Conrad von Reventlow

Conrad, Greve von Reventlow (April 21, 1644 – July 21, 1708) was a Danish statesman who was "Grand Chancellor of Denmark" (Danish: Danmarks storkansler), a predecessor title of the Prime Minister of Denmark, from 1699 until his death. His chancellorship occurred during the reign of King Frederick IV.

Conrad, Count of Reventlow
Count
Grand Chancellor of Denmark
PredecessorFrederik Ahlefeldt
SuccessorChristian Christophersen Sehested
Born21 April 1644
Copenhagen, Denmark
DiedJuly 21, 1708(1708-07-21) (aged 64)
Clausholm estate, Denmark
BuriedSchleswig Cathedral, Germany
Noble familyReventlow
Spouse(s)
Anna Margrethe Gabel
​
(
m. 1651; died 1678)

Sophie Amalie von Hahn
​
(
m. 1664; his death 1708)
Issue
Christian Ditlev, Count Reventlow
Anna Sophie, Queen of Denmark and Norway
FatherDitlev Reventlow
MotherChristine Rantzau

[1]

Military career

Conrad von Reventlow was the son of Chancellor Ditlev Reventlow (1660–1664). He was the brother of chamberlain Henning Reventlow (1640–1705) and Chancellor Ditlev Reventlow (1654–1701). He attended Academy in Sorø Academy and studied at the University of Orleans (1662). After attending university, Reventlow was called to the Danish Court in 1665, where he rose through various positions of responsibility. In the 1670s, he became a colonel in the Danish military. He recruited a regiment and distinguished himself in the Scanian War (1675–1679.[2]

In 1700, Reventlow was deeply involved in the negotiations for peace with Sweden during that country's naval blockade of Copenhagen, an early event in the Great Northern War. Both France and the United Kingdom dealt extensively with Reventlow in their efforts to pressure Denmark to declare peace, in order to prevent a wider war from spreading into Europe.[3]

Councillor and Grand Chancellor

In 1672, he became a land commissioner in Schleswig-Holstein. In 1685, Reventlow used his influence as a councilor to the court on behalf of privateer Benjamin Raule (1634-1707), to promote Danish acquisition of the island of St. Thomas in the West Indies.[4][5]

In 1678, he applied for leave from service when his wife was incurably ill.

Family

He married twice; with his first wife, Anna Margarethe Gabel (1651-1678), he had:

With his second wife, Sophie Amalie Hahn (1664-1722), he had:

His sarcophagus in the Schleswig Cathedral (Schleswiger Dom) was designed by the renowned sculptor Thomas Quellinus.

Ancestry
gollark: Unfortunately the bot will be dead till tomorrow.
gollark: ++help
gollark: Sounds helpful, thanks.
gollark: Yes, I know how to detect a timeout, just not how to stop the thread.
gollark: If I understand correctly, that requires cooperation from the other thread.

References
  1. Carl Frederik Bricka. "Reventlow, Conrad Greve, 1644-1708". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  2. Kannegaard and Skeel Family Tree of Greve Conrad Reventlow Archived 2014-08-19 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. Sir George Rook in Oscar Browning, ed., Publications of the Navy Records Society, Vol. IX, (1898 [1700-02]) p. 100.
  4. Waldemar Westergaard, The Danish West Indies Under Company Rule (1671-1754) (1917), p. 76.
  5. "Benjamin Raule (1634–1707)". Museum Lichtenberg. Retrieved January 1, 2019.

Additional sources
  • Jirí Louda and Michael MacLagan, Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe, 2nd edition (London, U.K.: Little, Brown and Company, 1999), table 19.
Political offices
Preceded by
Frederik Ahlefeldt		 Grand Chancellor of Denmark
1699 – 1708		 Succeeded by
Christian Christophersen Sehested

Category:University of Orléans alumni

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.