Ditlev Gothard Monrad

Ditlev Gothard Monrad
Council President of Denmark
In office
31 December 1863  11 July 1864
Monarch Christian IX
Preceded by Carl Christian Hall
Succeeded by Christian Albrecht Bluhme
Personal details
Born (1811-11-24)24 November 1811
Copenhagen
Died 28 March 1887(1887-03-28) (aged 75)
Nykøbing Falster
Political party National Liberal Party

Ditlev Gothard Monrad (24 November 1811 28 March 1887) was a Danish politician and bishop of Lolland–Falster.

Monrad's father, Otto Sommer Monrad, an attorney, suffered from mental illness, and spent some years in institutions; he died in 1863.[1]

Monrad studied theology and became a Lutheran minister, while beginning to participate in politics.[2] He became editor of the Liberal publication, Foedrelandet, in 1840, and was leader of the National Liberal Party and spearheaded the movement towards a constitutional Denmark after 1848, the year in which he became a bishop. In the following year, he became a member of Parliament and was Minister of Church Affairs in the new government.[3]

As Council President (1863-1864), he was the Danish state leader during the early part of Second Schleswig War, against the German Confederation led by Otto von Bismarck, which resulted in the Peace of Vienna.

After this war, a depressed and disillusioned Monrad emigrated to New Zealand. After sending his sons to Nelson and other districts of New Zealand to scout for land, he chose to settle in Palmerston North in the North Island of New Zealand. He bought 482 acres (1.95 km2) of land at Karere Block. He first lived in a small hut and then erected a timber house and started clearing bushland. He and his family farmed cows and sheep.

Monrad helped the New Zealand Company to find suitable settlers from Scandinavia and helped many Danish immigrants find land to settle on, most notably in the area of Dannevirke.

His work was disturbed by Māori rioters, members of the Hauhau cult under Chief Titokowaru. Monrad buried his belongings and went with the family to Wellington and then went back to Denmark in 1869. His sons Viggo and Johannes later returned to Karere to become farmers.

Before leaving New Zealand, he presented to the New Zealand government a precious collection of sketches and etchings by old European masters such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Albrecht Dürer and van Dyck. They are now part of the collection at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and are occasionally on display there.

Monrad Intermediate is a Palmerston North intermediate school named after Monrad.

Political offices
Preceded by
New office
Kultus Minister of Denmark
22 March 1848 15 November 1848
Succeeded by
Johan Nicolai Madvig
Preceded by
Carl Christian Hall
Kultus Minister of Denmark
6 May 1859 2 December 1859
Succeeded by
Vilhem August Borgen
Preceded by
Vilhem August Borgen
Kultus Minister of Denmark
24 February 1860 - 31 December 1863
Succeeded by
Christian Thorning Engelstoft
Preceded by
Johan Christian von Jessen
Interior Minister of Denmark
24 February 1860 15 September 1861
Succeeded by
Peter Martin Orla Lehmann
Preceded by
Carl Christian Hall
Council President of Denmark
31 December 1863 11 July 1864
Succeeded by
Christian Albrecht Bluhme
Preceded by
Carl Emil Fenger
Finance Minister of Denmark
31 December 1863 11 July 1864
Succeeded by
Christian Nathan David
Preceded by
Carl Christian Hall
Foreign Minister of Denmark
31 December 1863 8 January 1864
Succeeded by
George Quaade
Preceded by
Carl Christian Hall
Minister for Holstein and Lauenburg
31 December 1863 11 July 1864
Succeeded by
Christian Albrecht Bluhme

Literature

References

  1. Johann Schioldann-Nielsen, "Prime Minister D. G. Monrad: manic-depressive disorder and political leadership", History of Psychiatry, March 1996 7: 063-90]. Accessed 15 February 2016
  2. Britannica. Accessed 2 June 2015
  3. Nicholas Hope, German and Scandinavian Protestantism 1700-1918. Clarendon Press, 1995. p 469. Accessed 15 February 2016

External links

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