Johan Gunder Adler

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Johan Gunder Adler as Christian VIII's Cabinet Secretary

Johan Gunder Adler (born March 5, 1784 in Copenhagen , † May 26, 1852 in Hof (Saale) ) was a Danish-Norwegian official and co-author of the most influential draft for the constitution of Eidsvoll .

Life

His parents were the master cooper Adolph Andreas (sen) Adler (approx. 1747–1819) and his wife Ingeborg Lund (approx. 1756–1823). On December 23, 1829 he married Anna Marie (Høyer) Saabye (March 8, 1786– January 24, 1857), daughter of the provost Christian Frederik Høyer (1739–1897) and his wife Dorothea Thulstrup (1760–1818).

He took 1803-1804 at the University of Copenhagen from the Annenexamen, but did not continue his studies. During the siege of Copenhagen by the English in 1807, he served as sergeant of the commander of the royal body hunter corps under Georg Sverdrup , who certified him with particular conscientiousness, boldness, courage and presence of mind. After a few years as a language teacher, Adler went to Fredrikshald (today Halden in Norway) in 1812 as the director of the Prince Christian August Memorial School there, later known as the “Lærde skole”. In 1813 he met Prince Christian Friedrich of Denmark there. Christian Friedrich found it difficult to find Norwegians who spoke French. That was the case with Adler.

There is no source that shows how it came about that he and Christian Magnus Falsen , who had known each other since university days, came up with the first and most thorough draft of a Norwegian constitution. It was published in the Journal for Lovgivning, Rigsforsamling og Politik . Most of the early investigations into the development of the Eidsvoll constitution attribute the majority to Falsen, above all the constitutional history of Henrik Arnold Wergeland . This was supported by the fact that the manuscript was written in Falsen's handwriting and compiled at Falsen's Vollebæk manor. Falsen also presented the draft as his own at the Imperial Assembly. Wergeland wrote that Adler had only written the introduction to the draft and that Falsen had provided material through his in-depth knowledge of recent French history and constitution. This view was last expressed in a dissertation by Einar Østvedt from 1945. In his report on this dissertation in 1947 , the historian Jacob S. Worm-Müller contradicted this thesis. Its main argument, however, comes from Adler himself. A few years before his death, Adler wrote to the Danish historian Hans Peter Giessing, when asked about the authorship of the draft constitution, that he had written the entire "first and political part" during Falsen wrote the last and legal part. From this, Worm-Müller concluded that the first three chapters with the general principles of the state constitution, the elections and the form of government come from Adler and the remaining five chapters on the administration of justice, the defense system, the financial constitution, the church and school system and the Possibilities of constitutional amendment.

Falsen followed the Prince Regent to Eidsvoll and helped him write his public announcements. Wergeland reports that the Prince Regent wanted Adler a seat in the Imperial Assembly, but Falsen and Georg Sverdrup opposed them. On July 28, 1814, Adler was formally appointed Christian Frederik's cabinet secretary and, in this capacity, took part in negotiations with the envoys of the great powers and was also one of the negotiators in the war against Sweden over an armistice, giving him his knowledge of French against the Swedish King Karl Johann was very helpful. After the Treaty of Moss , he remained the next advisor to the prince and, alongside the latter, signed the report on the political position of the king of September 11, 1814.

Adler's stay in Norway was short. He stayed with Christian Friedrich for the rest of his life. He followed him in 1814 when he had to leave Norway and was in his service in 1815 when he was governor of Funen . He accompanied Christian Friedrich on his major trips abroad from 1819 to 1822. He was his contact to his Norwegian friends. When Christian Friedrich ascended the Danish throne as Christian VIII in 1839, he became the latter's secret cabinet secretary and, in 1840, state secretary for mercy, where he became the central figure for the extensive gratification system of late absolutism. From 1839 to 1840 he was a member of the board of directors for the royal theater . In 1840 he became a secret budget councilor and in 1848 a secret conference councilor. He was the king's closest confidante and his most important advisor. After the king's death he withdrew. He died during a spa stay in Hof in Bavaria, where he is also buried.

In 1842 he received the Commander's Cross of the Legion of Honor and in 1843 the Grand Cross of the Dannebrog Order .

Remarks

The article is essentially taken from the Norsk biografisk leksikon . Any other information is shown separately.

  1. ↑ The "Annenexamen" was an Examen philosophicum, an intermediate examination, the passing of which was a prerequisite for further studies for a state examination.
  2. ↑ a b Clausen p. 58.
  3. ↑ Einar Østvedt: Christian Magnus Falsen. Linjen i hans politikk. 1945.
  4. ^ Jacob Stenersen Worm-Müller: "Opposisjonsinnlegg ved Einar Østvedts doktordisputas." In Historisk Tidskrift Volume. 36, 1946-1948. Pp. 458-485.
  5. ↑ That must be a mistake, because there are no five chapters on this problem. Clausen does not address this question at all.
  6. ↑ On the basis of the announcement of August 12, 1808, the titles "Secret Budget Council" (Gehejmeetatsraad) and "Secret Conference Council" (Gehejmekonferensraad) were purely honorary titles. The "Secret Budget Council" brought the 2nd class at court with it, the "Secret Conference Council" brought the 1st class. Gehejmeraad . In: Christian Blangstrup (Ed.): Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon . 2nd Edition. tape 9 : Friele gradient . JH Schultz Forlag, Copenhagen 1920, p. 519 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
  7. ↑ Clausen p. 59. Clausen lists a whole series of diplomatic and domestic political tasks that he carried out for the king and that only became known through research on the reign of Christian VIII.
  8. ↑ Thorsøe p. 106.

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Adler, Johan Gunder
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish-Norwegian civil servant
DATE OF BIRTH March 5, 1784
PLACE OF BIRTH Copenhagen
DATE OF DEATH May 26, 1852
Place of death Hof (Saale)