''Friherre''

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Axel Emil Rappe (2October 1838 – 18December 1918) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gusta ...

officer and

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in ...

from 1892 and 1899.

Early life

Rappe was born on 2 October 1838 in Christinelund manor in Arby,

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland. The counties are mainly administrative units. Ge ...

, the son of county governor, Baron A.L. Rappe and his wife Lisette Björnstjerna. He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...

'' in 1857 and then ''kansliexamen'' in 1860, both in the city of

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

Career

Rappe was commissioned as an officer in 1859 and was appointed ''

underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 1926 ...

'' and was assigned to

Uppland Regiment The Uppland Regiment ( sv, Upplands regemente), designation I 8, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1957. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province ...

(I 8) the same year. He became a general staff officer in 1865. Rappe served in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

during the Franco-Prussian War from 1870 to 1871 and then in the French Army in

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

from 1871 to 1872. Back in Sweden, Rappe became captain in the

in 1870 and of the General Staff in 1873. He was promoted to major in 1874 and major of the General Staff in 1876 and served as Chief of Staff of the 4th Military District (''Fjärde militärdistriktet'') from 1878 to 1879. Rappe was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the

Bohuslän Regiment The Bohuslän Regiment ( sv, Bohusläns regemente), designation I 17, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traces its origins back 1661. It was disbanded in 1992. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the provinces of Bohus ...

(I 17) in 1879 and was promoted to colonel in the army in 1881. He was appointed commanding officer of Bohuslän Regiment in 1882 and Acting Chief of the General Staff the same year. In 1885, Rappe was promoted to major general and was appointed

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces ( militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff ( ...

. He served as such until 1892 when he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed

and head of the

Ministry of Land Defence Ministry of Land Defence ( sv, Lantförsvarsdepartementet) was in a broad sense, one of the eight ministries, in which the Swedish government administration was divided into. Its head was called Minister of War. The Ministry of Land Defence Departme ...

. In 1899 he resumed his duty as Chief of the General Staff and served as such until 1905. Rappe was promoted to general in 1903. He has been called the spiritual father of

Boden Fortress Boden Fortress ( sv, Bodens fästning) is a modern fortress consisting of several major and minor forts and fortifications surrounding the city of Boden, Norrbotten, in northern Sweden. The fortress was originally intended to stop or delay attack ...

Personal life

Rappe married on 2 May 1875 to Anna Sandahl (1855–1946), the daughter of Professor Oskar Theodor Sandahl and Jenny Magdalena Fredrika Huss. He was the father of opera singer

Signe Rappe-Welden Signe Rappe-Welden née Rappe (24 September 1879 – 21 May 1974) was a Swedish operatic soprano and voice teacher. She made her dëbut in 1906 in Mannheim, acclaimed for both her voice and acting ability. She performed in Vienna from 1908 to 19 ...

(1879–1974), Axel Rappe (1884–1945) who also became a military officer, and five more children. He was a member of the men's organization

Sällskapet Idun is a Swedish association for men, founded in 1862 in Stockholm. Founding Sällskapet Idun traces its founding back to 22 November 1862 at the Hotel Fenix in Stockholm, Sweden. Its founders consisted of Edward Bergh and Johan Fredrik Höcke ...

. Rappe died in 1918 and was buried in

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Cemetery" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Notabl ...

in Stockholm.

Dates of rank

Rappe's dates of rank: *13 July 1859 – ''

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 1926 ...

'' *8 September 1863 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

*29 December 1870 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

*4 December 1874 – Major *18 April 1879 – Lieutenant colonel and 1st Major *6 May 1881 –

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

*30 December 1885 –

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

*2 December 1892 –

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

*4 December 1903 –

Awards and decorations

Knight and Commander of the Orders of His Majesty the King * St_Olavs_Orden_kommandør_med_stjerne_stripe

Commander 1st Class of the Order of St. Olav * Order_of_the_Dannebrog_S

Grand Cross 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 ...

Grand Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Knight 1nd Class of the

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for ...

(1873) *Honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences The Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Örlogsmannasällskapet, KÖMS), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. The Society is an independent organization and a forum for navy and defence ...

(1890)

References

External links

Article
at '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rappe, Axel 1838 births 1918 deaths Swedish Army generals Swedish Ministers for Defence Swedish Ministers for War Swedish nobility Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour People from Kalmar Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen