Christian Magnus Falsen

Christian Magnus Falsen (14 September 1782 – 13 January 1830) was a Norwegian constitutional father, statesman, jurist, and historian. He was an important member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly and was one of the writers of the Constitution of Norway. Falsen has been named the father of the Norwegian Constitution. Falsen’s constitutional draft contained an almost literal copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence: “All men are born free and equal: they have certain natural, essential and unchangeable rights. These are freedom, security, and property". Falsen's draft became the single most important direct source to the 1814 constitution. Biography Christian Magnus Falsen was born in Christiania, now Oslo, Norway. He was the son of Enevold de Falsen (1755–1808), a dramatist and author of a war song Til vaaben. In 1802, he graduated with a degree in law at the University of Copenhagen. In 1807, Christian Magnus Falsen was appointed a barrister. In 1808 he became circuit judge at Follo and lived in Ås, Akershus Akershus, Norway. After Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden in 1814 he played an important part in politics. Falsen led the Independent Party (Selvstendighetspartiet) that wanted complete independence and was prepared to resist Sweden militarily. He upheld King Christian Frederick and, after the separation of Norway from Denmark, assisted in drafting a constitution for Norway. During the drafting of the Norwegian constitution, Falsen was one of the principle authors of the Jew clause, which prohibited Jews from entering Norway., This document was modeled upon that adopted by France in 1791 and which was approved on 17 May 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly (Riksforsamlingenat) at Eidsvoll. He was also strongly inspired by Thomas Jefferson and the Constitution of the United States of America. He is often called Father of the Norwegian Constitution — Grunnlovens far. Falsen had a son in the spring of 1814 who he named Georg Benjamin, in honor of U.S. presidents George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.