Carl Berner

Who was Carl Berner?

Carl Christian Berner was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He was member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm 1891–92, and Norwegian Minister of Education and Church Affairs 1891–93.

Berner was born in Oslo, and studied science and mathematics before he started working as a teacher at several different schools in Oslo. In 1874 he was appointed director of the newly established polytechnical school of Bergen; a position he held until 1891. In Bergen he started his political career and in 1883 he was elected to the county council. In 1885 he was elected as a member of the Norwegian Parliament. He had a brilliant career in the Parliament, and in his second period he was appointed President of the Odelsting. As the President of the Odelsting, he was central in the conflict leading to Prime Minister Emil Stangs stepping down from office. In 1891 he stepped up as Minister of Education and Church Affairs under the government of Johannes Steen. Between 1895–03, Berner represented Bergen as a member of Parliament, and between 1903-1909 he represented Sarpsborg. He was appointed President of the Norwegian parliament in 1898—a position he held until 1908. He played an important role in the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905. In 1909, Berner did not get elected to Parliament from the district of Nedre Romerike. He gradually stepped down from his political offices, though he did hold several administrative and representative offices.