Johannes Irgens (31 July 1869 – 29 December 1939) was a Norwegian barrister, diplomat and politician, noted for his service as

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

of Norway from 1910 to 1913.

Personal life

Irgens was born into the merchant and civil service family of Irgens, as a son of Marcus Fredrik Irgens (1839–1876) and Julie Martine Nicoline Dyrgreen (1840–1906). In November 1892 he married Lilla Minda Marie Gulbranson (1872–1938), a daughter of Carl August Gulbranson (1831–1910) and Minda Ramm Juell (1844–1913). Through this marriage, Irgens was a brother-in-law of Carl Gulbranson. His father was

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

at the

Norwegian College of Agriculture The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Norway. It is located in Akershus county and has around 7,700 students. History The institution was established in 1859 as the Higher Agricultural Coll ...

, but died when Irgens was seven years old. Irgens moved with his mother to

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 ...

, and he took the

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 ...

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian language, Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

in 1887. He graduated with a

cand.jur. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree in law in 1892 at the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

. During his time as a student, he served as member and chair of the board for

Norwegian Students' Society Norwegian Students' Society () is Norway's oldest student society. The Norwegian Students' Society was established during 1813 in Oslo, Norway. Two years after the Royal Frederick University (today named the University of Oslo) was founded, 18 of ...

, editor of its newsletter, and was briefly at

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Foreign service career

Irgens joined the Norwegian-Swedish diplomatic corps upon graduating from university in 1892, his initial posting as a diplomatic fellow in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

and then

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. His fellowship was revoked in 1895 as a result of tension between Sweden and Norway about the use of consuls. He returned to Kristiania and took up work as an attorney. He advanced to barrister, earning the right to appear before the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, in 1900. He also served on an elect commission charged with exploring ways for Norway and Sweden to maintain separate consular offices while maintaining a common foreign policy. When the union was dissolved in 1905, Irgens immediately offered his services to the Norwegian government. He was sent to

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

in an effort to convince the

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

administration to recognize Norway. Once this was accomplished, he was named

Chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

under

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 ...

at Norway's embassy in London, a highly visible posting. In 1908 he succeeded Nansen as ambassador, and in 1910 he returned to Norway to assume the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Wollert Konow's

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

as part of the Conservative Party. When the cabinet resigned, Irgens continued as Minister of Foreign Affairs in

Jens Bratlie Jens Kristian Meinich Bratlie (17 January 1856 – 15 September 1939) was a Norwegian attorney and military officer. He served as an elected official representing the Conservative Party. He was the prime minister of Norway from 1912 to 1913. Bi ...

. Among other distinctions,

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

named him special envoy for the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

George V of the United Kingdom George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

. When Bratlie's Cabinet did not survive the 1913 election, Irgens accept a post as acting County Governor of Hedmark but asked to be put back into active service as a diplomat. He was made ambassador 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 ...

in 1913, with accreditation also to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. In 1922 he was made ambassador in

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

with responsibility also for Norway's station in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, with accreditation also to Athens from 1927 to 1935 and Bucharest from 1930 to 1931. He was decorated as a Knight First Class of the

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 ...

(1906), upgraded to Commander with Star in 1909. He also received the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

, Grand Cordon of the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

, Grand Cross of the

Royal Victoria Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

and the Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

(Japan).

References