Harald Ulrik Sverdrup (politician)

Harald Ulrik Sverdrup (18 February 1813 – 23 April 1891) was a Norwegian priest and politician.

Harald Ulrik Sverdrup
Mayor of Balestrand
In office
1849–1879
Member of Parliament
In office
1851–1870
Member of Parliament
In office
1874–1878
Personal details
Born18 February 1813
Jarlsberg manor in Vestfold
Died23 April 1891
NationalityNorwegian
Political partyIndependent
RelationsJohan Sverdrup (brother)
Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, Jr. (grandson)
ChildrenJakob Sverdrup,
Edvard Sverdrup,
Georg Sverdrup
ProfessionVicar, entrepreneur

He was born at Jarlsberg Manor in Vestfold. His brother Johan Sverdrup would found the Liberal Party and become Prime Minister of Norway in 1884.[1]

He graduated as cand.theol. in 1837, and worked as a senior technical officer (amanuensis) at the University Library of Oslo from 1837 to 1845. In 1845 he was appointed to a clerical position, that of chaplain in Leikanger. In 1849 the district of Balestrand was separated from Leikanger as an own parish, and Sverdrup became vicar (sogneprest) of the new parish.[1] He published several works, mostly based on Erik Pontoppidan's explanation of the Luther's Small Catechism.[2]

As his brother, Harald Ulrik Sverdrup became involved in politics. When Balestrand became a municipality of its own in 1849, Sverdrup became its first mayor. He sat as mayor until 1879. He was among the establishers of the local savings bank in 1847, and of the transport company Nordre Bergenhus Amts Dampskibe (later: Fylkesbaatane i Sogn og Fjordane) with Jan Henrik Nitter Hansen and Michael Aubert in 1858.[1]

He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1851, representing the constituency of Nordre Bergenhus Amt. He was re-elected in 1854, 1857, 1859, 1862, 1865 and 1868.[3] In 1870 he lost the election due to disagreements with Søren Jaabæk and his supporters,[1] but Sverdrup later returned for a final term from 1874.[3] Harald Ulrik Sverdrup stepped down as a priest in 1883.[1]

When he stepped down, his son Jakob Sverdrup stood for election, and won.[1] He also became a government minister.[4] A daughter of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup married the priest and Nynorsk proponent Eirik Olson Bruhjell. They had met while Sverdrup was the private tutor of Bruhjell.[5] Another of his sons, Edvard Sverdrup, became a professor of theology. One of Edvard's sons, Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, Jr., went on to become a well-known oceanographer and meteorologist.[6]

References

  1. Harald Ulrik Sverdrup Archived 2006-02-23 at the Wayback Machine at the Sogn og Fjordane County Encyclopedia (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) (in Norwegian)
  2. List of publications in BIBSYS
  3. Harald Ulrik Sverdrup Norwegian Social Science Data Services
  4. Jakob Liv Rosted Sverdrup Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD)
  5. Eirik Olson Bruhjell at the Sogn og Fjordane County Encyclopedia (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) (in Norwegian)
  6. Johan Edvard Sverdrup Archived 2006-02-23 at the Wayback Machine at the Sogn og Fjordane County Encyclopedia (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) (in Norwegian)
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