Anders Venger

Anders Venger (5 January 1872 – 23 February 1935) was a Norwegian politician of the Conservative Party. He served Minister of Agriculture from 1923 to 1924, Minister of Labour from March to July 1926 and acting Minister of Education and Church Affairs from November to December 1923 following the death of Ivar Bergersen Sælen. He also served as deputy leader of the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1925.

Anders Venger
Parliamentary portrait of Venger.
Minister of Labour
In office 5 March 1926 – 26 July 1926
Prime Minister	Ivar Lykke
Preceded by	Ole Monsen Mjelde
Succeeded by	Worm Darre-Jenssen
Minister of Agriculture
In office 6 March 1923 – 25 July 1924
Prime Minister	Otto B. Halvorsen Abraham Berge
Preceded by	Håkon Five
Succeeded by	Håkon Five
Minister of Education and Church Affairs Acting
In office 24 November 1923 – 11 December 1923
Prime Minister	Abraham Berge
Preceded by	Ivar B. Sælen
Succeeded by	Karl Sanne
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
In office 1 January 1919 – 31 December 1927
Constituency	Akershus
Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party
In office 1920–1925
Leader	Otto B. Halvorsen Ivar Lykke
Personal details
Born	(1872-01-05)5 January 1872 Eidsvoll, Akershus, Sweden-Norway
Died	23 February 1935(1935-02-23) (aged 63) Oslo, Norway
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Dagny Hilsen (m. 1900)
Children	Hans Venger Johan Venger

Early life

Anders Venger grew up at Venjerbakken, one of Eidsvoll's oldest properties at the time. The farm was located on the west side of Vorma, close to Eidsvoll Verk and the industrial area Bøn. Venger was the son of Marte Olava Aas (1848–1907) and Johan A. Venger (1846–1921). His father, who had bought Venjerbakken in 1873, was also active in municipal politics in Eidsvoll.

Politics

Venger was elected mayor of Eidsvoll in 1912 and assumed the position in 1913. He held this post for 21 years until 1934, though he was on leave while he served as government minister. He entered the Storting in 1919, elected as a representative from the constituency of Øvre Romerike. He was re-elected until 1927, when he choose not to run for re-election due to the impeachment proceedings against former prime minister Abraham Berge. During that same time frame, he also resigned as Minister of Labour in 1926. Venger had also served as Minister of Agriculture and Otto Bahr Halvorsen's second cabinet and continued in the same post after Abraham Berge took over after Bahr Halvorsen's death in May 1923. As agriculture minister, he was able to pass farmer friendly bill regarding corn arrangements. For many years, Venger was an active member of the Conservative central executive committee, and he also served five years as the party's deputy leader. He was considered to be a part of the party's agrarian wing, whom, during the 1920s, were in conflict with city liberals, where they disagreed on the party's agricultural policy.