Ludvig Frederik Brock

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Ludvig Frederik Brock, 1843.

Ludvig Frederik Brock (born August 20, 1774 in Biri in Oppland , Norway , † November 22, 1853 in Randers , Denmark ) was a Danish-Norwegian military and politician .

Life

Ludvig Frederik Brock was the youngest son of the Danish-Norwegian major Hans Henrik Brock and Johanne Gonsager Haberdorff. His father sent him to a cadet school when he was nine. Armed with the training there, he began a military career in the Norwegian service. On December 7, 1798, he married Bolette Mathilde Frost, who died in February 1799, and on December 18, 1801, his second marriage was Elisabeth Andrea Lange.

Brock became adjutant to the Danish King Friedrich VI. When Prince Christian Friedrich ruled Norway from 1813 to 1814 and initially tried to counter the separation of Norway from Denmark by gaining popular opinion, Brock was his constant companion as head of his staff, sharing the enthusiasm of the Norwegians for their independence and the self-chosen prince. He stood at the side of the prince when he swore the liberal constitution of Eidsvoll on May 17, 1814 , according to which he was declared Hereditary King as Christian I of Norway by popular will. It was suspected, however, that Christian I wanted to overturn the constitution again as soon as it was recognized by the allied powers. On August 14, 1814, he had to renounce the Norwegian throne in the Moss Convention , which Brock had negotiated on his behalf with Bernadotte , then the Swedish Crown Prince.

With Christian I, his adviser Brock left Norway and went to Denmark, where he soon renounced military service and in 1824 became a customs inspector in Randers in Jutland . However, he went blind in 1826 and as a result resigned from his post as customs inspector in 1829. Now appearing as a pioneer of liberalism , as a representative of the city of Randers in the Jutland provincial assembly (1836–1844), he tirelessly attacked grievances in the constitution and administration. But all of his attacks failed because of the resistance of the government and the Jutland estates' reluctance to conflict with the government. In vain he demanded freedom of the press , publicity of the class negotiations and the publication of an official class newspaper, in order to make clear the necessity of an effective popular representation instead of the merely advisory provincial estates. Since his proposal to reorganize the estates failed, he at least supported the proposal to unite the two Danish provincial estates into a single assembly.

Brock's motions and complaints regarding administrative matters were equally unsuccessful. To improve finance, he suggested u. a. an army reform and the introduction of general conscription , about which he had published the book Et Par Ord angaaende Nødvendigheden af ​​en almindeligere Værnepligt in 1834 . In June 1838, as a member of the Jutland assembly of estates, he applied to ask the king to convert the collegial form of government into a departmental or ministerial administration, because under personal responsibility this would be faster and safer and also cause much lower costs. But only the President, Professor Schouw , supported his proposal, which was rejected by 42 votes against 8. His application for the abolition of the lottery game only reached the resolutions that the lottery should be canceled as soon as the state of the finances made this income unnecessary and that the stake should be increased to three Danish marks on an experimental basis, but the establishment of new collections should be stopped. Without success he also pushed for the abolition or restriction of the guild system.

At least the fellow citizens of his place of residence, Randers, elected Brock almost unanimously in 1838 as their municipal representative, a position of honor he had earned through his zeal for the introduction of a rather liberal city order. Brock died in Randers in November 1853 at the age of 79.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Brock, Ludvig Frederik
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish-Norwegian military and politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 20, 1774
PLACE OF BIRTH Biri , Oppland, Norway
DATE OF DEATH November 22, 1853
Place of death Randers , Denmark