Johan Castberg
Encyclopedia
Johan Castberg was a Norwegian
jurist and politician best known for representing the Radical People's Party (Labour Democrats)
. He was a government minister
from 1908 to 1910 and 1913 to 1914, and also served seven terms in the Norwegian Parliament. The brother-in-law of Katti Anker Møller
, the two were responsible for implementing the highly progressive so-called Castberg laws, granting rights to children born out of wedlock. Altogether, he was one of the most influential politicians in the early 20th century Norway.
as the son of customs surveyor and politician Johan Christian Tandberg Castberg
(1827–1899) and his wife Hanna Magdalene Frisak Ebbesen (1839–1881). He had several brothers and sisters, including the notable violinist Torgrim
.
His paternal grandfather Peter Hersleb Harboe Castberg
was a priest and politician. In addition, Johan was a first cousin of sculptor Oscar Ambrosius Castberg
. On the maternal side he was a grandson of Jørgen Tandberg Ebbesen
and nephew of Just Bing Ebbesen
, both of whom were involved in politics too.
Johan Castberg married Karen Cathrine Anker, sister of Katti Anker Møller
, in 1892. Their son Frede
became a professor. Through Torgrim Castberg, Johan Castberg was the uncle of illustrator Johan Christian Castberg.
in Hamar
, which he also edited in the summers of 1882 and 1885. In 1885 he was hired as a clerk in the Ministry of Finance
. He left both the newspaper and the Ministry of Finance in 1887, to pursue a career as an attorney. He worked one year in Hamar before moving to Gjøvik to work as a solicitor. He worked as a public defender in Eidsivating Court of Appeal from 1890 to 1892, and as prosecutor from 1892 to 1900.
While living in Gjøvik, he became involved in politics. He was a member of the executive committee of Gjøvik municipal council from 1896 to 1897. He also chaired the local chapter of the Liberal Party. In addition he held other local positions, chairing the local school board from 1895 to 1900 and the board of the local electricity company from 1896 to 1900.
of Norway, labor rights
became a more central political question. The organization of labourers had been growing since the 1880s, and their representatives demanded an expanded social policy, as opposed to the philanthropic individual taking care of his employees. So-called workers' societies , which were not trade union
s in the traditional sense, had existed since the middle of the nineteenth century. However, in 1885 a nationwide umbrella organization was founded, with the name De forenede norske Arbeidersamfund, DFNA. The organization aligned itself to the Liberal Party, one of two political parties in existence at that time.
Johan Castberg made his mark in DFNA at their 1888 national convention. This was one year after the foundation of the socialist
Norwegian Labour Party
, and Castberg, a non-socialist, vigorously advocated that the Liberal Party was the solution for the labour movement. On the other hand, DFNA became more of a pressure group towards the Liberal Party. Having included the eight-hour day
and universal suffrage
in their platform, it was decided that DFNA would compete directly with the Liberal Party if the local Liberal chapter did not support these cases. This led to the immediate establishment of a regional umbrella group in Hedemarkens Amt
and Kristians Amt
, named Oplandenes fælles Arbeiderforening. This particular organization had twenty-five local chapters. However, as local chapters of DFNA left to join the Labour Party instead, the support of this organization waned in some districts, especially in cities. DFNA was left with the mainly rural Hedemarkens Amt and Kristians Amt as its power base.
In 1900 Castberg was elected to the Norwegian Parliament for the first time, representing the constituency of Kristians Amt. He was indeed elected for Oplandenes fælles Arbeiderforening (called Arbeiderdemokratene in some sources although this name was formally adopted in 1911), but this organization was not an independent political party; rather it had loose ties to the Liberal Party. His power base being the workers' societies, Castberg was among the most radical members of the Liberal Party parliamentary group. In 1901 he founded a parliamentary caucus
called Demokratisk reformgruppe.
was the fundamental question. The 1903 election
had seen a new party, the Union Party
emerge. Their platform being based on promises of negotiations with Sweden
concerning Norwegian rights to consulates, they got the Prime Minister position in the second cabinet Hagerup
. Castberg, on the other hand, had marked himself as a staunch opponent of the union. In the years up to 1905, the unionists grew disillusioned with Sweden. The second cabinet Hagerup withdrew in March 1905 to make way for the cabinet Michelsen. Prime Minister Christian Michelsen
had been among the founders of the Union Party. However, when forming his cabinet in 1905 he asked Johan Castberg to join it. Castberg turned the offer down, choosing to continue working in Parliament.
