National Monarchy and Norway, 1898-1905

A97,~ NATIONAL MONARCHY AND NORWAY, 1898-1905: A STUDY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MODERN NORWEGIAN MONARCHY DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Terje Ivan Leiren, B. A., M. A. Denton, Texas May, 1978 1978 TERJE IVAN LEIREN ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Leiren, Terje I., National Monarchy and Norway, 1898- 1905: A Study of the Establishment of the Modern Norwegian Monarchy. Doctor of Philosophy (History), May, 1978, 275 pp.' preface,appendices, bibliography, 277 titles. In 1905 the modern Norwegian monarchy was established after the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden, a union which had existed since 1814. For the greatest part of the ninety-one years, conflict and controversy dominated relations between the two countries, occasionally threatening the peace in Scandinavia. In 1898, building on Norwegian popular and historical traditions, Sigurd Ibsen formulated a proposal which was in- tended to overcome the hostility of Sweden and to gain the support of monarchical Europe while leading to a satisfactory dissolution of the union. In addition, the proposal outlined a method of procedure which was aimed at setting future pol- icy for separation. Following an introductory discussion on the background of the union, the study examines Ibsen's ideas as they were presented in 1898 and the reaction to them, positive and negative. It is significant that Ibsen's views became ingrained in Norwegian thinking to such an extent that by 1905, when the union was finally dissolved, it was his scenario which gave the government of Christian Michelsen its basis for 1 2 developing a program of independence. Integral in that program was the concept of a national monarchy, the quin- tessence of Ibsen's views in 1898. This, in turn, served as the justification for the offer to the king of Norway- Sweden to allow a son of his dynasty to assume the independent Norwegian throne--the so-called Bernadotte candidacy. The study then focuses on the Bernadotte candidacy as the practical expression of a Norwegian desire for a national monarchy. Reaction to the candidacy is analyzed and, although it proved unsuccessful, the strength of the idea is again evident when the government shifted its focus to the secondary candidacy of Denmark's Prince Carl. During the debate over the candidates for the throne, the underlying theme which developed was the question of Norway's form of government-- monarchy or republic. Both republicans and monarchists argued from a nation- alistic outlook, with monarchists emphasizing the belief that a monarchy could be national and best answered the historical traditions and needs of the country. In doing so they were, often unconsciously, reaffirming Ibsen's arguments of 1898 in a practical setting dictated by the needs of 1905. During the debate over Norway's form of government the importance of national monarchy as a concept for monarchists and republicans alike was repeatedly affirmed. 1 3 With the plebiscite of 12-13 November 1905, the Norwegian people demonstrated that they too had been influenced sig- nificantly by the practical and idealistic character of national monarchy by choosing to institute a monarchical form of government. Further, the vote represented a reaffirmation of Ibsen's ideas as well as overwhelming confidence in the Michelsen government; the study speculates on some of the intangibles which may also have affected the final vote. The monarchy which was instituted in November 1905 gained widespread support among Norwegians because it stood as a symbol for their unity, not only after the divisions of 1905, but with their historical past. Although republicans acknowledged their support for monarchy after the plebiscite, they, nevertheless, attacked it. The attack, however, was on the form, not the essence, of monarchy. The modern Norwegian monarchy, established in 1905, owes a significant debt to the arguments of Sigurd Ibsen and the appeal he gave the concept of national monarchy. Without both the monarchy would be largely inconceivable today. PREFACE Several years ago Michael Roberts, the British expert on Swedish history, wrote that "few fields of historical research have been more neglected by English scholars than the history of Scandinavia." 1 It remains true even though Scandinavian historians recently began publishing The Scandinavian Journal of History, thereby opening the historiography and history of the North to an English-reading public. Whether this will lead to an increased interest in Scandinavia is uncertain; for the time being the popular assumptions of Scandinavian history as merely Vikings and Quislings remain all too prominent. This study is an investigation of the idea of national monarchy in Norway during the final years of the Norwegian- Swedish union. It is an attempt to discover the character, attraction and evolution of an idea which appeared to play a significant role in the dissolution in 1905; it is however, not a history of that dissolution. As recently as 3 May 1976, Michael Demarest, a senior editor of Time magazine, writing on the enduring allure of monarchy, said that:". the magic persists, though democratic Kings and Queens often wield less lMichael Roberts, "Introduction," in Ingvar Andersson, A History of_ Sweden (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1968), p. xii. iii executive power than a welfare caseworker."2 It is ironic perhaps that three quarters of a century after the Norwegians debated the utility of national monarchy, a reporter of an American news magazine should confess that "the magic persists." 