Happy Birthday, King Harald V!

Today marks the 82^nd birthday of His Majesty King Harald V of Norway.

Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!

Yngvar Nielsen 175

175 years ago today, Yngvar Nielsen was born. Yngvar Nielsen was a prominent historian in the old world. During the “democratic progress,” at the end of the 19^th century he was a proponent of the old order. He was a friend of King Oscar II. He was thus “frozen out” by the Conservative Party.

Parliament Deposes

113 years ago today, the Parliament of the Kingdom of Norway moved to depose the King – Oscar II.

Norwegian Constitution Day

Frederik Stang at 210

210 decades ago today, Frederik Stang was born.

Stang was first minister in Christiania from 1861 and Prime Minister (statsminister; a title shared from then until 1905 with the head of the Stockholm delegation, who had had the title alone till then) and head of government from 1873 until he left the fight over the checks and balances with the parliament to Christian August Selmer.

Happy Birthday, King Harald V!

Today marks the nine squared birthday of His Majesty King Harald V of Norway.

Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!

Charles John Accession

Two centuries ago today, King Charles John acceded to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.

Oscar II Abdicates

A century and a dozen years ago today, King Oscar II abdicated the ancient throne of St. Olav, formally ending the union of Sweden and Norway, being a step on the march towards ever increasing democracy.

Olav V Succeeds Haakon VII

60 years ago today, Crown Prince Olav of Norway, born Prince Alexander Edward Christian Frederik of Denmark, ascended to the ancient throne of St. Olav as King Olav V, upon the demise of his father, King Haakon VII.

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Oscar II of Sweden and Norway

145 years ago today, King Oscar II ascended the thrones of Sweden and Norway.

Passing ot the King's PM

Two to the power of seven years ago today, Christian August Selmer, Norwegian Prime Minister of King Oscar II, who fought with His Majesty against the usurping Parliament during the “constitutional crisis” of the 1880s, passed away.

Light Bulbs

Five years ago today, the last phase of the ban against the incandescent light bulb came into force.

Book Just Released

The book Grunnlov og frihet: turtelduer eller erkefiender? (translated title: Constitution and Liberty: Lovebirds or Archenemies?), edited by yours truly, was released just this week.

The book features, amongst others, Cato Institute's Johan Norberg. The overall theme of the book is asking tough, critical questions about the Constitution (of the Kingdom of Norway), liberty and democracy.

We speak where others are silent. We challenge myths. We shake the Norwegian consensus.

Links (mostly in Norwegian) for the book:

• website: grlfrihet.no
• F***book: @GrlFrihet
• Twitter: @GrlFrihet

Trondhjem in 1873

A dozen squared years ago today, King Oscar II was crowned King of Norway in Trondhjem Cathedral.

Trondhjem 1906

111 years ago today, King Haakon VII and Queen Maud were crowned in Trondhjem.

Deposal of a King

112 years ago today, the Parliament of the Kingdom of Norway moved to depose the King – Oscar II.

Constitution Day

Popular Sovereignty – Rather Pure

203 years ago today, the Norwegian Constitutional Convention passed the constitutional provision on constitutional amendments.

This provision was to be subject to much political conflict later in the 19^th century. It was argued that a constitutional amendment implicitly needed Royal Assent, and it can certainly be argued that that was part of constitutional law at times.

However, a doctoral thesis from 2011 has unfortunately shown convincingly and with high probability that the intent of the framers was a pure popular sovereignty system when it comes to the constituting (amendments included) authority.

This painting, created by Oscar Wergeland on assignment from a medical doctor on the losing side in the constitutional conflict of the 1870s and 1880s, hangs till this day in Parliament Hall:

Happy Birthday, King Harald V!

Today marks the 80^th birthday of His Majesty King Harald V of Norway.

Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!

Written Emasculation

A decade ago today, the Norwegian Parliament unanimously passed a Constitutional Amendment to include parliamentarism in the written Constitution.