Abraham Theodor Berge was a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 politician representing Venstre

Venstre (Norway)

The Liberal Party is a centrist liberal political party in Norway. The party is the oldest in the country, and has enacted reforms such as parliamentarism, freedom of religion, universal suffrage and free education. Since 2010, the leader of the party is Trine Skei Grande...

, the social liberal party, and later Frisinnede Venstre, a right-of-centre party. Born in Lyngdal

Lyngdal

is a municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. Lyngdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Austad and Kvås were separated from Lyngdal on 1 January 1909 but they were again merged with Lyngdal on 1 January 1964, together with the area of Spangereid west of Lenesfjorden.It is a...

 in present-day Vest-Agder

Vest-Agder

In the 16th century, Dutch merchant vessels began to visit ports in southern Norway to purchase salmon and other goods. Soon thereafter the export of timber began, as oak from southern Norway was exceptionally well suited for shipbuilding...

, he was Prime Minister of Norway

Prime Minister of Norway

The Prime Minister of Norway is the political leader of Norway and the Head of His Majesty's Government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Stortinget , to their political party, and ultimately the...

 from 1923 to 1924.

A teacher by profession, Berge started his political career in Lista in the present-day municipality of Farsund

Farsund

is a town and municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.The town of Farsund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 , although already recognized as a trading center in 1795...

, where he was in 1882 elected mayor. From here he went on to the Norwegian Parliament in 1891. He served, in different periods, as both Church Minister and Minister of Finance. Then, after a 10-year absence from politics, he became again Minister of Finance, and later also Prime Minister, when sitting Prime Minister Otto Bahr Halvorsen

Otto Bahr Halvorsen

Otto Bahr Halvorsen was a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 1920 to 1921 and again in 1923 when he died in office....

 died. He resigned this post as the result of the defeat in a vote to lift prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

.

In 1926 he was, as the only Norwegian Prime Minister ever, impeached

Impeachment

Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....

. The charge was withholding information relating to the government rescue of a bank threatened by bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

. He was, however, acquitted in 1927, along with the six ministers who stood trial alongside him.

Books by Abraham Berge:

• Listerlandets kystværn og kaperfart 1807-14 (Tønsberg 1914) and Lista. En bygdebok (Tønsberg 1926). Both books reprinted 2006 by Klokkhammer Forlag AS.