Education
Stang, known as Friederich until the 1830s, entered the study of law at the age of 16 and graduated by the time he was 20.
lawyer politician prime minister
Stang, known as Friederich until the 1830s, entered the study of law at the age of 16 and graduated by the time he was 20.
Frederik Stang (4 March 1808, Stokke - 8 June 1884) was a Norwegian lawyer, public servant, and politician who served as Norway"s first prime minister. At 22, he accepted a position as lecturer of law at the University of Oslo. During this time, he published a seminal text on Norwegian constitutional law.
He went over to private practice in 1834, where he distinguished himself as a trial attorney, especially in supreme court cases.
In 1846, Stang became the most senior civil servant in the newly formed (and no longer existent) Domestic Ministry. He served in this position until 1856, and his tenure was characterized by tireless efforts to modernize Norway"s economic infrastructure.
In addition to improving the road network, harbors, canals, and lighthouses, he was in great measure responsible for Norway and Scandinavia"s first railroad, from Oslo to Eidsvoll. He also worked hard to elevate the importance and function of agriculture in Norway, initiating the formation of a university-level school of agriculture, commissioned travelling agrarians, and encouraged better breeding among Norwegian farm animals.
In 1861, after a brief stint as mayor of Oslo, Stang was appointed to the Norwegian cabinet.
His time as a political leader was characterized by considerable discord within the Norwegian parliament and between Norway and the Swedish government. In 1865, Stang founded the Norwegian Red Cross. Until 1873, the king of the personal union between Sweden and Norway governed Norway through two cabinets: one in Stockholm and another, led by a viceroy in Kristiania, now Oslo.
After the viceroy position had been vacant for some time, the post of prime minister for Norway was instituted in 1873, and Stang was appointed.
Although there was also a prime minister in Stockholm, the one in Norway had the most influence over state affairs
Frederik Stang became a member of The Royal Norwegian Scientific Society in 1846, the "Videnskabs-Selskabet" in Christiania at its founding in 1857 and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. He was appointed Commander of the Order of Saint Olav at its founding in 1847 and was awarded the Grand Cross in 1853. Four years later, he received the highest award in the country, Bürgerverdienstmedallie in gold. He was a Knight of the Swedish Royal Order of the Seraphim and had the Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog and other foreign orders.
In spite of his great efforts to reconcile opposing political forces in his time, his own party was reduced to a minority position during his tenure.
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]
In 1870, he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Frederik Stang became a member of The Royal Norwegian Scientific Society in 1846, the "Videnskabs-Selskabet" in Christiania at its founding in 1857 and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.
