Kingdom of Norway (Sweden-Norway)

Kongeriget Norge
Kingdom of Norway

Autonomous component of ‌Sweden-Norway

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1814–1905

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Region

Scandinavia

Capital

Christiania

Government

Constitutional monarchy

King of Norway

- 1814-1818

Charles II

- 1818-1844

Charles III John

- 1844-1859

Oscar I

- 1859-1872

Charles IV

- 1872-1905

Oscar II

Viceroy of Norway

- 1814

Crown Prince Charles John

- 1814-1816

Authority delegated to Governor-General

- 1816

Crown Prince Charles John

- 1816-1824

Authority delegated to Governor-General

- 1824

Crown Prince Oscar

- 1824-1829

Authority delegated to Governor-General

Governor-General of Norway

- 1814

Marcus Gjøe Rosenkrantz

- 1814

Superceded by Viceroy

- 1814-1816

Count Hans Henrik von Essen

- 1816

Superceded by Viceroy

- 1816-1818

Count Carl Carlsson Mörner

- 1818-1824

Count Johan August Sandels

Legislature

Storting

History

- January 14, 1814

Treaty of Kiel

- November 4, 1814

Constitution of Norway amended

- November 4, 1814

Charles II elected king of Norway

- July 21, 1873

First Prime Minister appointed

- October 16, 1875

Monetary union with Sweden and Denmark

- October 26, 1905

Oscar II renounces claims to Norway

Area

385,252 km²

Currency

Norwegian krone

Norway

v

The Kingdom of Norway (1814-1905) was a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe, and an autonomous component of the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway.

Norway had the right to self-government within the union and Norwegian legislation was presented to the king, by a delegation of Norwegian ministers permanently stationed in Stockholm. By precedence the king would also lead the Norwegian Council of State when ever he was in Kristiania, or in his absence there was also an office as Viceroy of Norway to be filled by princes succeeding to the throne on condition that they would hold residence there during their tenure. The office of Governor-General was intended to serve as the head of the Norwegian government in most cases, but a string of Swedish appointees made the office ill liked and eventually vacant, leaving the role be filled by a primus inter pares First Secretary of State as the head of government, until the office of Prime Minister of Norway was instituted in 1873.

The question of letting Norway open its own consulates abroad, thus affording the country a measure of autonomy also in international relations developed into a conflict that ultimately led to the break-up of the union. In 1905 Norway was able to gather the critical support it had lacked in 1814 to support its call for independence, and Sweden obligingly had little choice but to allow the Norwegians to claim their right to self-determination.

History[]

After a union of nearly 400 years between Norway and Denmark, the Danish king, Frederick VI., without consulting the Norwegians, ceded Norway to Sweden by the treaty of Kiel (January 14, 1814). Some time previously Sweden had joined the allies in their struggle against Napoleon, while Denmark had, unwisely, sided with the French. In 1813 the Swedish crown prince, Bernadotte, afterwards King Carl XIV., proceeded to Germany and took command of one of the armies of the allies. After the power of Napoleon had been broken he was elected heir to the Swedish throne, in succession to the childless king Carl XIII, who died in 1818.

After the battle of Leipzig, he advanced against Denmark, and King Frederick soon saw himself compelled to accede to the cession of Norway, which had long been the aspiration of the Swedes, especially after the loss of Finland in 1809. In the treaty of Kiel Frederick VI. absolved the Norwegians from their oath of allegiance, and called upon them to become the loyal subjects of the Swedish king. But the Norwegians, who had not been consulted in the matter, refused to acknowledge the treaty, declaring that, while the Danish king might renounce his right to the Norwegian crown, it was contrary to international law to dispose of an entire kingdom without the consent of its people. A meeting of delegates was convened at Eidsvold, not far from the Norwegian capital, where, on the 17th of May 1814, a constitution, framed upon the constitutions of United States, of France, and of Spain, was adopted. Among its most important features are that the Storthing, or National Assembly, is a single-chamber institution, and that the king is not given an absolute veto, or the right to dissolve the Storthing. The Danish governor of Norway, Prince Christian Frederick, was unanimously elected king. Soon afterwards the Swedes, under the crown prince, invaded Norway. The hostilities lasted only a fortnight, when Bernadotte opened negotiations with the Norwegians. A convention was held at Moss, where it was proposed that the Norwegians should accept the Swedish king as their sovereign, on the condition that their constitution of the 17th of May should remain intact, except with such alterations as the union might render necessary. An extraordinary Storthing was then summoned at Christiania, and on the 4th of November 1814 Norway was declared to be "a free, independent, and indivisible kingdom, united with Sweden under one king." A month previously Prince Christian Frederick had laid down his crown and left the country.

The union was more fully defined by the "Act of Union", which was accepted by the national assemblies of both countries in the following year. In the preamble to the act it is clearly stated that the union between the two peoples was accomplished "not by force of arms, but by free conviction", and the Swedish foreign minister declared to the European Powers, on behalf of Sweden, that the treaty of Kiel had been abandoned, and that it was not to this treaty, but to the confidence of the Norwegian people in the Swedish, that the latter owed the union with Norway. The constitution framed at Eidsvold was retained, and formed the Grundlov, or fundamental law of the kingdom. The union thus concluded between the two countries was really an offensive and defensive alliance under a common king, each country retaining its own government, parliament, army, navy and customs.

