraine ( Milena Rudnytska,

Oleksander Shulhyn Oleksander Yakovych Shulhyn ( – 4 March 1960) was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian politician, academic, and diplomat who played a key role in establishing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. He was a member of the Shevchenko Scientific Socie ...

, Ukrainian Public Committee for Saving Ukraine. Also,

Margery Corbett Ashby Dame Margery Irene Corbett Ashby, ( Corbett; 19 April 1882 – 15 May 1981) was a British suffragist, Liberal politician, feminist and internationalist. Background She was born at Danehill, East Sussex, the daughter of Charles Corbett, a ...

, the head of International Women's Alliance, appealed to him. He kept his word - he included the issue of the

Holodomor The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a mass famine in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–193 ...

to the 76th session of the Council of the League of Nations in spite of the resistance of the representatives of some European countries. The discussion of the causes and circumstances of the famine in Ukraine lasted for several hours, but the resolution was not adopted. The delegations of France and Great Britain were against it. He explained his decision by the fact that the "lives of millions" dead of starvation did not allow him to remain silent. He was personally acquainted with Norwegian traveler and public figure

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...

, who in 1932-1933 organized the aid to the Ukrainian farmers. On 20 October 1933, M. Danko, the correspondent of Lviv newspaper "Dilo," wrote that Mowinckel "will remain in the history of the Ukrainian struggles in Europe." Children from the Ukrainian community of Czech town of

Poděbrady Poděbrady (; ) is a spa town in Nymburk District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Elbe River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument ...

(Czechoslovakia) thanked Johan Ludwig Mowinckel for his humanistic position regarding the protection of the starving people in Ukraine. On 16 November 1933, he sent a warm response with the gratitude for the attention. He condemned the menace of Nazi philosophy, and when Germany overran Norway in 1940 he followed the Norwegian Government-in-exile to

. In 1942, Johan Ludwig Mowinckel came to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and was engaged with

Nortraship The Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission (Nortraship) was established in London in April 1940 to administer the Norwegian merchant fleet outside German-controlled areas. Nortraship operated some 1,000 vessels and was the largest shipping compan ...

, the state-owned Norwegian shipping company during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He died on 30 September 1943 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Legacy

Posthumously, a new library building at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

was dedicated to Johan Ludvig Mowinckel and had its official opening ceremony, in the presence of

King Olav V Olav V (, ; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wa ...

, on 13 September 1961. Leiv Mjeldheim
Johan Ludvig Mowinckel
Norsk Biografisk Leksikon
Government of Norway Movinkel spread awareness about the

Soviet Ukraine The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. Under the Soviet one-party m ...

during the early 30’s. Acknowledged in this editorialized poster below. Johann-ludwig-movinkel

Biography

Political career

Legacy

References

Related reading