Frederik Stang

Frederik Stang

Frederik Stang (born March 4, 1808 at the Nordre Rostad farm in Stokke , Vestfold ; † June 8, 1884 at the Helgerud farm in Bærum , Akershus ), who wrote himself "Friederich Stang" until the beginning of the 1830s, was a Norwegian Lawyer and politician.

Life and career

Beginnings

His father was the procurator and later district judge ( Sorenskriver ) Lauritz Leganger Stang (1775-1836), his mother was Johanne ("Hanna") Margrethe Conradi (1780-1820).

He grew up in poor conditions. His father was a poorly paid judge, first in Ryfylke and later in Nordhordland, who could barely finance the children's education. So the first years of school in Stavanger were private. But when he was 13, Stang went to the Latin school in Bergen. There he left at the age of 16 and passed the examen artium as the best of 62 students. He passed the university entrance examination with distinction (praeceteris). Even while he was in Latin school, he had to earn a living from private lessons, and in Oslo he worked as a teacher alongside his studies.

In the first years of his studies he was good friends with Henrik Wergeland . Over time, however, the differences grew. The dissolute student life with Wergeland at the top was in stark contrast to his ideals of frugality and a sense of duty. He was active in " Det norske Studentersamfund " (The Norwegian Student Association), but left the association together with others and switched to the student association "Intelligensen", a group of the most talented students around Count Wedel : Johan Sebastian Welhaven , Christian Birch-Reichenwald, Bernhard Dunker , Peter Andreas Munch and Anton Martin Schweigaard . Count Wedel was very fond of him and saw in Stang his successor in Norwegian politics. Stang was a member of the editorial board of Vidar , the newspaper of "Intelligensen".

After Stang had passed the legal state examination in 1828, he published an article in the Morgenbladet on the liability law, which also had an impact on the treatment of the law in Storting. His special talent was recognized and in 1829 he became a lecturer (reader) at the law school and two years later a lecturer. He and Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt laid the foundations for independent Norwegian law. Stang's lectures on natural law circulated as manuscripts among students for another 30 years. His lectures on constitutional law formed the basis for studying constitutional law for ten years.

In a systematic presentation "Kongeriget Norges constitutionelle eller grundlovsbestemte Ret" (The constitutional and constitutional law of Norway) from 1833 and other articles on the subject in Vidar , he presented his basic political views and his program. His starting point was that Norway had a "democratic-monarchical" form of government in which the storting was an expression of the will of the people, but this will of the people "does not trust itself", which is why it has given the king a limiting and inhibiting power through the constitution. But he also saw the danger of a frozen, bureaucratic system and called for an interaction between the will of the people and the superior insight of the government. The will of the people purified in this way must be a moving force in politics. His view was a kind of elitist democracy. The government should use its prerogative to ensure that the resolutions serve the common good and are not just the result of chance or limited self-interest.

On March 30, 1833, he married Julie Georgine von Munthe von Morgenstierne (* October 12, 1812 - November 30, 1885), daughter of District Judge Bredo von Munthe von Morgenstierne (1774-1835) and Cathrine Elisabeth Fries (1781–1835) in Christiania Augusta. 1840). They had nine children in the course of the marriage.

Professional development

For economic reasons, Stang took the bar exam and became a lawyer at the Supreme Court in 1834. He was soon the most respected lawyer and his practice went well. From 1837 to 1845 he was a member of the Magistrate of Christiania and at the same time a member of various commissions, such as the Commission for the Reform of Criminal Law, the Regulation of Civil Service Provision and the Change in the Court Code for Norway. He became chairman of “Selskapet for Norges Vel” (Society for the Welfare of Norway), “Christiania tekniske forening” (Christiania's technical association), “Foreningen mod Brændeviinsdrik” (Association against alcohol consumption).

In 1837 he was appointed government advocate, a trust post with little income. It was about advising the government on difficult legal issues. One of the reports concerned the question of whether Quakers should settle exclusively in Stavanger. His vote meant that all “dissidents” were allowed to settle down anywhere in the country and freely practice their religion.

He moved - again from an economic point of view - to the Norwegian Bank in 1839 and became their lawyer. His defense in the criminal case at the Supreme Court against the State Councilor Jørgen Herman Vogt received the greatest public attention in 1845 . After his acquittal, the king appointed him State Councilor and President of the newly created Interior Department.

This heavy workload was detrimental to health. He was seconded to a busy State Council department in Stockholm in 1854. This was followed by another delegation until he left for health reasons in 1856. Economic difficulties also weighed on him; for the salary of the Council of State was far lower than his salary as a lawyer. This was significant in nine children. Finally, donations were even collected for him. The result was 17,000 species thaler.