In Sweden the people received only an imperfect and erroneous insight into the nature of the union, and for a long time believed it to be an achievement of the Swedish arms. They had hoped to make Norway a province of Sweden, and now they had entered into a union in which both countries were equally independent. During the first fifteen years the king was represented in Norway by a Swedish viceroy, while the government was, of course, composed only of Norwegians. Count Wedel Jarlsberg was the first to be entrusted with the important office of head of the Norwegian government, while several of Prince Christian Frederick's councillors of state were retained, or replaced by others holding their political views. The Swedish Count von Essen was appointed the first viceroy of Norway, and was succeeded two years afterwards by his countryman Count von Morner, over both of whom Count Wedel exercised considerable influence.

During the first years of the union the country suffered from poverty and depression of trade, and the finances were in a deplorable condition. The first Storthing was chiefly occupied with financial and other practical measures. In order to improve the finances of the country a bank of Norway was founded, and the army was reduced to one half. The paid-up capital of the bank was procured by an extraordinary tax, and this, together with the growing discontent among the peasantry, brought about a rising in Hedemarken, the object of which was to dissolve the Storthing and to obtain a reduction in the taxation. The rising, however, soon subsided, and the bountiful harvest of 1819 brought more prosperous times to the peasantry. Meanwhile, however, the financial position of the country had nearly endangered its independence. The settlement with Denmark with regard to Norway's share of the national debt common to both, assumed threatening proportions. In the interest of Denmark, the allied powers asked for a speedy settlement, and in order to escape their collective intervention, Bernadotte, who had now succeeded to the throne of Sweden and Norway, on the death (February 5, 1818) of the old king Carl XIII., accepted British mediation, and was enabled in September 1819 to conclude a convention with Denmark, according to which Norway was held liable for only 3,000,000 specie dollars (nearly 700,000). But the Norwegians considered that this was still too much, and the attitude of the Storthing in 1821 nearly occasioned a fresh interference of the powers. The Storthing, however, yielded at last, and agreed to raise a loan and pay the amount stipulated in the convention, but the king evidently had his doubts as to whether the Norwegians really intended to fulfil their obligations. As his relations with the Storthing had already become strained, and as he was occupied at that time with plans, which it is now known meant nothing less than a coup d'etat in connexion with the revision of the Norwegian constitution, he decided to adopt military preparations, and in July 1821 he collected a force of 3000 Swedish and 3000 Norwegian troops in the neighbourhood of Christiania, ostensibly for the mere purpose of holding some manoeuvres. In a circular note (June 1) to the European powers, signed by the Swedish foreign minister, Engstrom - but it is not difficult to recognize the hand of the king as the real author - the minister complained bitterly of the treatment the king had met with at the hands of the Storthing, and represented the Norwegians in anything but a favourable light to the powers, the intention being to obtain their sympathy for any attempt that might be made to revise the Norwegian constitution. About this time another important question had to be settled by the Storthing. The Storthings of 1815 and 1818 had already passed a bill for the abolition of nobility, but the king had on both occasions refused his sanction. The Norwegians maintained that the few counts and barons still to be found in Norway were all Danish and of very recent origin, while the really true and ancient nobility of the country were the Norwegian peasants, descendants of the old jarls and chieftains. According to the constitution, any bill which has been passed by three successively elected Storthings, elections being held every third year, becomes law without the king's sanction. When the third reading of the bill came on, the king did everything in his power to obstruct it, but in spite of his opposition the bill was eventually carried and became law.

In 1822 Count Wedel Jarlsberg retired from the government. He had become unpopular through his financial policy, and was also at issue with the king on vital matters. In 1821 he had been impeached before the Rigsret, the supreme court of the realm, for having caused the state considerable losses. Jonas Collett (1772-1851) was appointed as his successor to the post of minister of finance. The king had by this time apparently abandoned his plan of a coup d'etat, for in the following August he submitted to the Storthing several proposals for fundamental changes in the constitution, all of which aimed at removing all that was at variance with a monarchical form of government. The changes, in fact, were the same as he had suggested in his circular note to the Powers, and which he knew would be hailed with approval by his Swedish subjects. When the Storthing met again in 1824 the royal proposals for the constitutional changes came on for discussion. The Storthing unanimously rejected not only the king's proposals, but also several others by private members for changes in the constitution. The king submitted his proposals again in the following session of the Storthing, and again later on, but they were always unanimously rejected. In 1830 they were discussed for the last time, with the same result.

The king's insistence was viewed by the people as a sign of absolutist tendencies, and naturally excited fresh alarm. In the eyes of the people the members of the opposition in the Storthing were the true champions of the rights and the independence which they had gained in 1814.

