[1] He was born at Balestrand[2] in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway to Karoline Metella Suur and Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, a member of the Norwegian Parliament, whose brother Johan Sverdrup was Prime Minister of Norway between 1884 and 1889.
[2][4][5] Emphasizing the freedom of the local congregation, together with Sven Oftedal, he founded the Lutheran Free Church in 1897.
Many of his writings are published in a six-volume set edited by Andreas Helland.
[3] Sverdrup was raised in the Norwegian State Church and educated in Lutheran theology.
His beliefs resulted in his participation in the formation of the Lutheran Free Church in 1897.