3 Romanticized as this view may be, a similar thought may have occurred to Sigurd Ibsen when he introduced the idea of national monarchy into Norwegian popular consciousness in 1898. At any rate it became an integral part of Norwegian thinking which, when combined with the realistic elements of the concept, became a significant aspect of the Norwegian attempt to establish a separate existence in 1905. In 1905 the idea of national monarchy, surprisingly, was linked by the Norwegian government with an offer to the Swedish king that he allow a son of his dynasty to accept the throne of an independent Norway. It is the purpose of this study to investigate Ibsen's ideas as formulated in 1898, their evolution through developments of 1905 and their significance in the subsequent establishment of the modern Norwegian monarchy in November of that year. 2 [Michael Demarest] "Royalty: The Allure Endures," Time, 3 May 1976, p. 12. 3 The best-selling Norwegian book in 1977 was the monarchical study by Kjell Arnljot Wig, Kongen ser tilbake (Oslo: J. W. Cappelens Forlag, 1977), which prompted a Norwegian newspaper to write that this should " . indicate that no immediate danger exists for monarchy in the country." See "Kongeboka og de erotiske folkeeventyrene pa topp,1" Arbeiderbladet, 26 November 1977, p. 13. iv This study is based on original sources, published and unpublished. The immense collection by the late Norwegian historian, Jacob S. Worm-Mtiller, at the University library of Oslo, is used extensively. This collection contains numer- ous original documents, photo-copies of many documents, notes, memoirs, letters and diaries of the principals. All the available material has been examined with special emphasis on that which relates to the idea of national monarchy and its subsequent evolution. The University library, a central archival depository for Norway, also contains the papers of Fridtjof Nansen and these have been examined as have the papers of the Norwegian Labor Party in its archives-- Arbeiderbevegelsens arkiv in Oslo. Thanks to special per- mission granted from the Royal Palace in Oslo, the surviving papers of King Haakon VII were examined, although these were, unfortunately, of less specific value for this study. Vincent Bommen, the private secretary of His Majesty King Olav V, told me that King Haakon probably destroyed many papers near the end of his life. We can, nevertheless, eagerly await a biog- raphy of Haakon by Tim Greve, the editor of Verdens Gang and former Director of the Nobel Institute in Oslo. Of the published sources, the diaries of the principles range the political spectrum and are an integral part of this study. Johan Castberg's diary reveals a man as emotional as he is politically aware. Jacob Schning's diary was written while he was in and out of government and contains valuable v insights written in a fascinating and pleasing style. The only members of the 1905 government who kept diaries were Edvard Hagerup Bull and Harald Bothner. Both are used extensively, but Hagerup Bull reveals a sensitivity and a more perceptive understanding which he recorded accordingly. Bothner's diary is unpublished and was examined in Riksarkivet (the National archives) in Oslo. The diary of Thore Myrvang in the Worm-Muller papers is similarly unpublished and has been used extensively for the views of an anti-monarchical Liberal politician. Perhaps the major published source of primary material is that of J. V. Heiberg, the bureau chief of the Department of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs, which was published in 1906 under the title Unionens Oplsning 1905 (The Disso- lution of the Union 1905). The stenographic notes from the secret debates in the Storting in 1905 were finally published in 1951 as De stenografiske referater fra de Hemmelige M$ter i Stortinget i 1905 (The Stenographic Minutes from the Secret Meetings in the Storting in 1905). More than anything else, this source reveals the developments in a format which allowed each member to speak frankly and openly. The papers of the parliamentary proceedings which were published contem- poraneously, Stortings Forhandlinger, have been examined for the period 1903-1906 wherever they deal with, or appear to deal with, concepts and debates relating to national monarchy.

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