For several years the Norwegians had been celebrating the 17th of May as their day of independence, it being the anniversary of the adoption of the constitution of 1814; but as the tension between the Norwegians and the king increased, the latter began to look upon the celebration in the encies. light of a demonstration directed against himself, and when Collett, the minister of finance, was impeached before the supreme court of the realm for having made certain payments without the sanction of the Storthing, he also considered this as an attack upon his royal prerogatives. His irritation knew no bounds, and although Collett was acquitted by the supreme court, the king, in order to express his irritation with the Storthing and the action they had taken against one of his ministers, dissolved the national assembly with every sign of displeasure. The Swedish viceroy at the time, Count Sandels, had tried to convince him that his prejudice against the celebration of the 17th of May was groundless, and for some years the king had made no objection to the celebration. In 1827 it was, however, celebrated in a very marked manner, and later in the same year there was a demonstration against a foolish political play called The Union, and this being privately reported to the king in as bad a light as possible, he thought that Count Sandels, who had not considered it worth while to report the occurrence, was not fitted for his post, and had him replaced by Count Beltzar Bojilaus Platen (1766-1829), an upright but narrow-minded statesman. Count Platen's first act was to issue a proclamation warning the people against celebrating the day of independence; and in April 1828 the king, against the advice of his ministers, summoned an extraordinary Storthing, his intention being to wrest from the Storthing the supremacy it had gained in 1827. He also intended to take steps to prevent the celebration of the 17th of May, and assembled a force of 2000 Norwegian soldiers in the neighbourhood of the capital. The king arrived in Christiania soon after the opening of the extraordinary Storthing. He did not succeed, however, in his attempt to make any constitutional changes, but the Storthing met the king's wishes with regard to the celebration of the 17th of May by deciding not to continue the celebration, and the people all over the country quietly acquiesced. The following year trouble broke out again. The students had decided to celebrate the 17th of May with a festive gathering, which, however, passed off quietly. But large masses of the people paraded the streets, singing and shouting, and gathered finally in the market-place. There was a little rioting, and the police and the military eventually dispersed the people and drove them to their homes with sword and musket. This episode has become known as the battle of the market-place," and did much to i ncrease the general ill-feeling against Count Platen. His health eventually broke down from disappointment and vexation at the indignities and abuse heaped upon him. He died in Christiania at the end of the year, and his post remained vacant for several years, the presidency of the Norwegian government in the meantime being taken by Collett, its oldest member.

By the July Revolution of 1830 the political situation in Europe became completely changed, and the lessons derived from that great movement reached also to Norway. political The representatives of the peasantry, for whom the constitution had paved the way to become the ruling element in political life, were also beginning to dist i ngu i sh themselves in the national assembly, where they now had taken up an independent position against the representatives of the official classes, who in 1814 and afterwards had played the leading and most influential part in politics. This party was now under the leadership of the able and gifted Ole Ueland, who remained a member of every Storthing from 1833 to 1869. The Storthing of 1833 was the first of the so-called peasant Storthings." Hitherto the peasantry had never been represented by more than twenty members, but the elections in 1833 brought their number up to forty-five, nearly half of the total representation. The attention of this new party was especially directed to the finances of the country, in the administration of which they demanded the strictest economy. They often went too far in their zeal, and thereby incurred considerable ridicule.

About this time the peasant party found a champion in the youthful poet Henrik Wergeland, who soon became one of the leaders of the " Young Norway " party. He was a /vergerepublican in politics, and the most zealous upholder of the national independence of Norway and of her full equality with Sweden in the union. A strong opposition to Wergeland and the peasant party was formed by the upper classes under the leadership of another rising poet and writer, Johan Sebastian Welhaven, and other talented men, who wished to retain the literary and linguistic relationship with Denmark, while Wergeland and his party wished to make the separation from Denmark as complete as possible, and in every way to encourage the growth of the national characteristics and feeling among the people. He devoted much of his time, by writing and other means, to promote the education of the people; but although he was most popular with the working and poorer classes, he was not able to form any political party around him, and at the time of his death he stood almost isolated. He died in 1845, and his opponents became now the leaders in the field of literature, and carried on the work of national reconstruction in a more restrained and quiet manner. The peasant party still continued to exist, but restricted itself principally to the assertion of local interests and the maintenance of strict economy in finance.

The violent agitation that began in 1830 died away. The tension between the king and the legislature, however, still continued, and reached its height during the session of 1836, when all the royal proposals for changes in the constitution were laid aside, without even passing through committee, and when various other steps towards upholding the independence of the country were taken. The king, in his displeasure, decided to dissolve the Storthing; but before it dispersed it proceeded to impeach Lovenskiold, one of the ministers, before the supreme court of the realm, for having advised the king to dissolve the Storthing. He was eventually sentenced to pay a fine of 10,000 kroner (about 550), but he retained his post. Collett, another minister who had greatly displeased the king by his conduct, was dismissed; but unity in the government was brought about by the appointment of Count Wedel Jarlsberg as viceroy of Norway. From this time the relations between the king and the Norwegian people began to improve, whereas in Sweden he was, in his later years, not a little disliked.

When the king's anger had subsided, he summoned the Storthing to an extraordinary session, during which several important bills were passed. Towards the close of the session an The address to the king was agreed to, in which the Storthing urged that steps should be taken to place Norway in political respects upon an equal footing with Sweden, especially in the conduct of diplomatic affairs with foreign countries. The same address contained a petition for the use of the national or merchant flag in all waters. According to the constitution, Norway was to have her own merchant flag, and in 1821 the Storthing had passed a resolution that the flag should be scarlet, divided into four by a blue cross with white borders. The king, however, refused his sanction to the resolution, but gave permission to use the flag in waters nearer home; but beyond Cape Finisterre the naval flag, which was really the Swedish flag, with a white cross on a red ground in the upper square, must be carried. In reply to the .Storthing's address the king in 1838 conceded the right to all merchant ships to carry the national flag in all waters. This was hailed with great rejoicings all over the country; but the question of the national flag for general use had yet to be settled With regard to the question raised in the address of the Storthing about the conduct of diplomatic affairs, and other matters concerning the equality of Norway in the union, the king in 1839 appointed a committee of four Norwegians and four Swedes, who were to consider and report upon the questions thus raised.

