Otto Joachim Moltke (11 June 1770 – 1 February 1853) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and government official. He was the

Minister of State of Denmark The prime minister of Denmark ( da, Danmarks statsminister, fo, Forsætisráðharri, kl, Ministeriuneq) is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Island ...

from 1824 to 1842.

Biography

He was born at Moltkes Palæ in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the son of Adam Gottlob Moltke (1710–1792) and Sophie Hedevig von Raben (1733–1802). His father was lensgreve til Bregentved and had exercised extensive political power during the reign of Frederick V. Moltke studied at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

from 1786 and in 1788 became a legal candidate. He then made a study trip abroad. He moved 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 t ...

where he was appointed the County Governor of

Bratsberg amt Bratsberg is a name of Norwegian origin and may refer to: People * Harry Bratsberg (also Harry Bratsburg), an American actor and director also known as Harry Morgan Places * Bratsberg, Trøndelag, a village in Trondheim municipality in Trøndelag ...

from 1798 until 1800. In 1800, Moltke received the rank of chamberlain and appointed to be the Diocesan Governor of Christianssands Stiftamt (and simultaneously the County Governor of Nedenes Amt. He held that job until 1804. In 1813, he was appointed in charge of the Schleswig-Holstein-Lauenborg Chancellor (''Slesvig-Holsten-Lauenborgske Cancelli''). He was secretary of state from 1824 to 1830, and an outstanding member of the Privy Councillor of Denmark 1824–1842. He became Commander of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

in 1810, received the Great Cross in 1815 and became Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

in 1826.

Personal life

In 1797, Moltke married Christiane Sophie Juul (1778–1810), daughter of Major Colonel Christian Frederik Juul and Catharina Wilhelmine Wedel-Jarlsberg. He was married for the second time in 1816, to Sophie Henriette von Düring (1777–1853), daughter of Chamberlain and later General Ernst Christoph Friederich von Düring and Henriette Sophie von Reden. Otto Joachim Moltke retired to Espe Hovedgård in the parish of

Boeslunde Boeslunde is a village on Zealand, in Slagelse Municipality, Region Zealand in Denmark. It is located 7 km north of Skælskør, 9 km east of Korsør and 14 km south of Slagelse. History Boeslunde and the surrounding area has a history rich in ar ...

, which he had acquired in 1810. He died in 1853 and was buried at Boeslunde Church in the village of

Slagelse Slagelse () is a town on Zealand, Denmark. The town is the seat of Slagelse Municipality, and is the biggest town of the municipality. It is located 15 km east of Korsør, 16 km north-east of Skælskør, 33 km south-east of Kalundborg and 14 km ...

, Denmark.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moltke, Otto Joachim 1770 births 1853 deaths Prime Ministers of Denmark 19th-century Danish people University of Copenhagen alumni Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog County governors of Norway