Wilhelm Blakstad
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Blakstad 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 for the Conservative Party.

Personal life

He was born at Blakstad 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 Erik Jørgensen Blakstad (1827–1890) and his wife Laura Gabrielsen (1832–1868). He was married ot Gønner Kjos (1855–1932), and was the father of architect Gudolf Blakstad
Gudolf Blakstad
Gudolf Blakstad was a Norwegian architect.Born in Gjerpen, Blakstad was educated at the Norwegian Institute of Technology, worked with Arnstein Arneberg and Herman Munthe-Kaas...

. Wilhelm Blakstad was also a brother 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...

 and Ragnvald Blakstad and a first cousin 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...

, Wilhelm and Bernt Holtsmark
Bernt Holtsmark
Bernt Holtsmark was a Norwegian farmer and politician for the Conservative Party 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...

.

Career

He took his education at Trondhjem Technical School from 1879 to 1881 and the Higher College of Agriculture at Aas
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
The Norwegian University of Life Sciences is a public university located in Ås, Norway.It is located at Ås in Akershus, near Oslo, and has around 3800 students...

 from 1885 to 1886. After a strain of various jobs he worked as an engineer from 1886 to 1892, and then as a log driving
Log driving
Log driving is a means of log transport which makes use of a river's current to move floating tree trunks downstream to sawmills and pulp mills.It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America...

 inspector in the Skien Watershed from 1892 to 1898. From 1902 he was the director of log driving in Lower Glomma
Glomma
The Glomma or Glåma is the longest and largest river in Norway. The long river has a drainage basin that covers a full 13% of Norway's area, all in the southern part of Norway.-Geography:...

, based in Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad
is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad....

 (Fredrikstad Tømmerdirektion).

He was elected to Fredrikstad city council in 1907, and served as mayor from 1910 to 1918. From 1916 to 1918 he was a deputy member of the Norwegian Parliament, from 1918 to 1920 he was a board member of the Norwegian Association of Engineers
Tekna (Norway)
Tekna is a union for graduate technical and scientific professionals in Norway.It was established in 1874 under the name Den Norske Ingeniør- og Arkitektforening . In 1912 it was reorganized as Den Norske Ingeniørforening...

, and from 1918 to 1921 he was a member of the supervisory committee of the Østfold Line. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament for the first time in 1918
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1918
-Results: Liberal Left Party is part of coalition with Conservative Party-References:**...

, and was re-elected on four occasions, his last term ending in 1933. He died in 1936.

The road W. Blakstads gate in Fredrikstad has been named after him. A bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...

 of Blakstad, sculpted by Waldemar Sefsland Dahl
Waldemar Sefsland Dahl
Waldemar Sefland Dahl was a Norwegian painter and sculptor.He was born in Fredrikstad to parents Mons Carolus Dahl and Julie Frasiska Holm, and took his education at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts. He made his mark in Fredrikstad, with decorations at the City Hall and Vestre...

, stands outside the old headquarters of Fredrikstad Tømmerdirektion.
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