During the sitting of this first "Union Committee" its powers were extended to consider a comprehensive revision of the Act of of Union, with the limitation that the fundamental Death King Carl conditions of the union must in no way be interfered Johan; with. But before the committee had finished their succeeded report the king died (March 8th 1844), and was suc- by Oscar f. ceeded by his son Oscar I. According to the constitution the Norwegian kings must be crowned in Throndhjem cathedral, but the bishop of Throndhjem was in doubt whether the queen, who was a Roman Catholic, could be crowned, and the king decided to forego the coronation both of himself and his queen. The new king soon showed his desire to meet the wishes of the Norwegian people. Thus he decided that in all documents concerning the internal government of the country Norway should stand first where reference was made to the king as sovereign of the two kingdoms. After having received the report of the committee concerning the flag question, he resolved (June loth, 1844) that Norway and Sweden should each carry its own national flag as the naval flag, with the mark of union in the upper corner; and it was also decided that the merchant flag of the two kingdoms should bear the same mark of union, and that only ships sailing under these flags could claim the protection of the state.

The financial and material condition of the country had now considerably improved, and King Oscar's reign was marked by the carrying out of important legislative work and reforms, especially in local government. New roads were planned and built all over the country, the first railway was built, steamship routes along the coast were established, lighthouses were erected and trade and shipping made great progress. The king's reign was not disturbed by any serious conflicts between the two countries. No change took place in the ministry under the presidency of the viceroy Lovenskiold upon King Oscar's accession to the throne, but on the death or retirement of some of its members the vacant places were filled by younger and talented men, among whom was Fredrik Stang, who in 1845 took over the newly established ministry of the interior. During the Schleswig-Holstein rebellion (1848-1850) and the Crimean War King Oscar succeeded in maintaining the neutrality of Norway and Sweden, by which Norwegian shipping especially benefited. The abolition of the English navigation acts in 1850 was of great importance to Norway, and opened up a great future for its merchant fleet.

In 1826 a treaty had been concluded with Russia, by which the frontier between that country and the adjoining strip of Norwegian territory in the Polar region was definitely frontier should have the right to fish on the Norwegian coast, and have a portion of the coast on the Varanger fjord allotted to them to settle upon. The Norwegian government refused to accede to the Russian demands, and serious complications might have ensued if the attention of Russia had not been turned in another direction. While his father had looked to Russia for support, King Oscar was more inclined to secure western powers as his allies, and during the Crimean War he concluded a treaty with England and France, according to which these countries promised their assistance in the event of any fresh attempts at encroachment on Norwegian or Swedish territory by Russia. In consequence of this treaty the relations between Norway and Sweden and Russia became somewhat strained; but after the peace of Paris in 1856, and the accession of Alexander II., whose government was in favour of a peaceful policy, the Russian ambassador at Stockholm succeeded in bringing about more friendly relations.

Owing to the king's ill-health, his son, the crown prince Carl, was appointed regent in 1857, and two years later, when King Oscar died, he succeeded to the thrones of the two countries as Carl XV. He was a gifted, genial and noble personality, and desired to inaugurate his reign by giving the Nor- Death of wegians a proof of his willingness to acknowledge the Oscar 1.; claims of Norway, but he did not live to see his wishes accession in this respect carried out. According to the constitu- of Carl tion, the king had the power to appoint a viceroy for XV. Norway, who might be either a Norwegian or Swede. Since 1829 no Swede had held the post, and since 1859 no appointment of a viceroy had been made. But the paragraph in the constitution still existed, and the Norwegians naturally wished to have this stamp of " provinciality " obliterated. A proposal for the abolishment of the office of viceroy was laid before the Question Storthing in 1859, and passed by it. The king, whose of Nor- sympathies on this question were known, had been wegian appealed to, and had privately promised that he would viceroy. sanction the proposed change in the constitution; but as soon as the resolution of the Storthing became known in Sweden, a violent outcry arose both in the Swedish press and the Swedish estates. Under the pressure that was brought to bear upon the king in Sweden, he eventually refused to sanction the resolution of the Storthing; but he added that he shared the views of his Norwegian counsellors, and would, when " the convenient moment " came, himself propose the abolition of the office of viceroy.

In the - following year the Swedish government again pressed the demands of the Swedish estates for a revision of the Act of Union, which this time included the establishment of a Swedish union or common parliament for the two countries, on proposals the basis that, according to the population, there for re- should be two Swedish members to every Norwegian. vision of The proposal was sent to the Norwegian government, Act of which did not seem at all disposed to entertain it; but union. some dissensions arose with regard to the form in which its reply was to be laid before the king. The more obstinate members of the ministry resigned, and others, of a more pliable nature, were appointed under the presidency of Fredrik Stang, who had already been minister of the interior from 1845 to 1856. The reconstructed government was, however, in accord with the retiring one, that no proposal for the revision of the Act of Union could then be entertained. The king, however, advocated the desirability of a revision, but insisted that this would have to be based upon the full equality of both countries. In 1863 the Storthing assented to the appointment by the king of a Union committee, the second time that such a committee had been called upon to consider this vexatious question. It was not until 1867 that its report was made public, but it could not come on for discussion in the Storthing till it met again in 1871. During this period the differences between the two countries were somewhat thrust into the background by the Danish complications in 1863-1864, which threatened to draw the two kingdoms into war. King Carl was himself in favour of a defensive alliance with Denmark, but the Norwegian Storthing would only consent to this if an alliance could also be effected with at least one of the western powers.

