Ditlev Gothard Monrad


Ditlev Gothard Monrad was a Danish politician and bishop, a founding father of Danish constitutional democracy but also led the country as Council President in its huge defeat during the Second Schleswig War. Later, he became a New Zealand pioneer before returning to Denmark to become a bishop and politician once more.

Biography

Monrad's father, Otto Sommer Monrad, an attorney, suffered from mental illness, and spent some years in institutions. From time to time Monrad was himself on the brink of, or had, emotional breakdowns.
Monrad studied theology, learned Semitic and Persian languages, and became a Lutheran priest, while beginning to participate in politics. He became a co-editor of the publication, Fædrelandet, in 1840, and was a leading figure in the National Liberal Party and spearheaded the movement towards a constitutional Denmark. Monrad wrote the draft to the liberal 1849 Constitution of Denmark, with structure and many phrases similar to the current. In it he coined the term 'people's church'. The constitution was quite democratic for its time; largely a result of the political and philosophical positions formulated by Monrad.
Monrad became the first Minister of School and Church Affairs in 1848; he held the same position in 1859 as well as 1860-63. He was also Minister of the Interior 1860-61. He was the bishop of the Lolland–Falster diocese 1849-54, and a member of Parliament 1849-65. He was a permanent secretary in the department of "kultus" 1855-59.
With war approaching, Monrad formed a government after the resignation of Monrad's rival, Hall, due to disagreement with Christian IX. As Council President, Monrad was the Danish state leader during the early part of Second Schleswig War, against the German Confederation led by Otto von Bismarck. With none of the other National Liberal bigwigs wanting to continue in office, Monrad became the most, arguably often the only, important figure for cabinet decision making. Yet, at critical moments during the war, Monrad was indecisive. Thus, during an armistice, he let the king decide on a peace proposal at the London Conference to divide Schleswig approximately along the language line between majorities of Danish and German speakers.
The king, who held an unrealistic hope to maintain a personal union with the duchies, rejected, the conference ended with no result, and war resumed resulting in further military defeat. Next, the king dismissed Monrad and his government. The Peace of Vienna resulted in the loss of much of the monarchy's territory, including almost all of Schleswig. Denmark got relegated to a minor power. In what was labelled his speech of madness Monrad spoke in parliament for continued resistance and against ratifying the peace treaty even if such action would look like 'madness'.
Following the war, a depressed and disillusioned Monrad emigrated to New Zealand. After sending his sons to Nelson and other districts of New Zealand to scout for land, he chose to settle in Palmerston North in the North Island of New Zealand. He bought of land at Karere Block. He first lived in a small hut and then erected a timber house and started clearing bushland. He and his family farmed cows and sheep.
Monrad helped the New Zealand Company to find suitable settlers from Scandinavia and helped many Danish immigrants find land to settle on, most notably in the area of Dannevirke. His work was disturbed by Māori who had been illegally robbed of their land, members of the Hauhau religion under Chief Titokowaru. Monrad buried his belongings and went with the family to Wellington and then went back to Denmark in 1869. His sons Viggo and Johannes later returned to Karere to become farmers.
Before leaving New Zealand, he presented to New Zealand's Colonial Museum a collection of 600 woodcuts, etchings and engravings by European Old Masters, including Rembrandt, Hollar, Albrecht Dürer and van Dyck. They are now part of the collection at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa where examples often feature in temporary exhibitions. Monrad Intermediate is a Palmerston North intermediate school named after Monrad.
After his return Monrad again became bishop of the Lolland-Falster diocese from 1871 until his death. He also again began became a member of parliament 1882-1886. Now, he publicly promoted the original and more liberal 1849 constitution against the conservative revision of 1866. His sharp mind and sense of the public mood was still feared by his opponents. He also defended himself against condemnations for the 1864 defeat while he acknowledged personal responsibility for the poor conduct and result of the peace negotiations. Monrad became one of the earliest and most outspoken Danish opponents of Darwin's new theories about evolution.
Monrad published throughout most of his life about political and religious matters. His book from 1876 about prayer came in many reprints, is still cited and used in religious practice and got translated into five languages, including English.
Monrad was respected for his intellect, idealism, and industriousness. His both theoretical and practical interest in political and ecclesiastical matters had a huge and lasting impact, primarily through the constitution but also a number of legal reforms bear witness of an able politician and administrator. Yet, he showed himself an erratic political leader during the 1864 war ending in disastrous defeat. Ever since, Monrad's legacy was split between these extremes. The historian Aage Friis characterized Monrad as 'one of the most outstanding but at the same time most enigmatic characters in modern Danish history, and the most difficult person to portray'.
There is a debate on whether Monrad's mental state affected his decision-making during the war, in particular dismissing the supreme commander and the break-up of the London Conference. The 1864 portrays Monrad as a maniac nationalist. Other historians point out the high complexity of the situation; the absence in cabinet of other experienced ministers, including the other National Liberal leaders who had made the important decision leading up to the war and ignited the nationalistic public mood but now leaving Monrad to himself; the opinion and dynastic position of the new king; the mixed messages of other European powers; as well as how formidable Bismarck showed himself to be as an opponent with a distinct cause for winning a war as a stepping stone towards German unification. A learned society for promoting knowledge about Monrad exists since 2012 founded by his successor as bishop of Lolland-Falster.

Literature