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Otto Blehr

Norwegian politician (1847–1927)

Otto Blehr
1917 painting of Blehr by Kristoffer Sindig-Larsen
8th Prime Minister of Norway
In office 22 June 1921 – 6 March 1923
Monarch	Haakon VII
Preceded by	Otto B. Halvorsen
Succeeded by	Otto B. Halvorsen
In office 21 April 1902 – 22 October 1903
Monarch	Oscar II
Preceded by	Johannes Steen
Succeeded by	Francis Hagerup
Minister of Finance
In office 22 June 1921 – 6 March 1923
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Edvard H. Bull
Succeeded by	Abraham Berge
In office 23 April 1915 – 16 July 1915 Acting
Prime Minister	Gunnar Knudsen
Preceded by	Anton Omholt
Succeeded by	Anton Omholt
Minister of Justice
In office 1 May 1917 – 21 June 1920
Prime Minister	Gunnar Knudsen
Preceded by	Andreas Urbye
Succeeded by	Otto B. Halvorsen
Minister of Trade
In office 1 January 1903 – 22 October 1903
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Jakob Schøning
Minister of the Interior
In office 21 April 1902 – 1 January 1903
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Johannes Steen
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Minister of Auditing
In office 9 June 1903 – 22 October 1903
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Wollert Konow (H)
Succeeded by	Birger Kildal
Norwegian Prime Minister in Stockholm
In office 17 February 1898 – 21 April 1902
Prime Minister	Johannes Steen
Preceded by	Gregers Gram
Succeeded by	Ole Anton Qvam
In office 6 March 1891 – 2 May 1893
Prime Minister	Johannes Steen
Preceded by	Gregers Gram
Succeeded by	Gregers Gram
Personal details
Born	(1847-02-17)17 February 1847 Stange, Hedmark, United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway
Died	13 July 1927(1927-07-13) (aged 80) Oslo, Norway
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Randi Blehr
Children	Eivind Blehr
Profession	Jurist

Otto Albert Blehr (17 February 1847 – 13 July 1927) was a Norwegian statesman, attorney and newspaper editor who was the 8th prime minister of Norway from 1902 to 1903 during the Union between Sweden and Norway and from 1921 to 1923 following the Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden. He represented the Liberal Party.^[1]

Blehr grew up at a farm at StangeinHedmark, Norway. His parents were Albert Blehr (1805–1872) and Maren Wilhelmine Ludovica Kathinka Stenersen (1818–1877). His father was a doctor and physicist at Sanderud Hospital.

He graduated in 1865 and then began studying the University of Christiania. Blehr graduated cand.jur. in 1871. He served as parliamentary reporter for the newspapers Dagbladet and Bergens Tidende. In 1874, he was one of the founders of the Fjordabladet where he served as the first editor-in-chief until 1882. In 1878, he also started and served as the first editor of the Sogns Tidende. Blehr was the governor of Nordre Bergenhus (1883–1888) and for Nordland (1895–1900).^[1][2]

In 1877, he established himself as a prosecutor at Lærdal in Sogn. In 1879 Blehr was elected as first deputy representative to the Storting for Nordre Bergenhus amt (now Sogn og Fjordane) and from 1883 to 1888 he was a permanent representative. In the fall of 1888 he was not re-elected to the Storting. He became a prosecutor (fogd) in Sunnfjord and Nordfjord. In 1889 a lawyer in Hålogaland. He held this assignment until he became a judge (lagmann) at Kristiania in 1893. In 1894 Blehr was again elected to the Storting, now for Nordland. Blehr was re-elected as parliamentary deputy for Nordland in 1898. On 21 April 1902, he took over as Prime Minister of the Norwegian government in Kristiania.^[3]

In October 1903, Blehr resigned as a result of an election defeat. In 1905 he was appointed as County Governor (stiftsamtmann) at Christiania (now Oslo), an office he held until 1921. On 21 June 1921, Otto Blehr became Prime Minister and at the same time also chief of the Ministry of Finance. He was also a member of the Norwegian delegation to the League of Nations 1920 and 1922–1925. On 3 March 1923 the government resigned.^[4][5]

He married women's rights activist Randi Blehr (1851–1928) in 1876. Both were co-founders of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights, where his wife later became president.^[6] Otto Blehr was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav in 1898. He was also the auditor of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 1903 to his death in Oslo during 1927.^[3][7] He was the father of Eivind Blehr, a minister in the Quisling regimeinWorld War II.