Christian Birch-Reichenwald

Christian Birch-Reichenwald (engraving by Gustav Holter, printed in Skilling magazine ; 1891)

Christian Birch-Reichenwald (born January 4, 1814 in Blaker (since January 1, 1962 district of Sørum ), Akershus , † July 8, 1891 in Christiania ) was a Norwegian politician.

Life

His parents were the Premier Lieutenant and later Major General Paul Hansen Birch (1788-1863) and his wife Anna Cathrine Hoffmann Stenersen (1791-1840). Major General Paul Hansen Birch was the son of real estate agent Johan Gottfried Reichenwald and his wife Anne Elisabeth Birch. She moved with her children to live with her brother at an early age and took the name Birch. At the request of his father, Christian later took his family name Reichenwald and called himself Birch-Reichenwald.

Christian Birch-Reichenwald's grave.

Christian Birch-Reichenwald left the cathedral school in Trondheim in 1830. He passed the Examen artium with the top grade "laudabilis prae ceteris" (commendable before others). He studied briefly in Uppsala , but then law in Christiania. Here he joined the student group “Intelligensen”, the circle around Anton Martin Schweigaard , Frederik Stang and Johan Sebastian Welhaven . In his student days, Birch-Reichenwald adhered to Scandinavianism , but with the stipulation that the individual countries could develop freely and independently. He rejected both the idea of a merger of Norway and Sweden and the romantic turn to Denmark. His political guideline was and remained a clear demarcation of Norway from Sweden and complete equality within the Union.

Domestically, he stood between the peasant opposition and the government. He advocated a trusting cooperation between the government and Storting and was equally dissatisfied with the efforts shown by the government officials for such cooperation, as with the refusal of the peasant opposition to all public measures that could lead to an increase in expenditure.

On June 28, 1838 he married Jacobine Ida Sophie Motzfeldt (* June 12, 1812; † April 10, 1880), daughter of State Councilor Peter Motzfeldt and his wife Ernesta Birgitte Margrethe Stenersen (1789-1848).

His grave is in the Savior Cemetery in Oslo .

Act

Career up to the governor dispute

After his legal state examination in 1834, he became a copyist in the Department of Justice. In 1837 he became head of the office there.

Thanks to his great talent for administration, he quickly made a career. In 1839 he came to the church department, where in 1841 at the age of 27 he was expedition secretary 1840–1847 he was co-editor of the department newspaper. In 1843 he became a member of the Magistrate of Christiania and was deputy mayor in 1845 and mayor in 1846. In 1847 he became a bailiff in Smålenene. He was sent to Storting in 1848 and 1854 as a delegate for Moss and Drøbak .

In 1855 he became a bailiff of Akershus. In 1857 he became a canon in the diocese of Christiania. In these two functions there was a friendly collaboration with Crown Prince Karl , who had become Viceroy of Norway in 1856. When Karl took over government affairs from his sick father the following year, he appointed Birch-Reichenwald through cabinet reshuffle as head of the justice department to succeed Hans Christian Petersen . He was the youngest member of the cabinet, but he was still a major influence. The good relations with King Karl later cooled significantly.

This cabinet reshuffle led to major protests in Norway. It was seen primarily as the beginning of an arbitrary government by the king. It only gradually became clear that Birch-Reichenwald was far from being the king's puppet. But personnel issues were also a topic of outrage: State Councilors Jørgen Herman Vogt and Frederik Due were forced to resign. Even more important was that the deserving Frederik Stang no longer belonged to the government after his illness.

The governor's dispute

The new government trusted that Birch-Reichenwald had received a pledge from the regent to confirm a decision by the Storting to repeal the Swedish governorship in Norway, which was seen as an essential step towards equality between the two empires. He had also secretly received assurances from leading members of the Swedish government that they would regard such a decision as an internal Norwegian matter. According to Birch-Reichenwald, such a Swedish stance would create a much better climate in Union policy and pave the way for a limited revision of the Union. When the Storting took the decision to abolish the office of governor in 1859, protests arose in the Swedish Reichstag and in the knight's house , and a strong opposition saw this as the first step towards the dissolution of the union. The government and the king had to bow and could not keep the promise. The king therefore refused the necessary consent. This led to a failed motion of no confidence in the government in Storting, which was accused of lacking resistance to the king's decision.

