Herman Wedel Jarlsberg
Count Wedel Jarlsberg | |
---|---|
Karl III Johan | |
Preceded by | Baltzar von Platen |
Succeeded by | Severin Løvenskiold |
Personal details | |
Born | Johan Caspar Herman Wedel Jarlsberg 21 September 1779 Norwegian |
Spouse | |
Children | Harald Wedel-Jarlsberg Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg |
Count Johan Caspar Herman Wedel Jarlsberg (21 September 1779 – 27 August 1840) was a
Background
Wedel Jarlsberg was born in Montpellier, France, son of diplomat Frederik Anton Wedel-Jarlsberg (1748–1811) and Catharina von Storm (1756–1802). His younger brother Ferdinand Carl Maria Wedel-Jarlsberg (1781–1857) was a military officer and commanding general of the Royal Norwegian Army.[2][3]
He grew up in
Career
During the
Wedel Jarlsberg was elected to the National Assembly at Eidsvold in April–May 1814 as representative of the County of Jarlsberg. His engagement for a Norwegian union with Sweden did not diminish. He maintained strongly that Norwegian interests were often contrary to the Danish, and that after the Swedes had adopted a constitution in 1809, Norwegian interests would be more strongly secured in a union with that country. He was of course well aware of the Swedish campaign to incorporate Norway as a substitution for the lost Finnish provinces. In some popular works, Count Wedel Jarlsberg has been described as a traitor – a fifth-columnist – which is completely unjust. His opinions were well known to the educated public, and even if he was politically isolated to some extent, his title and position in the Norwegian society never changed much.[6]
During Norway's efforts to secure independence from Denmark and Sweden in 1814, he hence advocated a moderate approach to the issue. He was the obvious leader of the party, which has been named "the Union Party"or "the Swedish Party". He maintained that Norway would not manage to stand completely alone, alienated from all the leading powers in Europe, which had unanimously guaranteed Norway as a Swedish province. But there is no evidence that his point of view in any sense prevented him from fighting for a Norwegian constitution inspired by those of the United States and France, which the Swedish constitution was not. He belonged to the minority in the main topic on the Constitutional Assembly at Eidsvoll, but he was vindicated by subsequent events.[1]
He was made Minister of Finance in 1814 and served in this role until 1822. His efforts to restore a Norwegian monetary policy were successful, and he was without contest as the leading force of the government – even with Swedish governors as the formal leaders of the cabinet. His relations with King Carl Johan had at that time cooled to a point where close cooperation was no longer possible. He was elected to
Personal life
Wedel Jarlsberg was married to Karen Anker, the only child of prime minister Peder Anker. From her family he inherited a vast fortune, consisting mostly of the forests around Christiania – present day Oslo. At the death of his father-in-law Peder Anker in 1824, Wedel also inherited Bogstad gård, Vækerø gård and Bærums Verk. In 1812, Johan Caspar Herman Wedel Jarlsberg rebuilt the manor house at Jarlsberg (Jarlsberg hovedgård) in the empire style. Around the manor there were arranged big, but simple garden and parks areas.[7][8][9][10]
References
- ^ a b Knut Dørum. Herman Wedel Jarlsberg (Store norske leksikon)
- ^ Knut Dørum. "Ferdinand Wedel Jarlsberg". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ Jon Gunnar Arntzen. "Wedel Jarlsberg". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ISBN 978-82-02-49240-3.
- ^ a b Odd Arvid Storsveen. "Herman Wedel Jarlsberg". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ "Herman Wedel Jarlsberg". regjeringen.no. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ Anne-Sofie Hjemdahl. "Bogstad gård". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ Knut Are Tvedt. "Vækerø gård". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ Pål Thonstad Sandvik. "Bærums Verk". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ "Jarlsberg hovedgård (Sem og Slagen – en bygdebok. Gårdshistorie, bind 1, Tønsberg: Høgskolen i Vestfold, 2002)". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
Other sources
- Barton, Hildor Arnold (2003). Sweden and visions of Norway: politics and culture, 1814–1905. (SIU Press). ISBN 0-8093-2441-5.
- Carl Emil Vogt (2014) Herman Wedel Jarlsberg. Den aristokratiske opprøreren (Oslo: Cappelen Damm) ISBN 9788202448080