Johan Castberg

Johan Castberg (21 September 1862 – 24 December 1926) 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 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.

In 2013, an oilfield in the Barents Sea was named after Johan Castberg.

Personal life Johan Castberg was born in Brevik as the son of customs surveyor and politician Johan Christian Tandberg Castberg (1827–1899) and Hanna Magdalene Frisak Ebbesen (1839–1881). He had several brothers and sisters, including the notable violinist Torgrim and the politician Leif.

His paternal grandfather Peter Hersleb Harboe Castberg was a priest and politician. In addition, Johan was a first cousin of sculptor Oscar Ambrosius Castberg. Their son Frede became a professor. Through Torgrim Castberg, Johan Castberg was the uncle of illustrator Johan Christian Castberg. 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 and , named . 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 and as its power base.

In 1900 Castberg was elected to the Norwegian Parliament for the first time, representing the constituency of .

Activity in 1905 He was re-elected for the term 1904–1906. Castberg, on the other hand, had marked himself as a staunch opponent of the union. However, when forming his cabinet in 1905 he asked Castberg to join it. Castberg turned the offer down, choosing to continue working in Parliament. While a plebiscite on accepting Prince Carl of Denmark as King of Norway was held in November 1905, Castberg advocated the Republican form of government.

Government minister On 19 March 1908 there was a change in government as the first cabinet Knudsen 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 . 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. Castberg became the first government minister in Norway to have specific responsibility for social policy. He left the cabinet on 20 April 1914,

Johan Castberg died in December 1926 in Oslo, It is considered to be an important source for Norwegian political history.