Christian Michelsen (15 March 1857 – 29 June 1925) was a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman who served as the first Prime Minister of Norway from 1905 to 1907. He is widely regarded as the architect of the peaceful dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905.
Born in Bergen, Michelsen built a successful career in shipping and finance before entering politics. He was elected to the Storting (Norwegian parliament) in 1891, representing the Liberal Party (Venstre). He served as Finance Minister in Francis Hagerup’s cabinet (1898–1900) and later as a leading figure in the coalition government formed in 1903.
In 1905, as Prime Minister of a coalition government, Michelsen orchestrated the political strategy that led to the Storting’s declaration of the dissolution of the union with Sweden on 7 June 1905. Following a Swedish demand for a referendum, the Norwegian people voted overwhelmingly for dissolution. Michelsen subsequently negotiated the Karlstad Treaty, which formally ended the union without bloodshed. He played a key role in offering the Norwegian throne to Prince Carl of Denmark, who became King Haakon VII.
Michelsen resigned as Prime Minister in 1907 due to political disagreements within his coalition, particularly regarding social policy and suffrage. He withdrew from active politics but remained a significant public figure. In his later years, he donated a substantial portion of his fortune to establish the Christian Michelsen Institute (CMI) in Bergen, a research institution focused on science and intellectual freedom, which later evolved into a center for development research.
He died in Fana, near Bergen, in 1925.
