Bernt Holtsmark
Encyclopedia
Bernt Holtsmark 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...

 farmer and politician for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...

 and the Liberal Left Party. He was a four-term member of the Parliament of Norway, and served as Minister of Agriculture from 1910 to 1912. He was also known for establishing the agricultural college at Sem in his native Asker
Asker
Asker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Viken traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Asker. The municipality is a suburb of Oslo, the national capital...

.

Personal life

He was born at Tveter farm in Asker
Asker
Asker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Viken traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Asker. The municipality is a suburb of Oslo, the national capital...

 as a son of Bent Holtsmark
Bent Holtsmark
Bent Holtsmark was a Norwegian agriculturalist and politician.He was born in Lier, but moved to Asker in 1849. He was a farmer at Tveter farm, and also owned the farms Berg, Vøien and Sem. He was decorated with the King Oscar II Medal for his work in agriculture, and was also mayor of Asker from...

 and his wife Anne Elisabeth Gabrielsen. He was a brother of Torger
Torger Holtsmark
Torger Holtsmark was a Norwegian farmer and politician for the Conservative Party.He was born at Tveter farm in Asker as a son of Bent Holtsmark and his wife Anne Elisabeth Gabrielsen. He was a brother of Bernt and Wilhelm Holtsmark...

 and Wilhelm Holtsmark. Through his brother Gabriel
Gabriel Gabrielsen Holtsmark
Gabriel Gabrielsen Holtsmark was a Norwegian educator, physicist and actuary.-Personal life:He was born in Asker as a son of farmer and mayor Bent Holtsmark and his wife Anne Elisabeth Gabrielsen. He was a brother of Bernt, Torger and Wilhelm Holtsmark...

, he was an uncle of professors Johan Peter Holtsmark
Johan Peter Holtsmark
Johan Peter Holtsmark was a Norwegian physicist, who studied spectral line broadening and electron scattering. In 1929, while at the Norwegian Institute of Technology , Holtsmark established acoustics research laboratories, focusing on architectural acoustics and sound insulation...

 and Anne Elisabeth Holtsmark, and painter Karen Holtsmark
Karen Holtsmark
-Personal life:She was born in Ås as a daughter of educator and physicist Gabriel Gabrielsen Holtsmark and his wife Margrete Weisse . She was a maternal granddaughter of philologist Johan Peter Weisse, and a paternal granddaughter of agriculturalist and politician Bent Holtsmark...

. He was also a first cousin of Finn
Finn Blakstad
Finn Blakstad was a Norwegian farmer and politician for the Conservative Party.-Personal life:He was born at Blakstad farm in Asker as a son of Erik Jørgensen Blakstad and his wife Laura Gabrielsen...

, Wilhelm
Wilhelm Blakstad
Wilhelm Blakstad was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.-Personal life:He was born at Blakstad farm in Asker as a son of Erik Jørgensen Blakstad and his wife Laura Gabrielsen . He was married ot Gønner Kjos , and was the father of architect Gudolf Blakstad...

. and Ragnvald Blakstad.

In October 1887 he married Johanne Amalie Koller, a daughter of Carl Theodor Fredrik Koller. The marriage lasted until her death in February 1917. Holtsmark then married Ingeborg Mathilde Bye in June 1919.

Career

He attended a private agricultural school at Østensjø
Østensjø
Østensjø is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway.The borough is in the southeastern part of Oslo. It is well known for its proximity to the forested area of Østmarka, a popular resort and hiking area for the citizens of Oslo and Lørenskog. Østensjø consists of the suburbs of Bøler, Oppsal and...

 from 1876 to 1878, the Higher College of Agriculture at Aas from 1883 to 1884 and the Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 from 1885 to 1886. In 1887, together with his brother Wilhelm, he established an agricultural college at the farm Sem, today known as a manor which in 2001 lent its name to the Declaration of Sem of the second cabinet Bondevik
Second cabinet Bondevik
Bondevik's Second Cabinet governed Norway between 19 October 2001 and 17 October 2005. It was led by Kjell Magne Bondevik and consisted of the Conservative Party, the Christian Democratic Party and the Liberal Party. It had the following composition:...

. They ran the college until 1914. In 1893 he took over the farm Tveter, and was a farmer there. His book Husdyrlære, a textbook on livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

, came in 1897 and was reprinted fourteen times, last in 1961. Also, he contributed to the newspapers and magazines Budstikken, Dagbladet
Dagbladet
Dagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....

, Verdens Gang
Verdens Gang (1868-1923 newspaper)
Verdens Gang is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1868 to 1923.It was established as a weekly magazine in 1868, later expanded to three issues a week, and was issued daily from 1885. It was the most widespread political newspaper in Norway for many years, and had considerable...

, Tidens Tegn
Tidens Tegn
Tidens Tegn is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1910 to 1941.-Editors:The founder and first editor-in-chief of Tidens Tegn was Ola Thommessen, who edited the newspaper until 1917. Thommessen had recently left the editor chair of Verdens Gang in protest, bringing much of Verdens...

and Allers
Allers (magazine)
Allers is the name of a Swedish and a Norwegian weekly magazine, both published by Aller Media. They both trace their origins from the Danish weekly Illustreret Familie-Journal, founded in 1877 by Carl Aller....

with writings on agriculture.

He was elected to the Parliament of Norway from the constituency Akershus Amt
Akershus
- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...

 in 1903
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1903
-Results:...

, and was re-elected in 1906
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1906
-Results:-References:**...

. He first represented the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...

, and in the second term he was registered for the Coalition Party. On 1 March 1910, he was appointed as the new Minister of Agriculture in the cabinet Konow, succeeding Wollert Konow (SB)
Wollert Konow (SB)
Wollert Konow was a Norwegian politician. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 1910 to 1912.-Background:In 1842 his father, Wollert Konow, Ph.D., who was a Norwegian writer and politician, had purchased the historic Stend Manor in the Fana borough of Bergen, Norway where Wollert Konow was born...

 in the position. He held office until the cabinet fell in February 1912. He was later re-elected in 1915
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1915
-Results: Liberal Left Party is part of coalition with Conservative Party-References:**...

 and 1918
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1918
-Results: Liberal Left Party is part of coalition with Conservative Party-References:**...

 to serve a further two parliamentary terms, this time for the Liberal Left Party.

He was a chairman of the Liberal Left Party for a period. He was also a chairman of the Norwegian Fire Protection Association
Norwegian Fire Protection Association
The Norwegian Fire Protection Association is a Norwegian non-profit foundation, established in 1923. It works "to achieve a safer society" by promoting fire safety. It publishes the periodical Brann & Sikkerhet. Its main office is at Etterstad in Oslo....

, and a member of the board of Norsk Husflidsforening, Norsk Landmandsforbund, the Royal Norwegian Society of Development from 1898 to 1907 and 1919 to 1931, and Havedyrkningens Venner from 1916 to 1935. He received honorary membership in the two latter organizations. From 1927 to 1936 he worked as director and chair of Norges Hypotekbank
Norges Hypotekbank
Norges Hypotekbank is a defunct Norwegian government bank, created by law on September 18, 1851. Its function was to help commerce, and primarily the agricultural sector, through cheap mortgages. The seat of the bank was in Oslo, and was led by a board of three members, two appointed by the...

, and he was also a member of several public boards, agencies and committees. He was decorated as a Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1912.
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