Peter Jebsen ( 6 May 1824 – 30 October 1892) was a Norwegian

businessperson A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was the founder of

Dale of Norway Dale of Norway is a Norwegian clothing brand known for their production of high-quality pure wool knitwear. The textile factory for the company is located at the village of Dale, Hordaland, Dale in Vaksdal Municipality, about east of the city of ...

Background

Jebsen was born at

Broager Broager (; ) is a town with a population of 3,227 (1 January 2025)Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been div ...

. He was the son of Jens Jebsen (1778–1850) and Maren Hansen (1790–1835). Jebsen grew up in the village of Skelde on the Broager Peninsula in Sønderjylland, Denmark.

Career

In 1839, he began his career working at his brother's manufacturing and trade firm in

Sønderborg (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 28,333 (1 January 2025),Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. He moved to

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 ...

in 1843, bought a river in

Ytre Arna Ytre Arna is a settlement in the borough of Arna in the municipality of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. Ytre Arna is principally associated with ''A/S Arne Fabrikker'', the country's first mechanised cotton mill. Ytre Arna Church () is also ...

for 200 specidaler borrowed money and started manufacturing cloth. As one of the first manufactures in the country, profits gained were high due to

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...

against import of wool. He left in 1844 to study modern textile production in the

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Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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and the UK. He returned in 1848 with sufficient knowledge to start a mechanical weaving firm. His brother Jürg Jebsen opened a wool mill in 1852. The two companies were assembled in 1863 as ''P. Jebsen & Co.'' and from 1878 as ''Arne Fabriker A / S''. In 1878, he started a factory at the village of Dale in Hordaland. The site offered an ideal place to establish a premium textile production facility utilizing the valley’s natural hydro power. The textile facility, ''Dale Fabrikker'' (now known as

) was completed in 1879 and has remained active ever since. Dale fabrikker

His other ventures included shipping, mining in

Sunnhordland Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Harda ...

with

Nils Henrik Bruun Nils Henrik Bruun (1832–1916) was a Norway, Norwegian engineer. Biography Nils Henrik Bruun was born in Tønsberg in 1832. Educated at Chalmers University of Technology, Chalmers in Gothenburg, and in Germany, Bruun moved to Bergen in 1863 wher ...

, a glass mill in Bergen and initiating the water and power utilities in Bergen. Jebsen was

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 ...

in the borough of Arna and later city councilor in Bergen. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1874-76 and in 1880-82. He was one of the prime promoters of the construction of Vossebanen railway; personally guaranteeing part of the construction costs. Later he was

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

in Bergen for

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, later for the

North German Federation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' federal ...

and 1871-76 for the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. He remained a member of the Bergen city council until his death in 1892.

Personal life

He married twice; 1) in 1853 with Anna Uthuus (1829-1870) 2) in 1871 with Sophia Catharina Sundt (1849-1912). He was the father of twenty-three children. His youngest son was industrialist Gustav Adolf Jebsen (1884-1951) His descendants included ship-owner, Kristian Gerhard Jebsen (1927–2004) and

Atle Jebsen Atle Jebsen (10 November 1935 – 13 October 2009) was a Norwegian businessperson and ship-owner. Jebsen was born in Bergen in 1935 and was a great-grandson of Peter Jebsen Peter Jebsen ( 6 May 1824 – 30 October 1892) was a Norway, Norwegian ...

(1935–2009).

References

Other sources

*Kaare R. Jebsen and Peter M. Jebsen (2004) ''Slekten Jebsen fra Broagerland, Danmark'' (Bergen: John Grieg Forlag A/S) 1824 births 1892 deaths Norwegian company founders Norwegian industrialists Norwegian businesspeople in shipping Mayors of places in Hordaland Politicians from Bergen People from Sønderborg Municipality Members of the Storting 1880–1882 Members of the Storting 1874–1876 {{Norway-business-bio-stub