In June the cabinet Michelsen unilaterally dissolved the union with Sweden. The summer of 1905 saw a Swedish reaction, coercing Norway to undergo negotiations in Karlstad. Castberg opposed the resulting Karlstad Treaty. In his diaries, he wrote that opponents of the Karlstad negotiations underwent censorship
. Pamphlets were confiscated, and telephone conversations regarding the negotiations were sometimes interrupted. While a plebiscite on accepting Prince Carl of Denmark as King of Norway
was held in November 1905, Castberg advocated the Republic
an form of government. In the plebiscite, Prince Carl was accepted with a 78.9% majority.
, Arbeiderdemokratene, a name it would formally adopt in 1911. Following the general election that year
he was elected for a third term. He now represented the constituency Nordre Gudbrandsdalen, as the electoral system had been changed from plural member to single member
constituencies. In addition to Nordre Gudbrandsdalen, the party won three constituencues: Søndre Gudbrandsdalen with Sigurd Andersen Fedje as their representative, Søndre Østerdalen with Olav Andreas Eftestøl and Søndre Hedemarken with Thore Embretsen Myrvang.
assumed office. Castberg was now appointed Minister of Justice and the Police
. He lost this job when the first cabinet Knudsen fell on 1 February 1910. During this period his seat in Parliament was taken by Nils Gregoriussen Skilbred
, though Castberg had not been re-elected in 1909
. He did return to be re-elected for the term 1913–1915, this time for the constituency Søndre Gudbrandsdalen. However, in January 1913 he was again given a cabinet position, this time as Minister of Trade, Shipping and Industry in the second cabinet Knudsen. In June the same year the Ministry was reorganized, leaving Castberg as chief of a new Ministry of Social Affairs, Trade, Industry and Fisheries. His position known as Minister of Social Affairs for short, Castberg became the first government minister in Norway to have specific responsibility for social policy
. He left the cabinet on 20 April 1914, due to disagreements with Prime Minister Gunnar Knudsen
.
in 1921, until 1924. He was also engaged in international diplomacy: as a member of the Norwegian delegation that in 1919 discussed the establishment of the League of Nations
, chairman of the delegation to an international workers' conference in Washington, DC 1919 and as a member of the delegation that in 1920 and 1921 met the wine-exporting countries affected by the Norwegian prohibition referendum, 1919
.
Parallel to his career in politics, Castberg had pursued his career as a jurist. He was appointed acting public prosecutor in 1901, and got the job on a permanent basis in 1902. In 1906 he was appointed district stipendiary magistrate (sorenskriver) in the district of Toten
, Vardal
og Biri
. He held this job until 1924, except for the periods between 1908–1910 and 1913–1914, when he was a government minister. In December 1924 he was appointed Supreme Court Justice
(the formal title was Supreme Court Assessor before 1927).
Johan Castberg died in December 1926 in Oslo
, before the end of his seventh parliamentary term. He was replaced by Olav Mikkelsen Moe. The Radical People's Party more or less fell apart after his death, marginalized by the growing Labour Party.
His diaries were published posthumously in 1953, in two volumes, as Dagbøker 1900-1917. It is considered to be an important source for Norwegian political history.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
jurist and politician best known for representing the Radical People's Party (Labour Democrats)
Radical People's Party
Radical People's Party was a political party in Norway, originally founded as the Labour Democrats . The party took part in its first elections in 1906. At that time the party was led by Johan Castberg...