In 1856 he fell ill from overwork. In 1857 he went to Switzerland for rehabilitation for a year.

After his recovery in 1858, he was recovered to such an extent that he could have resumed his post in the department had it not been for the reorganization of the department by Christian Birch-Reichenwald. Stang was deeply offended by this, and political public opinion was outraged by the royal government's move. But he had become too strong for the Crown Prince Regent Karl (later King Karl XV. ). Instead he was elected to Storting.

In 1861 he became first councilor in a newly formed government. In 1873 he became Minister of State. There was a gradually worsening conflict with the Storting, which eventually attacked his health. In 1880 he took his leave. The government's proposed increase in the state council pension was rejected by the Storting. Beloved friends then organized a fundraising for an honorary gift. It brought in 81,000 kronor, which Stang passed on to a university scholarship fund.

From 1880 until his death, Stang wrote several treatises on constitutional law. He died in his summer residence in Bærum. The funeral ceremony in the Trinity Church was attended by the whole of official Norway with the king, the crown prince and his successor Johan Sverdrup at the head. He was buried in Vår Frelsers gravlund (Savior Cemetery) in Christiania.

Basic political attitude

Stang was an economic liberal, but like his like-minded fellow at Storting Schweigaard, he rejected an unconditional laissez-faire. Liberalism must contain a moral element and, together with a dynamic state power, serve the prosperity and health of the people. From this point of view, he rejected the absolute veto on constitutional issues, but extended the suspensive veto to all areas that were not expressly excluded by law. Among the constitutional changes he considered desirable were the abolition of the governor's office, the Council of State's access to the Storting, and the regular handling of diplomatic matters. He was very skeptical of the Scandinavianism popular among civil servants and intellectuals in the 1930s and 1940s and did not share their nostalgic devotion to Denmark. He defended the constitutional rights of the king, especially his right of absolute veto on constitutional issues.

The Storting represented the people, the government was seen as the king's representative. For the patriots, politics was a defense of the constitution, vigilance towards the king and his government. The peasants stood guard against the interference of the officials. The people and not the state was the nation. For “intelligences”, of whom Stang belonged, politics was attack, change, reform, a planned development forward. Stang respected the people's will, but believed that it had to be "purified" and "shaped". Stangs and the members of "Intelligensen" had the vision of a joint approach by Storting and government for the development of the nation. This cooperation was not possible without the State Council gaining access to the Storting. Stang therefore campaigned for the Council of State to be allowed to negotiate the storting. In his opinion, otherwise, the government of the people could not “purify” the will and, in this refined form, pursue “politics in the spirit of the people”. But since the government was recruited from the civil service, this control theory remained a theory for this social elite.

First State Council Office

As a member of the government, Stang was in the company of older, well-deserved but politically inexperienced officials who saw themselves as heads of a department but not as members of a body. The State Council was good-willed, but weak, without initiative and far from shaping a reform policy according to the needs of the time. With his unusual talent, initiative and enthusiasm for work, Stang went to work on the areas of work that had been assigned to the interior department. In the course of his tenure, the Ministry of the Interior was given responsibility for economy, supply, medical, postal, traffic, sewer, construction and fire, calibration, insurance, municipalities, including statistics. He tackled many long-procrastinated problems. This applied, for example, to the Road Act, which had been in work for 20 years and was passed through his initiative in cooperation with the Storting opposition in 1853 and led to a significant upswing in road construction. He also received extensive support from the other state councils. But it was not limited to the tasks of the interior ministry, but also encroached on the areas of responsibility of other ministries. This caused irritation among his older colleagues, especially due to his lecturing tone, his stubbornness and his temperament. During his tenure, a railway line from Christiania to Eidsvoll was also tackled. He also campaigned for the improvement of agriculture. On his initiative, an agricultural congress was held in Christiania in 1848, which was followed in 1851 by the Small Farmers Act (Husmannsloven) and the establishment of a Higher Agricultural School (Den høiere Landbrugsskole) in Ås in 1854. In 1851 the "Kongeriget Norges Hypothekbank" was founded, which covered the capital needs of agriculture. The first psychiatric hospital and the establishment of a medical council were groundbreaking in the health sector, which the Storting initially rejected, but approved in 1854.

Constitutional conflict

First government crisis

After his illness in 1858 he did not return to his old position, but was elected to the Storting. 1859-1860 Stang represented Christiania in Storting. In 1860 he spoke in favor of the Council of State's access to the Storting and also voted. But now the standards had changed and there were parliamentary reservations about a power shift between Storting and the government. The request was rejected.

