Einrem, Johannes


Johannes Einrem was the Lutheran missionary who founded the Mangarano leprosarium, near Antsirabe.

Born in Vefsn, Norway, on February 3, 1868, Einrem became an ordained pastor in 1892 and arrived in Madagascar in 1893. He held a number of different positions in various small towns in the Betsileo, which gave him a good understanding of everyday Malagasy life. He later used this knowledge to write many novels in Norwegian.

When Antsirabe became a popular beach resort for the Imerina region, and especially for Antananarivo, it became necessary to move the leprosy patients away from the area, as the Protestant mission had brought them there for treatment. Einrem built the leprosarium of Mangarano at that time, from 1917 to 1919.

He returned to Norway in 1933, and died in the suburbs of Oslo on July 4, 1956.

O. Chr. Dahl, L. Molet
