''Friherre''

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

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

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

officer and

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 1892 and 1899.

Early life

Rappe was born on 2 October 1838 in

Christinelund Christinelund, originally a farm under Nysø Manor, is located a few kilometres east of central Præstø, on the island of Zealand's Jungshoved peninsula, in Vordingborg Municipality in southeastern Denmark. It takes its name from the Salon (gathe ...

manor in Arby,

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg County, Kronoberg, Jönköping County, Jönköping, Blekinge County, Blekinge and Östergötland County, Östergötland. To the ...

, the son of county governor Baron 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 ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital 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 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

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 19 ...

'' and was assigned to

Uppland Regiment The Uppland Regiment (), 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 of Uppland, and it was ...

(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 (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

from 1870 to 1871 and then in the French Army in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

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

in 1870 and of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

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 (), 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 Bohuslän, and it was later gar ...

(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 * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

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

. 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 () 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 attacks from the east or co ...

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 191 ...

(1879–1974),

Axel Rappe ''Friherre'' General Axel Emil Rappe (2 October 1838 – 18 December 1918) was a Swedish Army officer and Minister of War from 1892 and 1899. Early life Rappe was born on 2 October 1838 in Christinelund manor in Arby, Kalmar County, the son of ...

(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 ...

Death

Rappe died on 18 December 1918 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He was interred on 22 December 1918 at

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Burial Place" 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. Th ...

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 19 ...

'' *8 September 1863 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

*29 December 1870 –

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

*4 December 1874 –

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

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

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

*30 December 1885 – Major general *2 December 1892 –

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

*4 December 1903 –

Awards and decorations

Knight and Commander of the Orders of His Majesty the King * Commander 1st Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

Grand Cross of the

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

Grand Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Knight 1st Class of the

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; 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 Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences () 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 military (army and air force) and de ...

(1873) *Honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences The Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (, 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 issues. Fellowship is limited to 120 ...

(1890)

References

External links

Article
at '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rappe, Axel 1838 births 1918 deaths Swedish Army generals Ministers for defence of Sweden Ministers for war of Sweden 19th-century 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