Peder Anker (8 December 1749 – 10 December 1824) was a prominent Norwegian landowner, businessman and politician. He served as the first

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 ...

from 1814 until 1822.

Biography

Peder Anker was a member of a Danish-Norwegian noble family. He was born in Christiania, the son of the wealthy merchant

Christian Ancher Christian Ancher (27 July 1711 – 9 January 1765) was a Norwegian merchant, timber trader and ship owner. Biography Ancher was born in Søndre Land in Oppland, Denmark-Norway. He was the son of Bernt Ancher (1680–1724) and Karen Tanche (1 ...

. He had three brothers: Iver,

Bernt Bernt is a Scandinavian variant of the German masculine given name Berend, which is the Low German form of Bernard ( Bernhard). The name Bernhard means "strong bear" (from Old German ''bero'', "bear", and ''harti'', "strong"). Its use in Sweden ...

and Jess. Following education in Christiania and a year as student at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

, Peder Anker and his brothers spent five years traveling with private tutors in

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 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 ...

, and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. They were pupils of the noted Swedish naturalist

Carl von Linné Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organi ...

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

in 1764. He was granted Danish nobility in 1778 and was awarded the title of General War Commissioner in 1788. Peder Anker bought

Bogstad Bogstad Manor (''Bogstad gård'') is a historic manor house and former estate located in the borough of Vestre Aker in Oslo, Norway. It is situated in the northwestern part of Oslo. Background Bogstad has its origin in a farm which was locat ...

Manor with additional forest land and extended the existing house to make a splendid mansion. Bogstad had for about 100 years belonged to members of the Leuch family, his grandmother's family. He also acquired iron mines and foundries, notably

Bærums Verk Bærums Verk is a village in Bærum in Akershus, Norway, with a population of about 8000. It is located on both sides of the river Lomma. History Iron ore was found in the areas now known as Kirkerud and Eineåsen in Bærum in 1603 and 1604, an ...

and

Hakadal Verk Hakadal is a village in the northern part of Nittedal municipality in Akershus, Norway. The village and parish is the site of Hakadal Church (''Hakadal Kirke''). Hakadal Church dates to around 1610 and was originally constructed in a rectangu ...

. The Vækerø manor (''Vækerø gård'') near Oslo was established as a port for the export of lumber. Anker rose to become one of Norway's richest individuals. Peder Anker was a delegate to the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

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 ...

in 1814, representing Akershus Amt. He distinguished himself as a "unionist", whose members opposed complete independence for Norway. On 18 November 1814 he was appointed Prime Minister of Norway to Stockholm after the

Union between Sweden and Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway (; ), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden and Norway under a common monarch and common foreign pol ...

was established, and remained in this office until 30 June 1822.

Honors

Peder Anker was decorated with the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; '' Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Ord ...

and the

Order of Charles XIII The Royal Order of Charles XIII () is a Swedish order (honour), order of merit, founded by King Charles XIII of Sweden, Charles XIII in 1811. Membership The Lord and Master of the Order is the Monarch, King of Sweden, currently King Carl XVI Gust ...

. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the

Order of Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known as ''White Knights'' t ...

in 1812. In 1815, he was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

Legacy

Several roads in Norway have been named in honor of Peder Anker including ''Peder Ankers vei'' in

Jar A jar is a rigid, cylindrical or slightly conical container, typically made of glass, ceramic, or plastic, with a wide mouth or opening that can be closed with a lid, screw cap, lug cap, cork stopper, roll-on cap, crimp-on cap, press-on ca ...

, ''Peder Anker gate'' in

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a List of cities in Norway, town and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, R ...

, and ''Peder Ankers Plass'' in

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 ...

.''Peder Ankers Plass i Oslo'' (norskegater.com)
/ref>

References

Sources

* Frydenlund, Bård (2009) ''Stormannen Peder Anker : en biografi'' (Oslo: Aschehoug)
Government Administration Services ''Peder Anker''

Biography

Honors

Legacy

References

Sources

Further reading