Hans Christian Petersen

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the Greenlandic university rector, teacher and author, see Hans Christian Petersen (rector) .

Hans Christian Petersen (born August 11, 1793 in Kristiansand , † September 26, 1862 in Christiania ) was a Norwegian lawyer, civil servant and politician. From 1858 to 1861 he was de facto Prime Minister of Norway.

Life

Petersen's parents were the city physician Claus Peter Petersen (1762–1823) and his wife Christine Wilhelmine Lakier (1768–1817). He grew up in Kristiansand and went to Latin school there. In 1810 he began to study law in Copenhagen. On January 14, 1814, he passed the theoretical legal exam, the same day that the Peace of Kiel was concluded. He wanted to return to Norway immediately to take part in the struggle for independence. But the blockade prevented them from returning home. So he went with some women in a rowboat to the Swedish coast, from where he traveled on to Christiania disguised as a carter . One of the companions later became his wife.

In April 1814 he became town bailiff in Kragerø , in the same year he headed the Naval War Commissariat and in September of the same year he became protocol secretary at the newly established Supreme Court.

In 1817 he was admitted to the bar at the Supreme Court and until 1817 he headed a lucrative law firm.

From 1821 he was a defense counsel at the Imperial Court of Justice and defended, among others, State Councilor Thomas Fasting in 1821 (accumulation of offices as State Councilor and naval commander) and in 1827 Jonas Collett (unconstitutional instructions as Minister of Finance) and in 1836 Minister of State Severin Løvenskiold (he had the decree of King Karl Johans in Stockholm to dissolve the Stortings countersigned in Christiania without asking). He lost the last trial. He was very eloquent, probably due to his experience as an actor in "Det dramatiske Selskap" until 1827. He was also noticed during the first doctoral thesis at the University of Christiania in 1817 because of his skillful Latin language. From 1830 to 1834 he was appointed government advocate, but resigned from office because there was no agreement on the salary and calculated his votes for the government individually until 1837. In 1836 he was offered a state council post, which he refused. Instead, he became a canon in Christiania in 1837. Two years later he did join the government and became head of the naval department. From 1840 to 1841 and again from 1843 to 1844 he held office in the State Council Department in Stockholm. From 1845 to 1847 he was head of the Justice Department. After that he changed departments frequently and was at the end of 1859 to 1861 head of the auditing department. From 1858 to 1861 he headed the Norwegian government, albeit without the title of “Minister of State”, which was only introduced in 1873 for this position. He resigned from this office after the king announced his displeasure with his position in the dispute over the Swedish-Norwegian union committee.

Petersen was the founder of the Norsk Retstidende , which quickly became an indispensable tool for lawyers.

From 1846 he was a member of " Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab ".

family

He married on May 27, 1816 in Christiania Kirstine Marie Thrane (* July 12, 1796; † February 5, 1876). She was the daughter of the businessman and city governor Paul Thrane (1753-1830) and his wife Judith Abigael Clausen (1775-1833).

Government offices

Office	Period
Naval Department	October 17, 1839 - May 31, 1840
State Council Department Stockholm	06/01/1840 - 05/31/1841
Naval Department	06/01/1841 - 08/31/1843
State Council Department Stockholm	09/01/1843 - 08/31/1844
Naval Department	09/01/1844 - 03/21/1845
Justice and Police Department	04/01/1845 - 06/30/1847
State Council Department Stockholm	07/01/1847 - 06/30/1848
Interior department	07/01/1848 - 06/30/1849
State Council Department Stockholm	07/01/1849 - 08/31/1850
Justice and Police Department	09/01/1850 - 08/31/1851
Army Department	09/01/1851 - 07/14/1852
Naval Department	09/01/1852 - 10/29/1852
Army Department	10/01/1852 - 10/10/1852
Naval Department	04/12/1853 - 05/31/1853
Justice and Police Department	06/01/1853 - 08/31/1853
State Council Department Stockholm	09/01/1853 - 06/30/1854
Justice and Police Department	07/01/1854 - 08/31/1855
State Council Department Stockholm	09/01/1855 - 08/31/1856
Army Department	09/01/1856 - 09/10/1857
Naval Department	09/14/1857 - 09/30/1857
Army Department	10/03/1857 - 10/27/1857
Naval Department	October 15, 1857 - August 31, 1858
Justice and Police Department	09/01/1858 - 06/30/1859
First Council of State	04.12.1858 - 11.12.1861
Naval Department	May 28, 1859 - July 24, 1860
Audit Department	07/01/1859 - 12/11/1861

Remarks

1. ↑ 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.
2. ↑ biography
3. ↑ Fra riksrettens praksis
4. ↑ Fra riksrettens praksis
5. ↑ The government advocate prepared expert opinions for the government on legal issues.
6. ^ Supreme administrative authority within a diocese (called "Stift" in Norway).
7. ↑ In Norway the ministries were called "departments" and were headed by councilors
8. ↑ Norsk Retstidende is a legal journal published today by the Norwegian Bar Association.
9. ^ Table of the offices of Hans Christian Petersen.

literature

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

• Terje Bratberg: Article "Hans Pedersen". In: Norsk biografisk leksikon

predecessor	Office	successor
Jørgen Herman Vogt	Prime Minister of Norway 1858 - 1861	Frederik Stang

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