In 1869 the Storthing passed a resolution by which its sessions were made annual instead of triennial according to the constitution of 1814. The first important question which the first yearly Storthing which met in 1871 had to consider was once more the proposed revision of the Act of Union. The Norwegians had persistently maintained that in any discussion on this question the basis for the negotiations should be (1) the full equality of the two kingdoms, and (2) no extension of the bonds of the union beyond the line originally defined in the act of 1815. However, the draft of the new act contained terms in which the supremacy of Sweden was presupposed and which introduced important extensions of the bonds of the union; and, strangely enough, the report of the Union committee was adopted by the new Stang ministry, and even supported by some of the most influential newspapers under the plausible garb of " Scandinavianism." In these circumstances the " lawyers' party," under the leadership of Johan Sverdrup, who was to play such a prominent part in Norwegian politics, and the "peasant party," led by Soren Relations delimited; but in spite of this treaty Russia in 1851 with Russia, formed an alliance, with the object of guarding against Founda- of the any encroachment upon the liberty and independence Norwegian which the country had secured by the constitution of national 1814. This was the foundation of the great national party. party, which became known as the "Venstre" (the left), and which before long became powerful enough to exert the most decisive influence upon the political affairs of the country. When, therefore, the proposed revision of the Act of Union eventually came before the Storthing in 1871, it was rejected by an overwhelming majority. The position which the government had taken up on this question helped to open the eyes of the Norwegians to some defects in the constitution, which had proved obstacles to the development and strengthening of the parliamentary system.

In 1872 a private bill came before the Storthing, proposing that the ministers should be admitted to the Storthing and take part in its proceedings. After a number of stormy debates, thing. government party itself had several times in the preceding half-century introduced a similar bill for admitting the ministers to the Storthing. At that time, however, the opposition had looked with suspicion on the presence of the ministers in the national assembly, lest their superior skill in debate and political experience should turn the scale too readily in favour of government measures. Now, on the contrary, the opposition had gained more experience and had confidence in its own strength, and no doubt found that the legislative work could better be carried on if the ministers were present to explain and defend their views; but the government saw in the proposed reform the threatened introduction of full parliamentary government, by which the ministry could not remain in office unless supported by a majority in the Storthing. Before the Storthing separated the liberals carried a vote of censure against the government; but the king declared that the ministers enjoyed his confidence and took no further notice of the vote. Two of the ministers, who had advised the ratification of the bill, resigned, however; and a third minister, who had been in the government since 1848, resigned also, and retired from public life, foreseeing the storm that was brewing on the political horizon. Numerous public meetings were held all over the country in support of the proposed reform, and among the speakers was Johan Sverdrup, now the acknowledged leader of the liberal party, who was hailed with great enthusiasm as the champion of the proposed reform.

This was the political situation when King Carl died (18th September 1872). He was succeeded by his brother, who ascended Death of the throne as Oscar II. In the following year he Carl gave his sanction to the bill for the abolition of the office of viceroy, which the Storthing had again cession of assed and the president of the ministry after Oscar was wards recognized as the prime minister and head of the government in Christiania. Fredrik Stang, who was the president of the ministry at the time, was the first to fill this office. In the same year Norway celebrated its existence for a thousand years as a kingdom, with great festivities.

In 1874 the government, in order to show the people that they to some extent were willing to meet their wishes with regard to the great question before the country, laid before the Proposals by the Storthing a royal proposition for the admittance of the Storthing ministers to the national assembly. But this was to for full be accompanied by certain other constitutional changes, the guarantees insufficient. The same year, and again in 1877, the Storthing passed the bill, but in a somewhat different form from that of 1872. On both occasions the king refused his sanction.

The Storthing then resorted to the procedure provided by the constitution to carry out the people's will. In 1880 the bill was passed for the third time, and on this occasion by the =king's kings overwhelming majority of 93 out of 113. Three Storthings after three successive elections had now carried the bill, and it was generally expected that the king and his government would at length comply with the wishes of the people, but the king on this occasion also refused his sanction, declaring at the same time that his right to the absolute veto was " above all doubt." Johan Sverdrup, the leader of the liberal party and president of the Storthing, brought the question to a prompt issue by proposing to the Storthing that the bill, which had been passed three times, should be declared to be the law of the land without the king's sanction. This proposal was carried by a large majority on the 9th of June 1880, but the king and his ministers in reply declared that they would not recognize the validity of the resolution.

From this moment the struggle may be said to have centred itself upon the existence or non-existence of an absolute veto on the part of the crown. The king requested the faculty Struggle of law at the Christiania university to give its opinion between on the question at issue, and with one dissentient the the king learned doctors upheld the king's right to the absolute and the veto in questions concerning amendments of the constitution, although they could not find that it was expressly stated in the fundamental law of the country. The ministry also advised the king to claim a veto in questions of supply, which still further increased the ill-feeling in the country against the government, and the conflict in consequence grew more and more violent.

In the midst of the struggle between the king and the Storthing, the prime minister, Fredrik Stang, resigned, and Christian August Selmer (1816-1889) became his successor; and this, together with the appointment of another member to the ministry, K. H. Schweigaard, plainly of 1882. Elections indicated that the conflict with the Storthing was to be continued. In June 1882 the king arrived in Christiania to dissolve the Storthing, and on this occasion delivered a speech from the throne, in which he openly censured the representatives of the people for their attitude in legislative work and on the question of the absolute veto, the speech creating considerable surprise throughout the country. Johan Sverdrup and Bjornstjerne Bjornson, the popular poet and dramatist, called upon the people to support the Storthing in upholding the resolution of the 9th of June, and to rouse themselves to a sense of their political rights. The elections resulted in a great victory for the liberal party, which returned stronger than ever to the Storthing, numbering 83 and the conservatives only 31. The ministry, however, showed no sign of yielding, and, when the new Storthing met in February 1883, the Odelsthing (the lower division of the national assembly) decided upon having the question finally settled by impeaching the whole of the ministry ment of before the Rigsret or the supreme court of the realm. ministers The jurisdiction of the Rigsret is limited to the trial by the Storthing, of offences against the state, and there is no appeal against its decisions. The charges against the ministers were for having acted contrary to the interests of the country by advising the king to refuse his sanction - first, to the amendment of the law for admitting the ministers to the Storthing; secondly, to a bill involving a question of supply; and thirdly, to a bill by which the Storthing could appoint additional directors on the state railways.