. He was a government minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
from 1908 to 1910 and 1913 to 1914, and also served seven terms in the Norwegian Parliament. The brother-in-law of Katti Anker Møller
Katti Anker Møller
Katti Anker Møller was a Norwegian feminist, children's rights advocate, and a pioneer of reproductive rights. She is known to posterity as the "advocate of mothers."...
, the two were responsible for implementing the highly progressive so-called Castberg laws, granting rights to children born out of wedlock. Altogether, he was one of the most influential politicians in the early 20th century Norway.
Personal life
Johan Castberg was born in BrevikBrevik
is a town in Telemark, Norway with an estimated population of 2,700. Brevik was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 , but was merged with Porsgrunn on January 1, 1964. Brevik is regarded one of the best preserved towns from the sailing ship era...
as the son of customs surveyor and politician Johan Christian Tandberg Castberg
Johan Christian Tandberg Castberg
Johan Christian Tandberg Castberg was a Norwegian politician. Spending his professional life as a customs surveyor, he was mayor of the cities Brevik and Skien, and served three terms in the Norwegian Parliament...
(1827–1899) and his wife Hanna Magdalene Frisak Ebbesen (1839–1881). He had several brothers and sisters, including the notable violinist Torgrim
Torgrim Castberg
-Personal life:Torgrim Castberg was born in Skien as the son of customs surveyor and politician Johan Christian Tandberg Castberg and his wife Hanna Magdalene Frisak Ebbesen . He had several brothers and sisters, including the notable politician Johan.His paternal grandfather Peter Hersleb Harboe...
.
His paternal grandfather Peter Hersleb Harboe Castberg
Peter Hersleb Harboe Castberg
Peter Hersleb Harboe Castberg was a Norwegian priest and politician.-Personal life:Peter Hersleb Harboe Castberg was born in Bergen as the son of Tycho Didrich Castberg and his wife Helene Margaretha Calmeyer . He had several brothers and sisters.Johan Castberg married Anne Margrethe Zimmer Henchel...
was a priest and politician. In addition, Johan was a first cousin of sculptor Oscar Ambrosius Castberg
Oscar Ambrosius Castberg
Oscar Ambrosius Castberg was a Norwegian painter and sculptor.He was born in Bygland. His father, physician Tycho Fredrik Edvard Castberg, was the oldest living son of Peter Hersleb Harboe Castberg. As such Oscar Ambrosius Castberg was the nephew of Johan Christian Tandberg Castberg and first...
. On the maternal side he was a grandson of Jørgen Tandberg Ebbesen
Jørgen Tandberg Ebbesen
Jørgen Tandberg Ebbesen was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.-Personal life:Jørgen Tandberg Ebbesen was born in Fredrikstad as the son of Hans Christian Ebbesen and Abigael Marie Bing ....
and nephew of Just Bing Ebbesen
Just Bing Ebbesen
Just Bing Ebbesen was a Norwegian priest and politician.Just Bing Ebbesen was the son of Jørgen Tandberg Ebbesen, and brother of Hanna Magdalene Frisak Ebbesen, who married Johan Christian Tandberg Castberg and was the mother of Johan Castberg.He enrolled as a student in 1866 and graduated as...
, both of whom were involved in politics too.
Johan Castberg married Karen Cathrine Anker, sister of Katti Anker Møller
Katti Anker Møller
Katti Anker Møller was a Norwegian feminist, children's rights advocate, and a pioneer of reproductive rights. She is known to posterity as the "advocate of mothers."...
, in 1892. Their son Frede
Frede Castberg
Frede Castberg was a Norwegian jurist. The son of Johan Castberg, he served as professor and rector at the University of Oslo as well as president of the Hague Academy of International Law.-Personal life:...
became a professor. Through Torgrim Castberg, Johan Castberg was the uncle of illustrator Johan Christian Castberg.
