Everything about Carsten Anker totally explained
Carsten Tank Anker (
17 November 1747 —
13 March 1824) was a
Norwegian businessman,
civil servant and
politician. He was the owner of the building in which the original National Assembly (
Riksforsamlingen) of Norway was held. The place has since then been given the name
Eidsvollsbygningen.
Early years
Born in
Frederikshald, he was the son of the trader Erik Anker (1709-1785). In
1759 Carsten left on a journey abroad that was to last for several years, together with his brother Peter and four cousins from
Christiania. From
1771–
72 he was an envoy from several of the major Norwegian trading companies in
Stockholm to negotiate better conditions for the timber trade on the river
Klarälven, without much success. While in
Sweden, however, there arose suspicion that he was also working with a secret, political agenda, and when
Gustav III conducted his
coup d'état, Anker was asked by the government in
Copenhagen to return.
Civil service career
He then started his career as a
civil servant. On
10 May 1774 he was appointed secretary in the
General-Landøkonomi- og Kommerce-Kollegiet (College of General Rural Economy and Commerce), in
1776 he was made
justisråd, in
1781 third deputy of the
Bjærgværksdirektoiret (Mining Directory) and in
1784 second deputy. He was given the, mostly honorary, titles of
etatsråd and
konferensråd in 1779 and 1784 respectively, and on
14 January 1779 he was also made a member of the
nobility. When
Bjærgværksdirektoiret was dissolved by royal resolution on
28 January 1791, Anker was given a pension, but kept a position as first director of the so-called
Realisations-Kommission (Realisation Committee). This position entailed among other things special responsibility for the government’s Norwegian glassmaking companies. In
1792 he was made first director of
det dansk-asiatiske Kompagni (the Danish-Asian Company), a position he kept until
1811. He also acquired considerable property in Norway by buying Eidsvoll Ironworks.
Time abroad
As an envoy of
det dansk-asiatiske Kompagni, he stayed in
London from January
1805 to take care of the company's business affairs vis-à-vis the English
East India Company. This task he seems to have performed in an excellent manner. In
1807 he carried out a large transaction of money for the government in
Hamburg, and finalised a deal in ship timber for the
navy. In
1811 he took up permanent residence at Eidsvoll Ironworks.
Friendship with Christian Frederik of Denmark
During his stay in Copenhagen, he'd become an intimate acquaintance of the crown prince,
Christian Frederik. When the prince arrived in Norway as
stattholder in
1813, Anker was immediately made one of the prince's closest advisors. After the
Treaty of Kiel the prince held a meeting at Eidsvoll during his journey to
Trondheim, and on the way back he convened the
Stormannsmøtet (gathering of notables) of Eidsvoll on
16 February 1814, where it was decided that Norway should declare its independence, and that a National Assembly should be convened, also to be held at Eidsvoll.
National Assembly of 1814
Before the National Assemby gathered, Anker had left Norway, and could therefore not take up his position in the new Norwegian government, where he was appointed councillor of government for the 5th Ministry (economy) on
2 March, and councillor of state on
19 May. In March 1814 he'd crossed the
North Sea to promote Norway's interests in England. Here he worked to put the interests of Sweden and the great powers up against each other, but achieved little. In
1815 he was dismissed as councillor of state, and returned to Norway, where he developed a close relationship to the crown prince
Karl Johan.
Last years
In the last years of his life Anker's economy wasn't good; the ironworks was virtually closed down. Yet he continued to administer the government's glassmaking companies, and died during a visit to the glassworks at
Biri. He had literary interests, acted as a patron, and had a large collection of manuscripts and books. In
1784 he married Hedvig Caroline Ernestine Christine Wegener (1763-1846).
Further Information
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