Laurits Selmer Swenson (aka Selmer) (June 12, 1865–November 4, 1947) was an American diplomat who served as Ambassador (called Minister at the time) to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Switzerland and

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 ...

Background

Laurits Selmer Swenson was born in New Sweden, Minnesota to Norwegian immigrant parents. His father, Swen Swenson (1836–1905) was a Minnesota State Representative. He graduated from Iowa's Luther College with bachelor's (1886) and

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

(1889) degrees and became Principal of Lutheran Academy in

Albert Lea Albert Lea may refer to: *Albert Lea, Minnesota, U.S. * Albert Lea Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, U.S. *Albert Miller Lea Albert Miller Lea (July 23, 1808 – January 16, 1891) was an American engineer, soldier, and topographer with th ...

, where he worked from 1888 to 1897. From 1895 to 1897 Swenson served on the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual c ...

. Swenson also pursued a business career, serving as Vice President of Union State Bank and President of the Wiprud Land & Colonization Company, an effort to attract European immigrants to settle in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Diplomatic career

In 1897 Swenson started a diplomatic career when he was appointed Minister to Denmark. He served 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 ...

until 1905. In this post Swenson negotiated the terms for the sale 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 ...

(now the U.S. Virgin Islands). In 1909 he was appointed Minister to Switzerland, where he served until 1911. Swenson served as Minister to Norway from 1911 to 1913. In 1921 Swenson was again appointed Minister to Norway, and he held this position until 1930. Swenson was a popular diplomat, particularly in Norway, maybe due to his Norwegian ancestry. In 1929 ''Time Magazine'' wrote: "Europeans have always marveled that the diplomatic and consular representatives of the U. S. are so often of the same strain as the people to whom they are accredited". In 1925 Swenson received the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

in Oslo, on behalf of the US vice president

Charles Gates Dawes Charles Gates Dawes (August 27, 1865 – April 23, 1951) was an American banker, general, diplomat, composer, and Republican politician who was the 30th vice president of the United States from 1925 to 1929 under Calvin Coolidge. He was a co-reci ...

. The prize was shared with the British secretary of state

Austen Chamberlain Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain (16 October 1863 – 16 March 1937) was a British statesman, son of Joseph Chamberlain and older half-brother of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (twice) and was briefly ...

. In 1931 Swenson was named Ambassador to the Netherlands, where he served until 1934. He then retired and moved back to Norway where his only daughter lived. Swenson died in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

on November 4, 1947.American Foreign Service Association
The American Foreign Service Journal
Volume 24, 1947, page 44

References

External resources

Laurits Selmer Swenson biography
Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, accessed December 13, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Swenson, Laurits S. 1865 births 1947 deaths People from Nicollet County, Minnesota Luther College (Iowa) alumni Minnesota Republicans Ambassadors of the United States to Denmark Ambassadors of the United States to Switzerland Ambassadors of the United States to Norway Ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands American people of Norwegian descent

Background

Diplomatic career

See also

References

External resources