Early career and local politics
Castberg took his secondary education in Skien in 1880, and enrolled in law studies. He graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1884. Since 1882 he had written for the newspaper Oplandenes AvisOplandenes Avis
Oplandenes Avis was a Norwegian newspaper, published in Hamar in Hedmark county.It started on 3 July 1872 by Olaus Arvesen, who had been fired as editor of the conservative newspaper Hamar Stiftstidende. He remained editor until 1906, and supported the Liberal Party...
in Hamar
Hamar
is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849...
, which he also edited in the summers of 1882 and 1885. In 1885 he was hired as a clerk in the Ministry of Finance
Norwegian Ministry of Finance
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Finance is a Norwegian ministry established in 1814. The ministry is responsible for state finance, including the state budget, taxation and economic policy in Norway. It is led by Sigbjørn Johnsen...
. He left both the newspaper and the Ministry of Finance in 1887, to pursue a career as an attorney. He worked one year in Hamar before moving to Gjøvik to work as a solicitor. He worked as a public defender in Eidsivating Court of Appeal from 1890 to 1892, and as prosecutor from 1892 to 1900.
While living in Gjøvik, he became involved in politics. He was a member of the executive committee of Gjøvik municipal council from 1896 to 1897. He also chaired the local chapter of the Liberal Party. In addition he held other local positions, chairing the local school board from 1895 to 1900 and the board of the local electricity company from 1896 to 1900.
Workers' societies
Parallel with the growing industrialisationIndustrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
of Norway, labor rights
Labor rights
Labor rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. In general, these rights' debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay, benefits, and safe...
became a more central political question. The organization of labourers had been growing since the 1880s, and their representatives demanded an expanded social policy, as opposed to the philanthropic individual taking care of his employees. So-called workers' societies , which were not trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s in the traditional sense, had existed since the middle of the nineteenth century. However, in 1885 a nationwide umbrella organization was founded, with the name De forenede norske Arbeidersamfund, DFNA. The organization aligned itself to the Liberal Party, one of two political parties in existence at that time.
Johan Castberg made his mark in DFNA at their 1888 national convention. This was one year after the foundation of the socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
Norwegian Labour Party
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
, and Castberg, a non-socialist, vigorously advocated that the Liberal Party was the solution for the labour movement. On the other hand, DFNA became more of a pressure group towards the Liberal Party. Having included the eight-hour day
Eight-hour day
The eight-hour day movement or 40-hour week movement, also known as the short-time movement, had its origins in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where industrial production in large factories transformed working life and imposed long hours and poor working conditions. With working conditions...
and universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
in their platform, it was decided that DFNA would compete directly with the Liberal Party if the local Liberal chapter did not support these cases. This led to the immediate establishment of a regional umbrella group in Hedemarkens Amt
Hedmark
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. The county administration is in Hamar.Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It includes a long part of the borderline with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The...
and Kristians Amt
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....
, named Oplandenes fælles Arbeiderforening. This particular organization had twenty-five local chapters. However, as local chapters of DFNA left to join the Labour Party instead, the support of this organization waned in some districts, especially in cities. DFNA was left with the mainly rural Hedemarkens Amt and Kristians Amt as its power base.
In 1900 Castberg was elected to the Norwegian Parliament for the first time, representing the constituency of Kristians Amt. He was indeed elected for Oplandenes fælles Arbeiderforening (called Arbeiderdemokratene in some sources although this name was formally adopted in 1911), but this organization was not an independent political party; rather it had loose ties to the Liberal Party. His power base being the workers' societies, Castberg was among the most radical members of the Liberal Party parliamentary group. In 1901 he founded a parliamentary caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
called Demokratisk reformgruppe.