The trial of the eleven ministers of the Selmer cabinet began in May 1883 and lasted over ten months. In the end the The Rigsret sentenced the prime minister and seven of his ministers to be deprived of their offices, while three, tenced by who had either recommended the king to sanction the Rigsret. the bill for admitting the ministers to the Storthing, or had popular such as giving the king the right of dissolving the Storcontrob thing at his pleasure, and providingfixed pensions for ex ministers, which was regarded as a guarantee against the majority of the assembly misusing its new power. The bill which the government brought in was unanimously rejected by the Storthing, the conservatives also voting against it, as they considered Question the bill was successfully carried under the leadership admittance of of Johan Sverdrup by a large majority, but the government, evidently jealous of the growing powers and to seats in influence of the new liberal party in the Storthing, the Stor- advised the king to refuse his sanction, although the entered the cabinet at a later date, were heavily fined. The excitement in the country rose to feverish anxiety. Rumours of all kinds were afloat, and it was generally believed that the king would attempt a coup d'etat. Fortunately the king after some hesitation issued (11th March 1884) an order in council announcing that the judgment of the supreme court would be carried into effect, and Selmer was then called upon to resign his position as prime minister. King Oscar, however, in his declaration upheld the constitutional prerogative of the crown, which, he maintained, was not impaired by the king, by the judgment of the Rigsret. The following month the king, regardless of the large liberal majority in the Storthing, asked Schweigaard, one of the late ministers, whose punishment consisted in a fine, to form a ministry, and the so-called " April ministry " was then appointed, but sent in its resignation in the following month. Professor Broch, a former minister, next failed to form a ministry, and the king was at last compelled to appoint a ministry in accordance with the majority in the Storthing. In June 1884 Johan Sverdrup was asked to form one. He selected for his ministers leading ministry men on the liberal side in the Storthing, and the first 1884. liberal ministry that Norway had was at length appointed. The Storthing, in order to satisfy the king, passed a new resolution admitting the ministers to the national assembly, and this received formal sanction.

During the following years a series of important reforms was carried through. Thus in 1887 the jury system in criminal matters was introduced into the country after violent opposition from the conservatives. A bill intended to give parishioners greater influence in church matters, and introduced by Jakob Sverdrup, the minister of education, and a nephew of the prime minister, met, however, with strong opposition, and was eventually rejected by the Storthing, the result being a break-up of the ministry and a disorganization of the liberal party. In June 1889 the Sverdrup ministry resigned, and a conservative one was formed by Emil Stang, the leader of the conservatives in the Storthing, and during the next two years the Storthing passed various useful measures; but the ministry was eventually wrecked on the rock of the great national question which about this time came to the front - that of Norway's share in the transaction of diplomatic affairs. At the time of the union in 1814 nothing had been settled as to how these were to be conducted, but in 1835 a resolution was issued, that when the Swedish foreign minister was transacting diplomatic tion of matters with the king which concerned both countries, or Norway only, the Norwegian minister of state in attendance upon the king at Stockholm should be present. This arrangement did not always prove satisfactory to the Norwegians, especially as the Swedish foreign minister could not be held responsible to the Norwegian government or parliament.

By a change in the Swedish constitution in 1885 the ministerial council, in which diplomatic matters are discussed, came to consist of the Swedish foreign minister and two other members of the cabinet on behalf of Sweden, and of the Norwegian minister at Stockholm on behalf of Norway. The king, wishing to remedy this disparity, proposed that the composition of the council should be determined by an additional paragraph in the Act of Union. The representatives of the Norwegian government in Stockholm proposed that three members of the cabinet of each country should constitute the ministerial council. To this the Swedish government was willing to agree, but on the assumption that the minister of foreign affairs should continue to be a Swede as before, and this the Norwegians, of course, would not accept. At the king's instigation the negotiations with the Swedish government were resumed at the beginning of 1891, but the Swedish Riksdag rejected the proposals, while the Norwegian Storthing insisted upon " Norway's right, as an independent kingdom, to full equality in the union, and therewith her right to watch over her foreign affairs in a constitutional manner." The Stang ministry then resigned, and a liberal ministry, with Steen, the recognized leader of the liberal party after Sverdrup's withdrawal from politics, as prime minister, was appointed.

