January 10 2005
1905: An Alternate Candidate and the Debate over the Form of Government On June 7, 1905, Norway unilaterally dissolved her ninetyone year union with Sweden. Combined with the dissolution resolution which removed King Oscar II from the throne of Norway was an offer from the Norwegian Parliament, Stortinget, asking that a young prince of the Bernadotte dynasty assume the throne of an independent Norway.
TERJE I. LEIREN
Part III
SEATTLE, WA - This decision that Norway remain a monarchy was made by Prime Minister Christian Michelsen. Announced on June 6 to a surprised Parliament (Storting), the Bernadotte offer was based on the desire to send a message to the world that the dissolution was no revolutionary act, but rather Norway's claim to regain its legitimate place in the company of nations.
Once the offer was made, the Norwegians could only wait for a Swedish response. It was not soon forthcoming. Sweden, initially offended by Norway's action and calling it revolutionary, would consider its options carefully and would make the Norwegians wait. Monarchists, of course, supported the offer while republicans nervously began to agitate for a withdrawal of the offer and a vote on the future form of government, hoping thereby to see a Norway become a republic.
For Michelsen, the primary task in 1905 was securing Norway's independence. He had already determined that for Norway to do that and in order to gain the acceptance of the powerful states in Europe, it was imperative that Norway's actions not be seen as revolutionary. That meant maintaining the monarchical form of government. If Sweden rejected the Bernadotte offer, however, Norway could well face emboldened republican sentiment or, at worst, public anarchy. Into this breech came Frits Wedel Jarlsberg, former Norwegian minister to Madrid.
On June 5, 1905, two days before the dissolution of the union, Wedel Jarlsberg had sent a telegram to Michelsen from Madrid wherein he noted the importance of British recognition in the event of a break in the union with Sweden. In the telegram, he also mentioned to Michelsen the name of a Danish prince who could guarantee the retention of the monarchy - Prince Carl. Following the dissolution on June 7, Wedel Jarlsberg returned to Oslo and met with Michelsen on June 14. He told the Prime Minister that he supported negotiations with Sweden over the dissolution, but if that failed, Norway should look to the Danish royal house for a possible king, specifically Prince Carl, who was married to Princess Maud, the youngest daugther of King Edward VII of England. In his memoirs, Wedel Jarlsberg wrote that Michelsen told him he considered the plan “absolutely outstanding.”
As a follow-up to the discussions, Michelsen sent Wedel Jarlsberg to Stockholm to assess Sweden's attitude toward the Bernadotte offer. Meeting with King Oscar II on June 16, he told the king that Prince Carl Bernadotte of Sweden would be welcomed to Norway with open arms, a large appanage, and, perhaps, even the right to dissolve parliament. None of the terms tempted King Oscar who said he would never allow any member of his family to accept the throne of Norway. Before leaving, Wedel Jarlsberg told the king that the Norwegians wanted neither a republic nor anarchy and, therefore, “must look elsewhere.” for a king. “Yes, you go,” the king replied, “you will not be welcomed anywhere.” (Frits Wedel Jarlsberg, 1905: Kongevalget, p. 39). Based on the attitude of King Oscar, Norway could be left waiting for an answer for a very long time. In fact, Sweden maintained the view that the union itself had not been dissolved on June 7, and to do so, Norway and Sweden would have to negotiate the terms of divorce. Before they would do that, however, Sweden insisted that there be some indication that the action by the Norwegian parliament on June 7 was indeed supported by the Norwegian people. Until that was done, it was unlikely that there would be any definitive reply to the Bernadotte offer.
As Wedel Jarlsberg had recommended, the Michelsen government opened negotiations with Prince Carl of Denmark as an alternative to the Bernadotte candidacy for the throne of Norway. Contacts were established with Denmark, but also with Britain and France. Negotiations centered on the Danish prince becoming king of Norway, but the primary motive remained the desire by Norwegians to gain full and complete independence. A monarchical form of government, Michelsen believed, would signal to Europe's royal houses Norway's intentions to support a responsible international posture in foreign affairs. A Danish prince with family ties to the British royal family would ensure the support of one of Europe's major powers, a prospect not to be taken lightly. With Wedel Jarlsberg's scenario in hand, Michelsen met with Fridtjof Nansen, Norway's arctic explorer and outspoken advocate of Norwegian independence leading in the months leading up to the dissolution. Michelsen asked Nansen to go to Copenhagen and meet with Prince Carl to convince him to accept the throne of Norway. More so than the professional diplomat Wedel Jarlsberg, Nansen would be Michelsen's own man in Copenhagen. Lacking the arrogant bearing of the aristocratic diplomat, Nansen was a man of the people, widely popular and clearly an asset in the monarchical cause. To understand Nansen's stature in Norway, one need only know that his face was that used by Norwegian artists to illustrate the Viking kings of Norway in its 1899 edition of Snorre Sturlasson's Sagas of the Norse Kings. Olav Tryvasson was Fridtjof Nansen, Fridtjof Nansen was Olav Trygvasson. There was no one who was held with greater affection in the entire country, perhaps not even Christian Michelsen. Nansen accepted Michelsen's offer, arriving in Copenhagen on June 17. Negotiations for an alternative to the Bernadotte candidacy had begun.
As Nansen began his discussions with the Danish prince Carl, in Sweden, the actions of June 7 served to precipitate a bitter and divisive debate on how Swden should respond. On July 27, a special committee of the Riksdag announced that if Norway held a plebiscitory vote, and if that vote confirmed support for dissolution, Sweden was willing to negotiate terms of separation. The Swedish position insisted that the union remained in force until terms for dissolution were successfully negotiated between the two countries. The demand for a Norwegian vote gave Christian Michelsen the opening he hoped for to show support for his government's actions but, more importantly, an opportunity to take the Bernadotte candidacy off the table once and for all. The plebiscite was set for August 13.
As the date for the plebiscite neared, Nansen and the Norwegian government tried to convince Prince Carl to come to Norway to lead the negotiations with Sweden. Initially receptive to the possibility, Prince Carl and the Danish king balked, however, fearing it would offend Sweden. On August 13, however, no one in Norway worried about what Swedes might be thinking, as the results of the plebiscite showed an extraordinary super majority in favor of the dissolution. Any hope that Swedes may have had that Norwegians did not support Michelsen's policy was clearly dashed in the overwhelming results of the vote. An overwhelming majority of 368,208 voted in favor of dissolution, while a mere 184 opposed the action. The day was a festive one throughout Norway. Dissolution terms would now be negotiated with Sweden.
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Author: Terje I. Leiren
Source: Norwegian American Foundation
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