DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd3000-v1
title: The Civil Servants' Archive: Ministry employees 1915 - 1939

description: The Civil Servants' Archive: Ministry employees 1915 - 1939

Basic material: Jan Hovden, University of Oslo

Description of the original material: See also Chapter IV: The recruitment of civil servants to the ministries in the period 1914-39, p.189 + in Volume 4 of "Central administration history"

The periods 1914-1939 and 1945-1965 have identical codebooks. Jan Hovden's original material comprises 1332 map images, while Donjem's original material comprises 2302 map images. The number of officials here is the same as the number of card pictures, but these are not sorted by ascending serial numbers.
Each card image provides the following information about an official:

- serial number
- year of birth
- gender
- father's profession
- place of birth by region and city district
- exam artium line
- exam artium main grade
- university college education
- university college character
- other education
- study time
- position before employment in a ministry
- first position in ministry position and department
- first to fifth change in position or department
- last position in ministry position and ministry
- position after ministry appointment
- year of employment in the ministry
- year for first to fifth change in position or department
- year of employment for the last position
- year official leaves the ministry

With regard to the variables that indicate changes, changes are stated either in the type of position or transfer to another ministry. With this structure, the material provides space for a total of seven positions within the ministry. Officials with fewer than seven ministry positions receive code 9999 in the relevant variables that indicate changes. The variable 'last position in the ministry' gives the last position regardless of whether it falls under any of the other variables. In the case of variables that indicate the year of change, 999 is coded if no change has taken place.

These separate archives do not provide coverage for all variables in the integrated archive. Missing information must be coded for artium year, exam year for higher education and time in position before employment in a ministry. Separate archives for individual periods only provide information on a position after ministry employment. There is no information about any positions outside the ministry that may come between two ministry appointments. There is also a lack of information on the year of employment in a position by ministry.
 
RECODINGS OF THE ORIGINAL FILES

Since the original material for these two periods has identical codebooks, it can be recoded with a common program. Here is a brief account of the principles used in the recoding of the individual variables.
           
In general it can be said that the recoding of this data is simpler than for data from e.g. the period 1845-1884 when the codebook and organization of the archive is closer to what has been chosen for the integrated archive.
 
- SEQUENCE NUMBER - This is retained until the integration of the separate archives.
- YEAR OF BIRTH - Month of birth and birthday are not known. 99 'missing information' is coded here. Year of birth is transferred directly.
- GENDER - The variable is transmitted directly, except that the code for missing information has been changed from 0 to 9.
- FATHER'S PROFESSION - The sections in the new archive correspond well with the old ones.
- PLACE OF BIRTH REGION - An variable code set has not been created for this variable. The codes for the period are kept with extra digits in front which indicate which period the data is from. This variable therefore has the value 4000+ 'old code' for data from periods 4 and 5.
- PLACE OF BIRTH BYHERRED - For this period, a division has been made based on whether the place of birth was a town or county and the number of inhabitants. The old codes are retained as a second character, but with a one-digit number as the first character.
- EXAMINATION ARTIUM - The codes are identical to those in the integrated archive and are transferred directly except that the codes 9 'no artium' and 0 'no information' have been exchanged.
- ARTIUM MAIN CHARACTER - The division follows the new codebook so that only new number codes are given for the old values.
- UNIVERSITY COLLEGE SUBJECTS - The division of types of university or college education corresponds well in the old and new codebook, so that it is only a matter of changing the numerical value of the old codes.
- UNIVERSITY COLLEGE GRADES - The variable is recoded under the variable 'higher education grade first exam'. Grades and exam years for other exams are coded respectively. 00 and 000 which are codes for 'not applicable'. The material for this period does not provide information about exam years, so the variable 'higher education-exam year first exam' must be coded for missing information. The codes for grade 0,1,2,3,4,9 are replaced with resp. 99,11,12,13,14,00. When checking the original material, no one has been found who has the code 5 'failed'.
- OTHER EDUCATION - This variable is only coded for civil servants who do not have higher education, or if information about this is missing. In these cases, the old codes are 0,1,2, 3,4,5,6, and 7 replaced with resp. 99,61,62,72,54,55,08 and 99. If a person has a higher education, the code 00 is 'not relevant'.
- STUDY TIME - In the integrated archive, this variable must indicate study time for higher education. It is assumed that this variable can be transferred directly to the integrated archive. The old codes are retained except that 0 is changed to 99 'lack of information' if the civil servant has a higher education and 00 'not relevant' if the civil servant has no higher education.
- POSITION BEFORE EMPLOYMENT IN THE DEPARTMENT - The variable gives a rough division within which sector the position before the ministry was. The old codes 0,1,2,3 are recoded to resp. 999,449,450 and 002 in the new data material. There is no information on how long an official has been in the position before the ministry, so this variable must be given code 9999 'Missing information'. With regard to the recoding of the information that has to do with ministry positions, it is done according to the following principles:

1. The variable called 'first position and ministry' is recoded as the first ministry position. There is coverage for both department type and department position.
2. The variables indicating 'first change' up to and including 'fifth change' is re-coded as 'second position in the ministry' up to and including 'sixth position in a ministry' if a change in ministry type or ministry position has taken place and it is not coded as 'service-free'.
3. The variable 'last position and ministry' is recoded as 'seventh position in ministry' if it does not fall under one of the variables 'change' or 'first position and ministry'. What is thus registered as a new ministry position is promotion within a ministry or change to another ministry.

For all years, these are transferred as follows:

1. The variable 'year of employment in a ministry' is transferred directly as 'year of employment in the first ministry position'. A separate code is used if the year of employment is before 1914, this has also been transferred to the integrated archive.
2. The variables 'year i'te change' are transferred as resignation year to ministry position no. I and also year of employment for ministry position no. I + 1 if a change has taken place.
3. If the 'i'te change' is coded for leave of absence, the year is transferred only to the year of resignation to ministry position no. i.
4. The variable 'year an official leaves the ministry' is transferred to the year of resignation for the last ministry position. The special codes for departure 1940-1945 and continued service after 1965 have been retained.
 
With regard to the recoding of the variable 'position by ministry', the codes 0,1,2 and 3 give a rough division of job categories. These are recoded to the values ​​999,449,450 and 710 under the variable 'first position after employment in a ministry'. With regard to the values ​​4 'over in the Ministry of Defense', 5 'over in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs', it is coded for a ministry position to which ministry type is coded 301 'defense depot.' or 305 'UD' and ministry position are coded unknown. The year of resignation for this ministry position will be unknown, the same applies to positions by ministry. If it is coded 9 'still in service' under the variable 'position by ministry', the year of resignation for the last ministry position must be coded unknown, the same must be the position after employment in the ministry. In all cases, the year of employment in a position by ministry is unknown and must be given code 999 'missing information'.