Peter Motzfeldt (3 August 1777 – 1 April 1854) was a Norwegian military officer and government minister. He served as a member of the

Constitutional Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

Eidsvoll Manor Eidsvollsbygningen (Literally: ''The Eidsvoll building'') is a historic manor house located at Eidsvoll in Akershus county, Norway. The building is where the Constitution of Norway was signed on 17 May 1814. The estate is now owned by The State o ...

in 1814.

Background

Motzfeldt was born in

Orkdal Orkdal may refer to: Places *Orkdal Municipality, a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *''Orkdal'' or Orkdalen, a valley and traditional district in Trøndelag county, Norway * Orkdal Fjord, a fjord in Trøndelag county, Norway * Ork ...

in Søndre Trondhjem county, Norway. He was the son of infantry captain Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt (1738–83) and Andrea Birgitte Bull. When his father died in 1783, Motzfeldt lived with his uncle, Major Jacob Motzfeldt. He was a cousin of

Frederik Motzfeldt Frederik Motzfeldt (2 November 1779 – 2 January 1848) was a Norwegian politician. He was a member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll Manor in 1814. Motzfeldt was born at Skaun in Søndre Trondhjem county, Norway. He was rais ...

and

Carl Frederik Motzfeldt Carl Frederik Motzfeldt (3 April 1808 – 24 June 1902) was a Norwegian politician. The son of General Major Carl M. Motzfeldt, he enrolled as a student in 1827 and graduated as cand.jur. in 1838. He was editor-in-chief of '' Den Constitutionell ...

. In 1792, he entered the Artillery Academy 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 ...

and became a second lieutenant in the artillery, stationed in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

in 1796. He was later stationed in the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

and was held as a prisoner of war by

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. In 1809, he became commander of an artillery corps 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.

Political career

In 1814, he was elected as a representative from the Bergen Artillery Corp (''Artillerie-Corpset'') at the National Assembly in

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

. He supported the position of the Independence Party (''Selvstendighetspartiet'') and was a supporter of Crown Prince Christian Frederik and opponent of the union with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Motzfeldt was a member of the Council of State Division in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

1814–1816, 1818–1819, 1824–1825, 1828–1829, 1831–1832, and 1834–1835, Minister of the Army 1816–1818 and 1819–1822, and Minister of Auditing 1829–1831, 1832–1834, 1835–1836, and 1836–1837.

Personal life

He was married to Ernesta Birgitte Margrethe Stenersen (1789–1848). They were the parents of jurist

Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt (27 January 1807 – 10 July 1865) was a Norwegian jurist and politician. He served five terms in the Storting, Norwegian Parliament, including two years as President of the Storting, President. He was also a professor a ...

and government official

Ketil Motzfeldt Ketil Melsted Johnsen Motzfeldt (10 August 1814 – 17 November 1889) was a Norwegian naval officer and government official. Background Motzfeldt was born in Bergen, Norway. His parents were government minister Peter Motzfeldt (1777-1854) and E ...

. Their daughter, Jacobine Ida Sophie Motzfeldt, married politician

Christian Birch-Reichenwald Christian Birch-Reichenwald (4 January 1814 – 8 July 1891) was a Norwegian jurist and politician who served as mayor of Oslo, Norway. He was born at Blaker in Akershus, Norway. He was the son of to Paul Hansen Birch and Anna Catharina Ho ...

. Their grandson was statesman,

Ernst Motzfeldt Ernst Motzfeldt (1 March 1842 – 10 June 1915) was a Norwegian member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm (''Norske statsråder i Stockholm'') 1893-1894 and Minister of Justice from 1894 to 1895 within the Second Cabinet of Prime Min ...

. Peter Motzfeldt died during 1854 and was buried at

Vår Frelsers gravlund The Cemetery of Our Saviour () is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It is located adjacent to the older Old Aker Cemetery and was created in 1808 as a result of the great famine and cholera epidemi ...

Oslo 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 ...

References

Other sources

* 1777 births 1854 deaths People from Sør-Trøndelag Napoleonic Wars prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom Norwegian prisoners of war in the Napoleonic Wars Danish army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Government ministers of Norway Fathers of the Constitution of Norway Ministers of defence of Norway Members of the Storting 1814 {{Norway-politician-1770s-stub