The new ministry had placed the question of a separate minister of foreign affairs for Norway prominently in their programme, but little progress was made during the next few years. Another and more important question for the country, as far as its shipping and commerce are concerned, now came to the front. The Storthing had in 1891 service. appointed a committee to inquire into the practicability of establishing a separate Norwegian consular service, and in 1892 the Storthing, acting upon the committee's report, determined to establish a consular service. The king, influenced by public opinion in Sweden, refused his sanction, and the Norwegian government in consequence sent in their resignation, whereupon a complete deadlock ensued. This was terminated by a compromise to the effect that the ministry would return to office on the understanding that the question was postponed by common consent. The following year the Storthing again passed a resolution calling upon the Norwegian government to proceed with the necessary measures for establishing the proposed consular service for Norway, but the king again refused to take any action in the matter. Upon this the liberal ministry resigned (May 1893), and the king appointed a conservative government, with Emil Stang as its chief. Thus matters went on till the end of 1894, when the triennial elections took place, with the result that the majority of the electors declared in favour of national independence on the great question then before the country. The ministry did not at once resign, but waited till the king arrived in Christiania to open the Storthing (January 1895). The king kept the country for over four months without a responsible government, during which time the crisis had become more acute than ever. A coalition ministry was at last formed, with Professor G. F. Hagerup as prime minister. A new committee, consisting of an equal number of Norwegians and Swedes, was appointed to consider the question of separate diplomatic representation; but after sitting for over two years the committee separated without being able to come to any agreement.

The elections in 1897 proved again a great victory for the liberal party, 79 liberals and 35 conservatives being returned, and in February 1898 the Hagerup ministry was replaced by a liberal, once more under the premiership of Steen. Soon afterwards the bill for the general adoption of the national or " pure " flag, as it was called, was carried for the third time, and became law without the king's sanction. In 1898 universal political suffrage for men was passed by a large majority, but the proposal to include women received the support of only 33 votes.

In January 1902, on the initiative of the Swedish foreign minister, another committee, consisting of an equal number of leading Norwegians and Swedes, was appointed by the king to investigate the consular question. The unanimous report of the committee was to the effect that " it was possible to appoint separate Norwegian 1905. consuls exclusively responsible to Norwegian authority and separate Swedish consuls exclusively responsible to Swedish authority." The further negotiations between the two governments resulted in the so-called communiqué of the 24th of March 1903, which announced the conclusion of an agreement between the representatives of the two countries for the establishment of the separate consular service. The terms of the communiqué were submitted to a combined Norwegian and Swedish council of state on the 21st of December 1903, when they were unanimously agreed to and were signed by the king, who commissioned the Norwegian and the Swedish governments to proceed with the drafting of the laws and regulations for the separate consular services. In due course the Norwegian government submitted to the Swedish government their draft of the proposed laws and regulations, but no reply was forthcoming for several months. About this time the Swedish foreign minister, Mr Lagerheim, who had zealously worked for a friendly solution of the ccnsular question, resigned, and in November the same year Bostrom, the Swedish prime minister, suddenly submitted to the Norwegian government a number of new conditions under which the Swedish government was prepared to agree to the establishment of separate consuls. This came as a surprise to the Norwegians in view of the fact that the basis for the establishment of separate consuls had already been agreed upon and confirmed by the king in December 1903. According to Bostrom's proposals the Norwegian consuls were to be placed under the control of the Swedish foreign minister, who was to have the power to remove any Norwegian consul. The Norwegians felt it would be beneath the dignity of a self-governing country to agree to the Swedish proposals, and that these new demands were nothing less than a breach of faith with regard to the terms of agreement arrived at two years before by both governments and approved and signed by the king. The Norwegian government would have been perfectly justified if, after this, they had withdrawn from the negotiations, but they did not wish to jeopardize the opportunity of arriving at a friendly settlement, and Hagerup, the Norwegian prime minister, proceeded to Stockholm to confer with Bostrom; but no satisfactory agreement could be arrived at. There was therefore nothing left but for the Norwegians to take matters into their own hands.

On the 8th of February 1905 Hagerup announced to the Norwegian Storthing that the negotiations had fallen through, and on the 17th the Storthing decided unanimously to refer the matter to a special committee. Owing to some difference of opinion between the members of his ministry, Hagerup resigned on the 1st of March and was succeeded by Christian Michelsen, who formed a ministry composed of members of both political parties. The special committee decided that a bill should be immediately submitted to the Storthing for the establishment of a Norwegian consular service and that the measure should come into force not later than the 1st of April 1906. An attempt was made by the Swedish crown prince, acting as Prince Regent during the king's illness, to enter into new negotiations with the Norwegian government, but the proposals were not favourably received in Norway. In April 1905 Bostrom resigned, which was considered to be a move on the part of Sweden to facilitate negotiations with Norway. The bill for the establishment of Norwegian consuls was passed by the Storthing without a dissentient voice on the 23rd of May, and it was generally expected that the king, who again had assumed the reins of government, would sanction the bill, but on the 27th of May, in spite of the earnest entreaties of his Norwegian ministers, the king formally refused to do so. The Norwegian Ministry immediately resigned, but the king informed the ministers that = he could not accept their resignation. They, however, declined to withdraw it. A few days afterwards the Norwegian government informed the Storthing of the king's refusal, whereupon the assembly unanimously agreed to refer the matter to the special committee. On the 7th of June the Storthing met to hear the final decision of the government. Michelsen, the prime minister, informed the Storthing that all the members of the government had resigned in consequence of the king's refusal to sanction the consular law, that the king had declined to accept the resignation, and that, as an alternative government could not be formed, the union with Sweden, based upon a king in common, was consequently dissolved. The president of the Storthing submitted a resolution that the resigning ministry should be authorized to exercise the authority vested in the king in accordance with the constitution of the country. The resolution was unanimously adopted.

