Christian Sparre

{{Short description|Norwegian admiral and politician (1859–1940)}}

thumb|Christian Sparre. '''Christian Sparre''' (30 July 1859 – 4 November 1940) was a Norwegian Commanding Admiral and Member of Parliament. The mountain of Sparrefjellet at Spitsbergen is named after him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://snl.no/Christian_Sparre|title=Christian Sparre|date=28 September 2014|publisher=|via=Store norske leksikon}}</ref>

Christian Herman Sparre was born in Høland Municipality (now part of Aurskog-Høland Municipality) in Akershus county, Norway. His father, Ole Jacob Louis Sparre (1831–1889), was a physician and Member of Parliament. Sparre grew up in Rollag Municipality in Buskerud and in Strandebarm Municipality in Hardanger. He graduated from the Norwegian Naval Academy in 1881. In addition to his maritime education, Sparre was a student at the Norwegian Military Academy in 1884.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://snl.no/Sparre_-_norsk_slekt|title=Sparre – norsk slekt|first=Terje|last=Bratberg|date=22 February 2017|publisher=|via=Store norske leksikon}}</ref>

Sparre had a long and productive career. From 1881, he was a lieutenant in the Royal Norwegian Navy. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1884 and to captain in 1894. From 1898 to 1900, he was chief of the Naval Academy. In 1900, he was appointed commander and the following year he was promoted to vice admiral in the Navy. He served as commanding admiral in Norway from 1901 to 1909.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://placenames.npolar.no/stadnamn/Sparrefjellet |title=Sparrefjellet (Svalbard) |publisher=Norwegian Polar Institute |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref>

He served on the Council of State Division in Stockholm from 1900 to 1901. From 1907 to 1910 he was a member of the city council in Christiania (now Oslo). He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Horten in Vestfold 1913 and 1916, where he was deputy chairman of the Military Committee.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nsd.uib.no/polsys/index.cfm?urlname=&lan=&MenuItem=&ChildItem=&State=&UttakNr=33&person=12731|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404142049/http://www.nsd.uib.no/polsys/index.cfm?urlname=&lan=&MenuItem=&ChildItem=&State=&UttakNr=33&person=12731|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 4, 2015|title=NSD - Norsk senter for forskningsdata AS|website=www.nsd.uib.no}}</ref>

Sparre received a wide range of Norwegian and foreign orders and medals. He was appointed Commander of the 1st class Order of St. Olav in 1903.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nsd.uib.no/polsys/index.cfm?urlname=&lan=&MenuItem=N1_1&ChildItem=&State=collapse&UttakNr=33&person=12731 |title=Tom Kristiansen:''Christian Sparre'' (Norsk biografisk leksikon) |access-date=2015-04-02 |archive-date=2015-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403200805/http://www.nsd.uib.no/polsys/index.cfm?urlname=&lan=&MenuItem=N1_1&ChildItem=&State=collapse&UttakNr=33&person=12731 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Additionally, Sparre wrote crime fiction under the pen-name of Fredrik Viller. <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.crimetime.co.uk/murder-in-the-midnight-sun-early-crime-fiction-in-norway-by-nils-nordberg/ |title=Murder in the Midnight Sun: Early Crime Fiction in Norway by Nils Nordberg |website=crimetime.co.uk |accessdate=5 March 2026}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{succession box|before=|after=Karl Friedrich Griffin Dawes|title=Commanding Admiral in Norway|years=1901–1909}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparre, Christian}} Category:1859 births Category:1940 deaths Category:Norwegian Military Academy alumni Category:Royal Norwegian Naval Academy alumni Category:Academic staff of the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy Category:Government ministers of Norway Category:Royal Norwegian Navy admirals Category:Deputy members of the Storting Category:Norwegian crime fiction writers Category:Norwegian military historians Category:Norwegian maritime historians Category:Norwegian editors Category:Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour Category:People from Rollag Category:Members of the Storting 1913–1915