Johan Ludwig Mowinckel

Johan Ludwig Mowinckel
Mowinckel in 1924
9th Prime Minister of Norway
In office 3 March 1933 – 20 March 1935
Monarch	Haakon VII
Preceded by	Jens Hundseid
Succeeded by	Johan Nygaardsvold
In office 15 February 1928 – 21 May 1931
Monarch	Haakon VII
Preceded by	Christopher Hornsrud
Succeeded by	Peder Kolstad
In office 25 July 1924 – 5 March 1926
Monarch	Haakon VII
Preceded by	Abraham Berge
Succeeded by	Ivar Lykke
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 3 March 1933 – 20 March 1935
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Birger Braadland
Succeeded by	Halvdan Koht
In office 15 February 1928 – 21 May 1931
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Edvard Bull, Sr.
Succeeded by	Birger Braadland
In office 25 July 1924 – 5 March 1926
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Christian Fredrik Michelet
Succeeded by	Ivar Lykke
In office 31 May 1922 – 6 March 1923
Prime Minister	Otto Blehr
Preceded by	Arnold Christopher Ræstad
Succeeded by	Christian Fredrik Michelet
President of the Storting
In office 1916–1918
Preceded by	Jørgen Løvland Søren Tobias Årstad Gunnar Knudsen
Succeeded by	Gunnar Knudsen Ivar Lykke Anders Buen Ivar P. Tveiten Otto B. Halvorsen
Minister of Industry
In office 22 June 1921 – 5 March 1923
Prime Minister	Otto Blehr
Preceded by	Gerdt Henrik Meyer Bruun
Succeeded by	Lars Oftedal
Mayor of Bergen
In office 1 January 1902 – 31 December 1906
Preceded by	Christian M. Kahrs
Succeeded by	Carl V. E. Geelmuyden
In office 1 January 1911 – 31 December 1913
Preceded by	Carl V. E. Geelmuyden
Succeeded by	Carl V. E. Geelmuyden
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
In office 1 January 1906 – 9 April 1940
Constituency	Hordaland
Personal details
Born	22 October 1870 Bergen, Norway
Died	30 September 1943(1943-09-30) (aged 72) New York, United States
Nationality	Norwegian
Political party	Liberal Party
Profession	Ship-owner

Johan Ludwig Mowinckel (22 October 1870 – 30 September 1943) was a Norwegian statesman, shipping magnate and philanthropist. He served as the Prime Minister of Norway during three separate terms.^[1]

Biography

Johan Ludwig Mowinckel was born in Bergen, Norway. His parents were Johan Anton Wilhelm Mohr Mowinckel (1843–1918) and Edvardine Magdalene Margrethe Müller (1851–71). His father was a merchant and a member of one of Bergen’s old merchant families. He was educated at University of Oslo, graduating in 1889. After graduation, he traveled abroad to Bremen and London to better learn the business of shipping. In 1893 he returned to Bergen and joined the offices of Christian Michelsen. In 1912, he became the founder and principal in the joint-stock shipping company, A/S J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi. He was also involved in founding the Norwegian America Line.^[2]

Poitical career

Mowinckel entered public service in Bergen where he became Chairman of the local branch of the Liberal Party (Bergens Venstreforening) . He was elected to the Bergen City Council in 1899 and subsequently mayor of Bergen 1902-1906 and 1911-1913. In 1906, he became Member of Parliament (Storting) for the Liberal party representing Bergen during 1906-1909 and 1913-1918. He became President of the Storting in 1916. He was voted out of office in the 1918 elections. During the period between World War I and 1935 he remained active in national politics. In 1921 Mowinckel was re-elected to the Storting. He served as Minister of Trade in 1921-1922 and Foreign Minister in 1922-1923. Mowinckel was Norway's Prime Minister during three periods in office; 1924-1926, 1928-1931 and 1933-1935. These were all periods dominated by economic and fiscal crisis. In 1930 Mowinckel initiated the Oslo Convention on customs cooperation between Norway, Denmark and the Benelux countries, to prevent higher customs walls.^[3][4]

In 1925 he became a member of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. Mowinckel took the initiative during the Oslo Convention (Oslokonvensjonen) of 1930 to encourage free trade between the nations of the Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union and Nordic countries, anticipating postwar efforts toward the formation of the European Union. He also took an active interest in the League of Nations, serving on the council and becoming President in 1933. He condemned the menace of Nazi philosophy, and when Germany overran Norway in 1940 he followed the Norwegian Government-in-exile to London. In 1942, Johan Ludwig Mowinckel came to the United States and was engaged with Nortraship, the state-owned Norwegian shipping company during World War II. He died on 30 September 1943 in New York City. ^{[5] [6] [1][7]}

Legacy

Posthumously, a new library building at the University of Bergen was dedicated to Johan Ludvig Mowinckel and had its official opening ceremony, in the presence of His Royal Majesty King Olav V, on 13 September 1961. ^{[3] [8] [9]}

References

Related reading

• Thowsen, Atle (1992) Handelsflåten i krig 1939 - 1945, Nortraship, profitt og patriotime (Oslo: Grøndahl og Dreyers Forlag) ISBN 82-504-1895-6
• Mossige, Erling (1989) Storrederiet Nortraship - Handelsflåten i krig (Oslo: Grøndahl & Søn Forlag) ISBN 82-504-1704-6

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