Henri Konow (7 February 1862 – 18 January 1939) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

naval officer, vice-admiral, and the last governor of the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with ; Saint John ( da, St. Jan) with ; and Saint Croix with . The ...

, overseeing the transfer of administration to the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

following the

Treaty of the Danish West Indies The Treaty of the Danish West Indies, officially the Convention between the United States and Denmark for cession of the Danish West Indies, was a 1916 treaty transferring sovereignty of the Virgin Islands in the Danish West Indies from Den ...

in 1916 under which the Kingdom of Denmark sold the islands now named the

US Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in exchange for

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

25,000,000 in gold.

Early life

Henri Konow was born on 7 February 1862 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, the son of the diplomat and ship-owner Hans Jacob Hesselberg Konow and Ida Marie West.

Career

Konow started his naval career in 1879 as a cadet in the

Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). Oth ...

, advancing to the rank of second lieutenant after 4 years on 30 August 1883. He continued ascending through the naval ranks until becoming a vice-admiral in 1923, four years before his retirement. Furthermore, he was made a knight of the Order of the Dannebrog on 28 October 1895; he gradually progressed through the ranks of the Order and was finally awarded the Grand Cross of the Order 1925. Commander with Grand Cross of the Royal Swedish Order of the Sword 1926 (Commander 1st Class 1922; Chevalier 2nd Class 1893).

World War I

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Konow had advanced to commander, and was in charge of the , stationed at the

. On 3 October 1916, he was named acting governor, to oversee the transfer of authority to the United States on 31 March 1917.

Easter Crisis

During the Easter Crisis of 1920, Konow was Foreign Minister and

Defence Minister of Denmark The Minister of Defence of Denmark ( da, Forsvarsminister, ) is the politically appointed head of the Danish Ministry of Defence. The Minister of Defence is responsible for the Danish armed forces, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service and the ...

in the Cabinet of

Otto Liebe Carl Julius Otto Liebe (24 May 1860 – 21 March 1929) was a Danish jurist who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 30 March 1920 to 5 April 1920. Liebe was appointed prime minister after King Christian X had dismissed Carl Theodor Zah ...

Personal life

He married Jacobine Cathrine Margrethe Worsaae on 21 October 1892 at the

Church of Holmen The Holmen Church ( da, Holmens Kirke) is a Parish church in central Copenhagen in Denmark, on the street called Holmens Kanal. First built as an anchor forge in 1563, it was converted into a naval church by Christian IV. It is famous for having ...

in his native city,

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. In 1893, he published an autobiography.

External links

Biography at navalhistory.dk
Danish admirals Governors of the Danish West Indies 1862 births 1939 deaths Danish Defence Ministers Foreign ministers of Denmark People from Copenhagen 20th century in the Danish West Indies 20th-century Danish politicians {{Denmark-politician-stub