Activity in 1905
He was re-elected for the term 1904–1906. During this time the union between Sweden and NorwayUnion between Sweden and Norway
The Union between Sweden and Norway , officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, consisted of present-day Sweden and Norway between 1814 and 1905, when they were united under one monarch in a personal union....
was the fundamental question. The 1903 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1903
-Results:...
had seen a new party, the Union Party
Union Party (Norway)
Coalition Party was a short lived, Norwegian political party based around the Conservative Party and the Moderate Liberal Party. The main issues was opposition against the Liberal Party's union political radicalism, as well as the rising social democracy...
emerge. Their platform being based on promises of negotiations with Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
concerning Norwegian rights to consulates, they got the Prime Minister position in the second cabinet Hagerup
Second cabinet Hagerup
The Hagerup's Second Cabinet governed Norway between 22 October 1903 and 11 March 1905. It fell as the cabinet ministers collectively resigned on 28 February and 1 March 1905, as part of the build-up for the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905. Christian Michelsen withdrew...
. Castberg, on the other hand, had marked himself as a staunch opponent of the union. In the years up to 1905, the unionists grew disillusioned with Sweden. The second cabinet Hagerup withdrew in March 1905 to make way for the cabinet Michelsen. Prime Minister Christian Michelsen
Christian Michelsen
Peter Christian Hersleb Kjerschow Michelsen was a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of an independent Norway from 1905 to 1907...
had been among the founders of the Union Party. However, when forming his cabinet in 1905 he asked Johan Castberg to join it. Castberg turned the offer down, choosing to continue working in Parliament.
In June the cabinet Michelsen unilaterally dissolved the union with Sweden. The summer of 1905 saw a Swedish reaction, coercing Norway to undergo negotiations in Karlstad. Castberg opposed the resulting Karlstad Treaty. In his diaries, he wrote that opponents of the Karlstad negotiations underwent censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. Pamphlets were confiscated, and telephone conversations regarding the negotiations were sometimes interrupted. While a plebiscite on accepting Prince Carl of Denmark as King of Norway
Norwegian monarchy plebiscite, 1905
The Norwegian Monarchy Plebiscite, 1905 on accepting a republican or monarchial form of state in Norway was held on 12 and 13 November 1905. The voters were to cast a yes or no vote on whether they approved of the decision the Storting had made in authorizing the government to offer the throne of...
was held in November 1905, Castberg advocated the Republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
an form of government. In the plebiscite, Prince Carl was accepted with a 78.9% majority.
New party
In 1906 Castberg was among the founders of De forenede norske Arbeidersamfund as an independent political party. It is often referred to as the Labour DemocratsRadical People's Party
Radical People's Party was a political party in Norway, originally founded as the Labour Democrats . The party took part in its first elections in 1906. At that time the party was led by Johan Castberg...
, Arbeiderdemokratene, a name it would formally adopt in 1911. Following the general election that year
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1906
-Results:-References:**...
he was elected for a third term. He now represented the constituency Nordre Gudbrandsdalen, as the electoral system had been changed from plural member to single member
Single-winner voting systems
A single-member district or single-member constituency is an electoral district that returns one officeholder to a body with multiple members such as a legislature...
constituencies. In addition to Nordre Gudbrandsdalen, the party won three constituencues: Søndre Gudbrandsdalen with Sigurd Andersen Fedje as their representative, Søndre Østerdalen with Olav Andreas Eftestøl and Søndre Hedemarken with Thore Embretsen Myrvang.
Government minister
On 19 March 1908 there was a change in government as the first cabinet KnudsenFirst cabinet Knudsen
The Knudsen's First Cabinet governed Norway between 19 March 1908 and 2 February 1910. It had the following composition:-Cabinet members:-State Secretary:Not to be confused with the modern title State Secretary...
assumed office. Castberg was now appointed Minister of Justice and the Police
Minister of Justice and the Police (Norway)
In Norway, the Minister of Justice and the Police is the head of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police and a member of Government of Norway. Current minister is Grete Faremo of the Norwegian Labour Party who is part of the second cabinet Stoltenberg...