King Oscar, on receiving the news of the action of the Norwegian Storthing, sent a telegraphic protest to the Norwegian prime minister and to the president of the Storthing. The Swedish government immediately decided to Sweden. summon an extraordinary session of the Swedish parliament for the 10th of June, when a special committee was appointed to consider what steps should be taken by Sweden. On the 25th of July the report of the committee was laid before the Riksdag, in which it was stated that Sweden could have no objection to enter into negotiations about the severance of the union, when a vote to that effect had been given by a newly-elected Storthing or by a national vote in the form of a referendum by the Norwegian people. The report was unanimously adopted by the Swedish Riksdag on the 27th of July, and on the following day the Norwegian Storthing decided that a general plebiscite should be taken on the 13th of August, when 368,211 voted in favour of the dissolution and only 184 against it. It was thereupon agreed that representatives of Norway and of Sweden should meet at Karlstad in Sweden on the 31st of August to discuss and arrange for the severance of the union. The negotiations lasted till the 23rd of September, though more than once they were on the point of being broken off. The agreement stipulated a neutral zone on both sides of the southern border between the two countries, the Norwegians undertaking to dismantle some fortifications within that zone. The agreement was to remain in force for ten years, and could be renewed for a similar period, unless one of the countries gave notice to the contrary. The Karlstad agreement was ratified by the Norwegian Storthing on the 9th of October and by the Swedish Riksdag on the 16th of the same month. On the 27th of October King Oscar issued a proclamation to the Norwegian Storthing, in which he relinquished the crown of Norway. The Norwegian government was thereupon authorized by the Storthing to negotiate with Prince Charles of Denmark and to arrange for a national vote as to whether or no the country would approve of his election for the Norwegian throne. The plebiscite resulted in 259,563 votes for his election and 69,264 against. On the 18th of November the Storthing unanimously elected Prince Charles as king of Norway, he taking the name of Haakon VII. On the 25th of November the king and his consort, Queen Maud, the youngest daughter of King Edward VII. of England, entered the Norwegian capital. Their coronation took place in the Trondhjem cathedral the following year.^[1]

King of Norway

Charles II (₩) (November 4, 1814 - February 5, 1818)
Charles III John (₩) (February 5, 1818 - March 8, 1844)
Oscar I (₩) (March 8, 1844 - July 8, 1859)
Charles IV (₩) (July 8, 1859 - September 17, 1872)
Oscar II (₩) (September 17, 1872 - October 26, 1905)

Viceroy of Norway

Crown Prince Charles John (₩) (November 4, 1814 - November 11, 1814)
Authority delegated to Governor-General (₩) (November 11, 1814 - August 2, 1816)
Crown Prince Charles John (₩) (August 2, 1816 - August 5, 1816)
Authority delegated to Governor-General (₩) (August 5, 1816 - April 11, 1824)
Crown Prince Oscar (₩) (April 11, 1824 - November 1, 1824)
Authority delegated to Governor-General (₩) (November 1, 1824 - December 6, 1829)
Responsibility assumed by the First Secretary of State (₩) (December 6, 1829 - July 20, 1833)
Crown Prince Oscar (₩) (July 20, 1833 - September 3, 1833)
Responsibility assumed by the First Secretary of State (₩) (September 3, 1833 - September 19, 1836)
Authority delegated to Governor-General (₩) (September 19, 1836 - August 27, 1840)
Responsibility assumed by the First Secretary of State (₩) (August 27, 1840 - May 5, 1841)
Authority delegated to Governor-General (₩) (May 5, 1841 - February 7, 1856)
Crown Prince Charles (₩) (February 7, 1856 - November 11, 1856)
Responsibility assumed by the First Secretary of State (₩) (November 11, 1856 - January 12, 1857)
Crown Prince Charles (₩) (January 12, 1857 - May 30, 1857)
Responsibility assumed by the First Secretary of State (₩) (May 30, 1857 - July 21, 1873)
Responsibility assumed by the Prime Minister of Norway (₩) (July 21, 1873 - March 19, 1884)
Crown Prince Gustaf (₩) (March 19, 1884 - March 26, 1884)
Responsibility assumed by the Prime Minister of Norway (₩) (March 26, 1884 - June 30, 1891)

Governor-General of Norway

Marcus Gjøe Rosenkrantz (₩) (October 10, 1814 - November 4, 1814)
Superceded by Viceroy (₩) (November 4, 1814 - November 11, 1814)
Count Hans Henrik von Essen (₩) (November 11, 1814 - August 2, 1816)
Superceded by Viceroy (₩) (August 2, 1816 - August 5, 1816)
Count Carl Carlsson Mörner (₩) (August 5, 1816 - October 18, 1818)
Count Johan August Sandels (₩) (October 18, 1818 - April 11, 1824)
Superceded by Viceroy (₩) (April 11, 1824 - November 1, 1824)
Count Johan August Sandels (₩) (November 1, 1824 - November 26, 1827)
Count Baltzar von Platen (₩) (November 26, 1827 - December 6, 1829)
Responsibility assumed by the First Secretary of State (₩) (December 6, 1829 - July 20, 1833)
Superceded by Viceroy (₩) (July 20, 1833 - September 3, 1833)
Responsibility assumed by the First Secretary of State (₩) (September 3, 1833 - September 19, 1836)
Count Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg (₩) (September 19, 1836 - August 27, 1840)
Responsibility assumed by the First Secretary of State (₩) (August 27, 1840 - May 5, 1841)
Severin Lövenskiold (₩) (May 5, 1841 - February 7, 1856)
Superceded by Viceroy (₩) (February 7, 1856 - November 11, 1856)
Responsibility assumed by the First Secretary of State (₩) (November 11, 1856 - January 12, 1857)
Superceded by Viceroy (₩) (January 12, 1857 - May 30, 1857)
Responsibility assumed by the First Secretary of State (₩) (May 30, 1857 - July 21, 1873)