Peder Anker was a member of a Danish-Norwegian noble family. He was born in Christiania, the son of the wealthy merchant
Christian Ancher. He had three brothers: Iver,
Bernt and Jess. Following education in
Christiania and a year as student at the
University of Copenhagen, Peder Anker and his brothers spent five years traveling with private tutors in
Great Britain,
France and
Germany. They were pupils of the noted Swedish naturalist
Carl von Linné at
Uppsala University in 1764. He was granted Danish nobility in 1778 and was awarded the title of General War Commissioner in 1788. Peder Anker bought
Bogstad Manor with additional forest land and extended the existing house to make a splendid mansion. Bogstad had for about 100 years belonged to members of the Leuch family, his grandmother's family. He also acquired iron mines and foundries, notably
Bærums Verk and
Hakadal Verk. The
Vækerø manor (
Vækerø gård) near Oslo was established as a port for the export of lumber. Anker rose to become one of Norway's richest individuals. Peder Anker was a delegate to the
Norwegian Constituent Assembly at
Eidsvoll in 1814, representing
Akershus Amt. He distinguished himself as a "unionist", whose members opposed complete independence for Norway. On 18 November 1814 he was appointed Prime Minister of Norway to Stockholm after the
Union between Sweden and Norway was established, and remained in this office until 30 June 1822. ==Honors==