The Swedish government then proposed a joint union committee in 1861. At Birch-Reichenwald's suggestion, this request was unanimously rejected by the Norwegian government on October 21, 1861. The independent legal status of Norway within the Union was particularly emphasized. In addition, leading Swedish ministers let it be known that the current state of the Union was not up for discussion. A representation of the Norwegian view of the governor's question was added. It was mainly based on Birch-Reichenwald. The statement was worded so sharply that Minister of State Georg Sibbern refused to present it to the king as long as this section on the governor's question was included. The government weakened the wording, but refused to delete it completely. So the matter was brought before the king. He reacted with sharp criticism of the First Councilor of State Hans Christian Petersen , who then submitted his resignation. Minister of State Sibbern followed him.

The time after the government reshuffle

A new government had to be installed. Since all members of the government except Birch-Reichenwald, Motzfeldt and Petersen spoke out in favor of deleting the passage, Frederik Stang was appointed First Councilor of State. Birch-Reichenwald was now without office until he became a district judge in Aker in 1869 . In 1862 he became a delegate in the Storting for Christiania, Hønefoss and Kongsvinger . 1862–1866 he was again mayor of Christiania. During this time he also sat in the lagging and ended up being its president. But despite his great abilities, he no longer played a role in the further political struggle. This led to depression and bitterness for him about the defeat of his government, which he never got over. His relationship with Frederik Stang was ambivalent, but the bitter hostility between his followers and the followers of Stang was more the work of Ketil Motzfeldt .

Contemporaries and posterity have judged his central role in this groundbreaking time very differently. But no one has denied his humble honesty.

Honors

Birch-Reichenwald received the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav in 1860 and the Grand Cross of the Swedish North Stjärne Order in 1864 .

literature

The article is essentially based on Norsk biografisk leksikon . Additional information is specifically shown.

KV Hammer: Christian Birch-Reichenwald . In: Christian Blangstrup (Ed.): Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon . 2nd Edition. tape 3 : Benzene Derivatives Brides . JH Schultz Forlag, Copenhagen 1915, p. 264 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
Paul Thyness: Christian Birch-Reichenwald . In: Norsk biografisk leksikon
Birch-Reichenwald, Christian . In: Store norske leksikon

Individual evidence

↑ Entrance examination for the university, corresponds to the Abitur, but is accepted by the university.
^ In Norway the government was organized in departments. Sweden, on the other hand, had ministries.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d hammer
↑ This is the second man behind the head of department or State Councilor who heads the department. Corresponds to the State Secretary.
↑ Amtmann is the highest local administrative authority in his district (office)
↑ Smaalenes Amt was a district in the diocese Christiania in today's province ( fylke ) Østfold . It included the bailiwicks of Idd (now part of Halden ) and Marker , Moss , and Rakkestad . The capital was Moss.
^ Supreme administrative authority within a diocese (called "Stift" in Norway).
↑ ^a ^b Store norske leksikon.
↑ Until 1905, the Minister of State was the head of the Norwegian State Council Department in Stockholm, and thus corresponded to the Prime Minister of other countries. However, most of the Norwegian government was in Christiania.
↑ After the store norske leksikon the reason for the resignation was the weakening of the position by the government.

personal data
SURNAME	Birch-Reichenwald, Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Norwegian lawyer and politician, member of the Storting
DATE OF BIRTH	January 4, 1814
PLACE OF BIRTH	Blaker
DATE OF DEATH	July 8, 1891
Place of death	Christiania

[1] Entrance examination for the university, corresponds to the Abitur, but is accepted by the university.

[2] In Norway the government was organized in departments. Sweden, on the other hand, had ministries.

[Hammer-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d hammer

[4] This is the second man behind the head of department or State Councilor who heads the department. Corresponds to the State Secretary.

[5] Amtmann is the highest local administrative authority in his district (office)

[6] Smaalenes Amt was a district in the diocese Christiania in today's province ( fylke ) Østfold . It included the bailiwicks of Idd (now part of Halden ) and Marker , Moss , and Rakkestad . The capital was Moss.

[7] Supreme administrative authority within a diocese (called "Stift" in Norway).

[SNL-8] Store norske leksikon.

[9] Until 1905, the Minister of State was the head of the Norwegian State Council Department in Stockholm, and thus corresponded to the Prime Minister of other countries. However, most of the Norwegian government was in Christiania.

[10] After the store norske leksikon the reason for the resignation was the weakening of the position by the government.