Severin Løvenskiold
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Severin Løvenskiold, Jr. (born 7 February 1777, Porsgrunn, Norway, died 15 September 1856, Gjerpen, Norway. Løvenskiold was a Norwegian nobleman and politician.
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[edit] Early life
When Løvenskiold was nine years old he moved to Germany to receive his formal education. He returned to Norway in 1794 aged 17, having studied in Wandsbeck near Hamburg, in Eutin, and Saxony and Silesia, where he studied mining. He earned a degree in law in Copenhagen in 1796. After a few years of public service in Christiania, he assumed responsibility for some of the family's holdings in 1802, at which point he was also made the king's representative for his area.
[edit] Political life
After nine years as the king's representative, he resigned this position in 1813 and the following year, was elected to the constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. Løvenskiold was an enthusiastic member of the so-called "union party" during the convention, advocating a union with Sweden, and he made notable efforts to retain nobility in Norway. When nobility was in fact abolished in Norway in 1821, Løvenskiold went on record against the decision, finding it unjust and in violation with promises made by the king to his ancestors.
This position towards the abolishing of nobility is a good example of Løvenskiolds position in most political issues of the day. His conservatism tended towards an extreme reactionary position towards every kind of measures leading to a more advanced democracy, particularely so in 1836 when the laws on municipal democracy were sanctioned by the king - against Løvenskiolds wish. He maintained that the peasants lacked the necessary level of education and political understanding to govern their own affairs, a view the king in reality shared with him. But King Carl Johan's grasp of politics were definitely more advanced than Løvenskiolds, and so he accepted the municipal laws as an inevitable part of the development of democracy in Norway.
Løvenskiold was extremely loyal to the king, and he was granted the position as prime minister in Stockholm for several years until he was appointed governor of Norway in 1841. His leadership of the Norwegian government is by most historians considered a tragedy for the development in Norway. His reactionary views and almost complete lack of popularity made political reforms nearly impossible during his 15 year long reign. King Oscar I, whose political views differed from Løvenskiold's, made the government more progressive by appointing among others the moderate opposition politician, Captain Herman Foss as Minister of the Navy and the young aspiring, moderately conservative, Fredrik Stang, as Minister of the Interior. Both appointments were lucky choices both for the relation between the Government and the Parliament - the Storting - and for the ability to lead the development of Norway.
[edit] Political legacy
Despite his reactionary political views, Løvenskiold was not without interest in progress in a more technical way. During the last years of his position, Norway established its first railroad, its first telegraphic lines, a system of common postage and stamps, and several laws were established, helping the development of different kinds of industries in Norway. The honour for this goes mostly to Stang, but Løvenskiold must definitely have accepted and probably, at least to some extent approved of this changes.
When Løvenskiold died in 1856, it was politically impossible to appoint a new governor. His aggressively reactionary attitude, had left both him and the position isolated from most of the political establishment in Norway. The government functioned well, despite his position more than because of it.
Løvenskiold translates to "Lionshield" in English.
| Preceded by Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg |
Governor of Norway 1841–1856 |
Succeeded by position abolished |
