Andreas Bjerre

Sören Andreas Bjerre, known as Andreas Bjerre, (21 March 1879 – 22 November 1925) was a Swedish academic specialising in criminal law and criminal psychology.

Early life and career Born in Göteborg in 1879, Andreas Bjerre was the son of Sören Bjerre, who was a rich butter-merchant,

In 1919 Bjerre was made a professor of criminal law at the University of Dorpat (now known as Tartu) in Estonia, and became also the professor of legal philosophy there from 1921.

Personal life and death In 1904 Bjerre married Countess Amelie Posse, later a noted author, pacifist, and anti-Nazist. Posse's mother Gunhild Wennerberg (1860-1925) married Andreas Bjerre's brother Poul the year after. In the same year Posse gave birth to their only child, Sören Christer Bjerre (1905-1967), who was declared insane in 1921 but eventually in adulthood became a journalist. Andreas Bjerre and Posse were divorced in 1912 and Bjerre married Baroness Ida Magdalena (Madeleine) Bennet the same year.

Bjerre resigned his position at Dorpat University in spring 1925 due to illness. He committed suicide in November 1925 in a guest-house in Tyinge through an overdose of veronal, in bed with his wife Madeleine embracing him. Poul Bjerre later accused Madeleine of murder as she had not called for a doctor.

Portrayal in Bära bud The relationship between the Poul and Andreas Bjerre was the subject of the 2008 historical novel Bära bud by Norwegian author Håkan Bravinger, which was based on the diaries kept by the two brothers as well as other historical documents. In the novel Bravinger portrays Andreas Bjerre's death, leaving a note for his wife Madeleine and for his mother. His brother Poul, for whom Andreas had often expressed great hatred in his diaries, is portrayed as refusing to accept that it was suicide. Andreas Bjerre is portrayed as having dyslexia, and as someone who drank heavily and was known to frequent prostitutes.