When another motion to revoke the office of Swedish governor, which was seen as an essential step towards equal rights for the two countries, a scandal broke out: The Storting, trusting a promise made by King Charles XV. voted unanimously on his accession to the throne, but the king vetoed it. He hadn't asked the Swedish government or the Swedish parliament beforehand. The Swedish press went by storm that he had disregarded the legal procedure, exceeded his competence. The committees refused to take such a move and he was unable to keep his promise. A special committee recommended that the government be distrusted. Stang voted against this motion with others, so it was rejected. He was fundamentally against the conception of ministerial responsibility on which the motion was based. The Swedish government then proposed a joint union committee with an unlimited mandate, which the Norwegian government unanimously rejected. The nature of this rejection created a deep rift within the government and in its relationship with the king in 1861. The District President Birch-Reichenwald , his brother-in-law Ketil Motzfeldt and the First State Councilor Hans Christian Petersen then announced their resignation. After a change in wording was adopted in the rejection of the Swedish proposal, Stang agreed to join the government. On December 17, 1861, he was appointed First Councilor of State.

The first government crisis in Norway led to a right-wing split in Norwegian politics. The bitterness of the group around Birch-Reichenwald over the behavior of Stang determined politics for decades. Stang was given the insignificant audit department as the area of ​​responsibility. On the other hand, this position gave him the opportunity to spin the threads with the other specialist departments and to forge a homogeneous political body from them. This was necessary because the still unresolved revision of the Union relationship fell within his competence. Stang was convinced that security and economic policy were in the interests of both empires. Just like the circle around Birch-Reichenwald and the Storting majority, he had the goal of equal rights for the two empires in mind, but he did not share the Council of State's bitterness about Sweden's actions and also rejected the precondition for the abolition of the governor's office for further negotiations with Sweden . He trusted that Sweden would regret interference in internal Norwegian affairs. At least he managed to get the Storting to reject the abolition of the governor's office in a new resolution, thus clearing the way for a joint Union Commission that began its work in 1865.

Defense policy

Due to his critical attitude to Scandinavianism , he had already supported the opposition in the government against military support for Denmark in 1848. When the German-Danish conflict came to a head, there was a majority in the government and Storting in favor of military support for Denmark. Stang belonged to the negative minority. He feared an economic setback from this military adventure. He had a certain support from the people, especially in the west of the country, who viewed this war from a sober economic perspective, but not in Christiania, the eastern part of the country, with the right in Norwegian politics, the civil servants and the circle around Birch- Reichenwald. In the controversy of the 1960s over the army order, Stang took a differentiated stance: For economic and political reasons he sought to moderate the pressure of the king and the military, on the other hand he was convinced that a stronger military was necessary for the claim to equal rights.

More conflicts

Renewed advance to allow the State Council on the negotiations of the Storting, but again did not reach the required ² / ₃ -Mehrheit. The Storting had lost confidence that the reform would strengthen the government's position for the benefit of the Norwegian people. The opposition peasants feared this strengthening, and the civil servants' group feared for their independence in voting, since the civil servants were dependent on the government. The frank officials would become “dance masters and puppets.” The constitutional struggle was a power struggle. The farmers opposed the strengthening of the leadership role of the elites. Another advance in 1866 did not even get a simple majority. After the austerity policy of the peasant direction against the view of Stang, who considered it to be detrimental to the economic upswing, was accepted, an anti-ministerial majority came about in Storting in 1869. The political camps drifted apart. State Councilor Haffner resigned from the government by means of a vote of no confidence, and Stang brought in Haffner's critic Professor Ole Jacob Broch to the annoyance of the conservatives, but probably with a view to the intended revision of the Union relationship.

The paper drawn up by the Union Committee, which clearly bore Stang's signature, was presented in 1867. In it, among other things, the foreign policy of the Swedish government was granted. But in the meantime the spokesman for the peasant faction in the Storting, Ole Gabriel Ueland, had died, and the conservative side came up with sharp criticism of the paper, especially of Norway's elimination from foreign policy. The paper was rejected in Storting in 1871 against only 17 pro votes. This ended Stang's willingness to cooperate with the Storting, and all corresponding tendencies in the government were crushed. He ensured that constitutional amendments decided by the Storting were refused royal approval. Three members of the Council of State resigned and were replaced by conservatives. The Storting then passed a protest address, which was actually a vote of no confidence.

