Valdemar Rudolph von Raasløff (6 November 1815 – 14 February 1883) 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 ...

politician, military officer, and diplomat.

Biography

Raasløff was born at Altona in the

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (german: Herzogtum Holstein, da, Hertugdømmet Holsten) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his ...

. He spent his school years at

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

and in 1832 he was admitted to the Royal Military College (''Kgl. Militære Højskole''), from which he graduated in 1838 as second lieutenant in the artillery. Instead of serving in Denmark, he applied for service abroad and in 1840–41 he served in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Army in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. He later summarized his experiences in Algeria in a book, which was translated into several languages. In 1849–50, he served as captain in the Danish army in the

First War of Schleswig The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...

, however, in 1851, he left the military in order to go to America and become an engineer. In 1857, he was appointed Denmark's

Minister Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indir ...

in Washington, DC. On behalf of King

Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein ...

, he concluded the first

commercial treaty A commercial treaty is a formal agreement between states for the purpose of establishing mutual rights and regulating conditions of trade. It is a bilateral act whereby definite arrangements are entered into by each contracting party towards the o ...

between Denmark and the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

Empire on 13 July 1863, a treaty which was modeled on the

Treaties of Tianjin The Treaty of Tientsin, also known as the Treaty of Tianjin, is a collective name for several documents signed at Tianjin (then romanized as Tientsin) in June 1858. The Qing dynasty, Russian Empire, Second French Empire, United Kingdom, and t ...

and governed the relationship between the two countries for several decades. Between 1 October 1866 and 19 April 1870, he served as the

War Minister of Denmark The Minister of War was the Danish minister responsible for the administration of the Royal Danish Army. History The position of Minister of War was created following the end of the Absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a d ...

. He died during 1883 in Paris.

References

Other sources

* Raaslöff, Waldemar Rudolph von. ''Rückblick auf die militarischen und politischen Verhältnisse der Algérie in den Jahren 1840 und 1841.'' Altona, J. F. Hammerich, 1845. * Svend Dahl og P. Engelstoft, eds. ''Dansk biografisk haandleksikon.'' Kjøbenhavn og Kristiania, Glydendal, Nordisk forlag, 1920–26.

External links

Biographic entry from ''Nordisk familjebok'' (in Swedish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raasloff, Valdemar Rudolph von 19th-century Danish diplomats Danish Defence Ministers Danish military personnel 1815 births 1883 deaths People from Altona, Hamburg