Otto Blehr
1917 painting of Blehr by Kristoffer Sindig-Larsen
8th Prime Minister of Norway
In office
22 June 1921 – 6 March 1923
MonarchHaakon VII
Preceded byOtto B. Halvorsen
Succeeded byOtto B. Halvorsen
In office
21 April 1902 – 22 October 1903
MonarchOscar II
Preceded byJohannes Steen
Succeeded byFrancis Hagerup
Minister of Finance
In office
22 June 1921 – 6 March 1923
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byEdvard H. Bull
Succeeded byAbraham Berge
In office
23 April 1915 – 16 July 1915
Acting
Prime MinisterGunnar Knudsen
Preceded byAnton Omholt
Succeeded byAnton Omholt
Minister of Justice
In office
1 May 1917 – 21 June 1920
Prime MinisterGunnar Knudsen
Preceded byAndreas Urbye
Succeeded byOtto B. Halvorsen
Minister of Trade
In office
1 January 1903 – 22 October 1903
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJakob Schøning
Minister of the Interior
In office
21 April 1902 – 1 January 1903
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byJohannes Steen
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Minister of Auditing
In office
9 June 1903 – 22 October 1903
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byWollert Konow (H)
Succeeded byBirger Kildal
Norwegian Prime Minister in Stockholm
In office
17 February 1898 – 21 April 1902
Prime MinisterJohannes Steen
Preceded byGregers Gram
Succeeded byOle Anton Qvam
In office
6 March 1891 – 2 May 1893
Prime MinisterJohannes Steen
Preceded byGregers Gram
Succeeded byGregers Gram
Personal details
Born(1847-02-17)17 February 1847
Stange, Hedmark, United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway
Died13 July 1927(1927-07-13) (aged 80)
Oslo, Norway
Political partyLiberal
SpouseRandi Blehr
ChildrenEivind Blehr
ProfessionJurist

Otto Albert Blehr (17 February 1847 – 13 July 1927) was a Norwegian statesman, attorney and newspaper editor who was the 8th prime minister of Norway from 1902 to 1903 during the Union between Sweden and Norway and from 1921 to 1923 following the Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden. He represented the Liberal Party.[1]

Biography

Blehr grew up at a farm at Stange in Hedmark, Norway. His parents were Albert Blehr (1805–1872) and Maren Wilhelmine Ludovica Kathinka Stenersen (1818–1877). His father was a doctor and physicist at Sanderud Hospital.

He graduated in 1865 and then began studying the University of Christiania. Blehr graduated cand.jur. in 1871. He served as parliamentary reporter for the newspapers Dagbladet and Bergens Tidende. In 1874, he was one of the founders of the Fjordabladet where he served as the first editor-in-chief until 1882. In 1878, he also started and served as the first editor of the Sogns Tidende. Blehr was the governor of Nordre Bergenhus (1883–1888) and for Nordland (1895–1900).[1][2]

In 1877, he established himself as a prosecutor at Lærdal in Sogn. In 1879 Blehr was elected as first deputy representative to the Storting for Nordre Bergenhus amt (now Sogn og Fjordane) and from 1883 to 1888 he was a permanent representative. In the fall of 1888 he was not re-elected to the Storting. He became a prosecutor (fogd) in Sunnfjord and Nordfjord. In 1889 a lawyer in Hålogaland. He held this assignment until he became a judge (lagmann) at Kristiania in 1893. In 1894 Blehr was again elected to the Storting, now for Nordland. Blehr was re-elected as parliamentary deputy for Nordland in 1898. On 21 April 1902, he took over as Prime Minister of the Norwegian government in Kristiania.[3]

In October 1903, Blehr resigned as a result of an election defeat. In 1905 he was appointed as County Governor (stiftsamtmann) at Christiania (now Oslo), an office he held until 1921. On 21 June 1921, Otto Blehr became Prime Minister and at the same time also chief of the Ministry of Finance. He was also a member of the Norwegian delegation to the League of Nations 1920 and 1922–1925. On 3 March 1923 the government resigned.[4]

Personal life

He married women's rights activist Randi Blehr (1851–1928) in 1876. Both were co-founders of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights, where his wife later became president.[5] Otto Blehr was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav in 1898. He was also the auditor of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 1903 to his death in Oslo during 1927.[3][6] He was the father of Eivind Blehr, a minister in the Quisling regime in World War II.

References

  1. 1 2 Otto Blehr (Government Administration Services)
  2. ↑ Per Fuglum. "Otto Blehr". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Moksnes, Aslaug. "Randi Blehr". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  4. ↑ Norwegian Nobel Committee. Aarsberetninger fra Det Norske Stortings Nobelkomité 1900–1930 (in Norwegian). Parliament of Norway.
  5. ↑ "Indbydelse til at indtræde i Norsk Kvindesags-Forening stiftet den 28de Juni 1884," Bergens Tidende, 18 November 1884
  6. ↑ Knut Dørum. "Otto Blehr". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
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