Confrontation with the storting

After the change of throne in 1872, the government responded with a proposal for other constitutional changes designed to maintain the distribution of power. King Oscar II worried about this conflict and toyed with the idea of ​​letting Stang go. But then the State Council came together and threatened the resignation of the entire government. The conflict over the office of governor found its solution in a decision of the State Council after treatment in the joint Norwegian-Swedish State Council by creating an office of "State Minister" in Christiania. Stang became the first incumbent on July 21, 1873.

In 1874 the government presented a new proposal on the question of the Council of State's access to the Storting and linked this with regulations on the payment of the deputies and the State Councilors. The request was rejected. Instead, earlier decisions of the Storting were redrafted, but fell under the king's veto. It was hoped that, in accordance with the constitution, a third resolution would override the king's veto.

The 1876 elections strengthened the opposition. The budget was rejected. The storting requested precise information about the intended use of the money. Christian Selmer became Minister of State in 1880 . A new resolution was passed to amend the constitution on the State Council question. He should now be admitted to the storting. However, the Swedish government referred to the king's absolute right of veto on constitutional issues and the government refused to ratify the law. The Storting responded on June 9 by stating that the Storting's decision was constitutional law. The government refused to make the announcement. This brought the conflict before the Imperial Court. The Reichsgericht sentenced those members of the government who had voted for the refusal, including Christian Selmer, to impeachment. The others were only sentenced to a fine.

meaning

He was a central figure in Norwegian state life and initiated the material development of Norway in the mid-19th century. His struggle to maintain the distribution of power - "System Stang" - led to a bitter political dispute that overshadowed his great commitment to the country in the last years of his life.

Honors

Frederik Stang member of Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab from 1846, the Videnskabs-Selskabet in Christiania (today Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi ) since its foundation in 1857 and the Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien in Stockholm. He was appointed commander of the Saint Olav Order on its founding day in 1847 and received the Grand Cross in 1853. Four years later, he received the highest honor in the country, the Citizen Merit Medal in Gold. He was a knight of the Swedish Serafimer Order and had the Grand Cross of the Dannebrog Order and many other foreign orders.

literature

The article essentially follows the article in Norsk biografisk leksikon . Deviations or additions are indicated by individual evidence.

• Paul Thyness: Frederik Stang. In: Norsk biografisk leksikon.
• Magnus A. Mardal: Frederik Stang. In: Store norske leksikon. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
• Anne-Lise Seip: Nasjonen bygges 1830–70. Aschehougs norges historie volume 8. Oslo 1997.
• Ole Andreas Øverland, Edvard Bull: Stang, Frederik. In: Salmonsens konversationsleksikon. 2nd Edition. Volume 22. Copenhagen 1927, pp. 139-140.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lawyer appointed by the king at lower and higher courts.
2. ↑ According to Øverland / Bull he was entitled to 12,000 crowns, which Storting halved.
3. ↑ According to Øverland / Bull, he lived on the interest. The amount was donated to the “Stiftelsen til State Minister Fredrik Stang's Minde”, which came into force in 1887, in his will.
4. ↑ Thynnesen
5. ↑ According to the constitution, the king had a suspensive right of veto in the legislation, which could be overcome with three successive storting resolutions. Only in constitutional questions could it not be overcome, but this was controversial, since nothing about it was in the constitution.
6. ↑ Mardal
7. ↑ Seip p. 56 f.
8. ↑ The central state administration in Norway is divided into departments according to subject areas. Each department is headed by a council of state or a department president (departementssjef). The department corresponds to the "ministry".
9. ↑ According to Norsk biografisk leksikon (article Christian Birch-Reichenwald) the resignation should be due to the sharp criticism of HC Petersen from the king. According to the store norske leksikon (article Christian Birch-Reichenwald) the reason was the weakening of the formulations in the rejection, which was essentially due to Christian Birch-Reichenwald, by the majority of the state councilors. More details in the article Christian Birch-Reichenwald .
10. ↑ Seip, p. 196. Thynnesen thinks that the majority of the government and the people were against participating in the war and therefore no Norwegian troops went to Denmark.
11. ↑ Seip p. 57.
12. ↑ Seip p. 203.
13. ↑ There were only ministers in Sweden. Stang was the representative of the Swedish king in place of the governor.
14. ↑ The Reichsgericht (riksrett) is a special court for members of the government, representatives of the storting and judges at the highest court for criminal offenses in office. The Lagting and the Supreme Court occupied the Imperial Court. The Odelsting ruled on the indictment.

predecessor	Office	successor
Hans Christian Petersen	Prime Minister of Norway 1861 - 1880	Christian August Selmer