. He lost this job when the first cabinet Knudsen fell on 1 February 1910. During this period his seat in Parliament was taken by Nils Gregoriussen Skilbred
Nils Gregoriussen Skilbred
Nils Gregoriussen Skilbred was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party.Born in Gjerpen, he worked as a farmer and carpenter. He became involved in the local workers' societies, and joined the Liberal Party. He was a member of the local party board from 1897...
, though Castberg had not been re-elected in 1909
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1909
-Results: Liberal Left Party is part of coalition with Conservative Party-References:***...
. He did return to be re-elected for the term 1913–1915, this time for the constituency Søndre Gudbrandsdalen. However, in January 1913 he was again given a cabinet position, this time as Minister of Trade, Shipping and Industry in the second cabinet Knudsen. In June the same year the Ministry was reorganized, leaving Castberg as chief of a new Ministry of Social Affairs, Trade, Industry and Fisheries. His position known as Minister of Social Affairs for short, Castberg became the first government minister in Norway to have specific responsibility for social policy
Social policy
Social policy primarily refers to guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare. Thus, social policy is that part of public policy that has to do with social issues...
. He left the cabinet on 20 April 1914, due to disagreements with Prime Minister Gunnar Knudsen
Gunnar Knudsen
Gunnar Knudsen , born Aanon Gunerius Knudsen, was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party who had two spells as Prime Minister of Norway from 1908 to 1910 and from 1913 to 1920...
.
Later career
Castberg was re-elected in 1916, 1918 and 1925, and served as President of the Odelsting from 1914 to 1921. He continued as chairman of his party, renamed the Radical People's PartyRadical People's Party
Radical People's Party was a political party in Norway, originally founded as the Labour Democrats . The party took part in its first elections in 1906. At that time the party was led by Johan Castberg...
in 1921, until 1924. He was also engaged in international diplomacy: as a member of the Norwegian delegation that in 1919 discussed the establishment of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
, chairman of the delegation to an international workers' conference in Washington, DC 1919 and as a member of the delegation that in 1920 and 1921 met the wine-exporting countries affected by the Norwegian prohibition referendum, 1919
Norwegian Prohibition referendum, 1919
A referendum on whether Norway should introduce Prohibition was held on October 5 and 6, 1919. A partial prohibition had been in effect since 1917. The prohibition proposal did not include all types of alcohol, only spirits...
.
Parallel to his career in politics, Castberg had pursued his career as a jurist. He was appointed acting public prosecutor in 1901, and got the job on a permanent basis in 1902. In 1906 he was appointed district stipendiary magistrate (sorenskriver) in the district of Toten
Toten
Toten is a traditional district in Oppland county in the eastern part of Norway. It consists of the municipalities Østre Toten, Vestre Toten, and Gjøvik.Toten was a petty kingdom in the early Viking Ages, with Halfdan Hvitbeinn as the most notable king....
, Vardal
Vardal
Vardal is a former municipality in Oppland county, Norway.It was created in 1837 as Vardal formannskapsdistrikt. According to the 1835 census the municipality had a population of 2,921...
og Biri
Biri, Norway
Biri is a village in the municipality of GjøvikOppland county, Norway. It was formerly classified as a municipality.The parish of Biri was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . On 1 January 1910, the district Snertingdal was divided from Biri to form a municipality of its own,...
. He held this job until 1924, except for the periods between 1908–1910 and 1913–1914, when he was a government minister. In December 1924 he was appointed Supreme Court Justice
Supreme Court of Norway
The Supreme Court of Norway was established in 1815 on the basis of the Constitution of Norway's §88, prescribing an independent judiciary. It is located in Oslo and is Norway's highest court...
(the formal title was Supreme Court Assessor before 1927).
Johan Castberg died in December 1926 in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, before the end of his seventh parliamentary term. He was replaced by Olav Mikkelsen Moe. The Radical People's Party more or less fell apart after his death, marginalized by the growing Labour Party.
His diaries were published posthumously in 1953, in two volumes, as Dagbøker 1900-1917. It is considered to be an important source for Norwegian political history.