Christian Birch-Reichenwald (4 January 1814 – 8 July 1891) 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.

He was born in Blaker

Blaker

Blaker is a village and a former municipality of Akershus county, Norway.-History:The municipality was established on 1 July 1919, when Aurskog was split in two. At the time of establishment, Blaker had a population of 2,533...

 to Paul Hansen Birch

Paul Hansen Birch

Paul Hansen Birch was a Norwegian military officer.He was born in Faaberg to Johan Gottfried Reichenwald and Mari Birch....

 and Anna Catharina Hoffmand Stenersen. He married Jacobine Ida Sophie Motzfeldt, daughter of Peter Motzfeldt

Peter Motzfeldt

Peter Motzfeldt was a member of the constitutional assembly in Norway in 1814, then a Norwegian member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm 1814-1816, 1818-1819, 1824-1825, 1828-1829, 1831-1832, and 1834-1835, Minister of the Army 1816-1818 and 1819-1822, and Minister of Auditing...

 and niece of his own mother. The couple had two children; Anna Ernesta (born 1839) and Peter

Peter Birch-Reichenwald

Peter Birch-Reichenwald was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.He was born in Christiania to Christian Birch-Reichenwald and Jacobine Ida Sophie Motzfeldt. His paternal grandfather was Paul Hansen Birch, his maternal grandfather was Peter Motzfeldt...

 (born 1843).

During his University studies, he had been chairman in the Norwegian Students' Society. He was a member of the social circle Intelligenspartiet, and befriended such notable figures as Anton Martin Schweigaard, Bernhard Dunker and Johan Sebastian Welhaven

Johan Sebastian Welhaven

Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven was a Norwegian author, poet, critic and art theorist.-Background:...

 there.

He served as mayor of Christiania in 1846. In 1847 he was appointed County Governor of Smaalenene (today named Østfold). While stationed here he was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1848 and 1854, representing the constituency of Moss og Drøbak. In 1855 he was appointed County Governor in the more central county of Akershus).

In 1858 he was appointed Minister of Auditing

Minister of Auditing (Norway)

The Norwegian Minister of Auditing was the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Auditing. The position existed from 1822 to 1918.-List of Norwegian Ministers of Auditing:-References:*...

. The road had been opened for Christian Birch-Reichenwald and his supporters, as Crown Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway

Charles XV of Sweden

Charles XV & IV also Carl ; Swedish and Norwegian: Karl was King of Sweden and Norway from 1859 until his death....

, who was viceroy of Norway

Viceroy of Norway

The Viceroy of Norway was the appointed head of the Norwegian Government in the absence of the King, during the era of the Union between Sweden and Norway. The role was essentially the same as that of the Governor-general, which has led to confusion as to who filled which office...

 at that time, had requested first minister and head of government Jørgen Herman Vogt

Jørgen Herman Vogt

Jørgen Herman Vogt was a Norwegian politician who served as first minister of Norway from 1855 to 1858, during the personal union between Sweden and Norway...

 to "tender his resignation". According to historians, Birch-Reichenwald and his friend Georg Christian Sibbern "used" Crown Prince Carl to their own gains. Birch-Reichenwald was Minister of Auditing for one year, then became a member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

 from 1859 to 1860, and then served as Minister of Justice and the Police

Minister of Justice and the Police (Norway)

In Norway, the Minister of Justice and the Police is the head of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police and a member of Government of Norway. Current minister is Grete Faremo of the Norwegian Labour Party who is part of the second cabinet Stoltenberg...

 from 1860 to 1861. In 1861, the governor-general

Governor-general of Norway

The Governor-general of Norway, styled Rigsstatholder in Danish or Riksståthållare in Swedish, both meaning 'Lieutenant of the realm' , was the appointed head of the Norwegian Government in the absence of the Monarch....

 position was discussed. Carl, who in the meantime had been crowned King, was unwilling to abolish this position, provoking Christian Birch-Reichenwald (and Ketil Motzfeldt) to resign. The governor-general office was not abolished until 1873.

In 1862 Birch-Reichenwald was elected mayor of Christiania for the second time, serving through that year. He was also elected to a third parliamentary term, representing the constituency of Christiania, Hønefoss og Kongsvinger. From 1864 to 1865 he was mayor of Christiania for the third time, and in 1865 he was again elected to parliament.

From 1869 to 1889 he served as district stipendiary magistrate (sorenskriver). He died in 1891 and was buried at Vår Frelsers gravlund

Vår Frelsers gravlund

Vår Frelsers gravlund is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It was created in 1808 as a result of the great famine and cholera epidemic of the Napoleonic Wars. Its grounds were extended in 1911. The cemetery has been full since 1952...

.