Gunnar Knudsen

Gunnar Knudsen (19 September 1848 – 1 December 1928), born Aanon Gunerius Knudsen, was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party who had two terms as Prime Minister of Norway from 1908 to 1910 and from 1913 to 1920. He also owned a number of shipping companies, and founded the shipping company, Borgestad ASA. [1][2]

Gunnar Knudsen
Prime Minister of Norway
In office 31 January 1913 – 21 June 1920
Monarch	Haakon VII
Preceded by	Jens Bratlie
Succeeded by	Otto Bahr Halvorsen
In office 19 March 1908 – 2 February 1910
Monarch	Haakon VII
Preceded by	Jørgen Løvland
Succeeded by	Wollert Konow
Minister of Agriculture
In office 31 January 1913 – 12 December 1919
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Erik Enge
Succeeded by	Håkon Five
In office 9 June 1903 – 22 October 1903
Prime Minister	Otto Blehr
Preceded by	Wollert Konow (H)
Succeeded by	Christian Mathiesen
Minister of Finance
In office Acting 12 December 1919 – 21 June 1920
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Anton Omholt
Succeeded by	Edvard H. Bull
In office 19 March 1908 – 2 February 1910
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Magnus Halvorsen
Succeeded by	Abraham Berge
In office 11 March 1905 – 31 October 1905
Prime Minister	Christian Michelsen
Preceded by	Christian Michelsen
Succeeded by	Christian Michelsen
In office 9 June 1903 – 22 October 1903
Prime Minister	Otto Blehr
Preceded by	Elias Sunde
Succeeded by	Birger Kildal
Minister of Auditing
In office 31 January 1913 – 30 June 1918
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Jens Bratlie
Succeeded by	Position abolished
In office 19 March 1908 – 2 February 1910
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Sven Aarrestad
Succeeded by	Wollert Konow
In office 11 March 1905 – 7 June 1905
Prime Minister	Christian Michelsen
Preceded by	Paul B. Vogt
Succeeded by	Harald Bothner
In office 30 March 1903 – 9 June 1903 Acting
Prime Minister	Otto Blehr
Preceded by	Wollert Konow (H)
Succeeded by	Otto Blehr
Personal details
Born	Aanon Gunerius Knudsen (1848-09-19)19 September 1848 Saltrød, Aust-Agder, United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway
Died	1 December 1928(1928-12-01) (aged 80) Skien, Telemark, Norway
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Anna Sofie Cappelen (m. 1880)
Children	5

Early life and education

Knudsen was born in 1848 at the medium-sized farm Saltrød at Stokken (now Arendal) in Aust-Agder. Norway. His father Christen Knudsen (1813–1888) was a sea captain and ship-owner, whose ancestors had lived at the farm for several generations. His mother Guro Aadnesdatter (1808–1900) had grown up at one of the smaller farms in Saltrød which her father which hailed from Vegusdal had bought. A brother of Gunnar died in 1855, his two living siblings were Jørgen Christian Knudsen (born 1843) and Ellen Serine (born 1846) who married Johan Jeremiassen.[3]

Christen Knudsen established a shipyard in Arendal in 1851, but in 1855 he and the family moved to Frednes in Porsgrunn.[4] Gunnar Knudsen started studying at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1865 where he got a degree as engineer in 1867.[5]

Business career

Returning to Norway, he started working at Aker's Mechanical Workshop and then went to England where he studied ship building technics at Piles Shipyard in Sunderland. The first ship he designed for the family's shipyard was Gambetta, named after the French politician Léon Gambetta. It was launched in 1871. The stay in England convinced Knudsen that the days of sail ships would soon be over and that the family business needed to start building steam ships in the future.[6]

Gunnar and his brother Jørgen Christian took over the shipyard from their father in 1872. In the following years they would also take over ships their father owned and the brothers formed a shipyard and shipping company together: J.C. og G. Knudsen.[7] In the period until 1879, Knudsen designed five ships for the company. He named the fifth Crossroad; it was the last sail ship he designed. In 1904, he merged his interests in three steam ship companies into Borgestad Shipping AS. [8]

Political career

In 1886, he became the mayor of Gjerpen and in 1891 elected governor of Telemark. In 1891 Knudsen was elected to the Storting, becoming parliamentary leader in 1908 and party leader from 1909-1927. He was elected Prime Minister in 1908 and 1913. In social policy, Knudsen's time as prime minister saw the passage of the Sickness insurance Law of September 1909 provided compulsory coverage for employees and workers below a certain income limit, representing approximately 45% of all wage earners.[9] That same year, the state approved free midwife services for unmarried mothers. In 1915, free midwife services were extended to the wives of men included under the national health insurance scheme.[10][11]

Personal life

Gunnar Knudsen married Anna Sofie Cappelen (1854–1915) in 1880, and together they had five children, born between 1882 and 1893; Erik, Christen, Gudrun, Margit and Rolf.[12] Margit, married Schiøtt, was elected to the national parliament in 1945. Christen Knudsen had a son Knut Andreas Knudsen who became a politician as well.

References

1. Knut Dørum. "Gunnar Knudsen". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
2. "Gjennom ild, vann og land i mer enn 100 år". Borgestad ASA. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
3. Nissen p. 11
4. Nissen p. 9–10
5. Nissen p. 16
6. Nissen p. 19
7. Nissen p. 23
8. Per Fuglum. "Gunnar Knudsen". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
9. Growth to limits: the Western European welfare states since World War 2: Volume 4 by Peter Flora
10. Foundations of the Welfare State, 2nd Edition by Pat Thane, published 1996
11. "Gunnar Knudsen". University of Bergen. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
12. Utdrag av Gjerpens kirkebøker i hundrede aar: 1815–1914, vedkommende fødte, gifte og døde av mere almindelig interesse

Sources

• Nissen, Bernt August (1957). Gunnar Knudsen. (Oslo: Aschehoug).

External links

• Borgestad ASA website

Political offices
Preceded by Jørgen Løvland	Prime Minister of Norway 1908–1910	Succeeded by Wollert Konow
Preceded by Jens Bratlie	Prime Minister of Norway 1913–1920	Succeeded by Otto Bahr Halvorsen