Poul Christian Stemann

Who was Poul Christian Stemann?

Poul Christian Stemann was a Danish state official and leading minister 1827-1848.

Stemann belonged to an old civil service family of German origin that has created many Danish local officials. As a young man he was relatively liberal, later becoming a deep conservative. As the son of a supporter of Ove Høegh-Guldberg, his early state career was hampered for political reasons. Instead, he made himself a career in the Supreme Court besides establishing himself as a squire. Between 1798 and 1827, he was amtman of Sorø and showed himself a very industrious, masterful and active local official who attracted the attention of King Frederick VI.

In 1827, Stemann was appointed President of Danish Chancellery and Minister of Juridical Affairs and from then he was for twenty years the last ”prime minister” of Danish absolutism. His work fell in an age of growing opposition and reform demands of which he clearly disapproved. He reluctantly accepted the creation of Assemblies of Estates in the 1830s, but tried to limit their influence as much as possible, counteracting the moderate conservative wing of the government as well as concessions to the liberal opposition. To the latter Stemann stood as the reactionary, an unimaginative and authoritarian bureaucrat himself. Later historians have varied this verdict but on the whole he is still regarded as a very traditional representative of the non-enlightened absolutism regarding the squires as the foundation of the state. He was also an enemy of the Schleswig-Holstein movement but it is still discussed whether this was due to his national feelings or to his disapproval of all opposition.