 He was the brother of Archbishop Bruno III of Berg, a nephew of Archbishop Bruno II von Berg and an uncle of Archbishop and Saint Engelbert II of Berg.In 1150 he was elected Bishop von Utrecht but that election was not accepted by Conrad III of Germany and he was never confirmed in the position.In May 1156 in another disputed election, this time in Cologne, the college elected Gerhard von Bonn while the young Domherren chose Frederick von Berg as Archbishop.