Frederik Krag (6 March 1655 – 24 September 1728) was a
Danish nobleman (Baron) and senior civil servant who served kings
Frederick IV and
Frederick V. He was the
Governor-General of Norway, from 1713 until 1722. He is not fondly remembered in Norway due to his attempts to subordinate the farmers there in a similar level of service to that which was common in Denmark of the period.
Early life
He was born in
Flensburg, Schleswig,
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
(now
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
). His father, Erik Krag (1620–72), served as Supreme Secretary of the Danish chancery and his mother, Vibeke Pallesdatter Rosenkrantz (died in 1708) was of the Danish-noble Rosenkrantz line dating back to Knight Neils Rosenkrantz in 1341.
[
]
Civil service
Frederik Krag began his government service by serving from 1675 through 1678 with the Danish delegation in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and later in Nijmegen for the negotiations among the European powers that aimed to put an end to the constant warfare that had ravaged the continent for years. The result was the Treaty of Nijmegen signed in 1678, which failed to provide for a lasting peace.[
Upon returning to Copenhagen he attended the Danish queen for several years (as a ''Kammerjunker''), rising to master of ceremonies. It was during this period that he married Baroness Juel.][
In 1684 he proceeded to the ]Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
, remaining there as ambassador until 1688.[ Frederik Krag was named a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, in 1708, and in 1712 he was elevated to counselor of the Danish realm (''geheimeråd'').][
He became governor of the Diocese of Viborg and was the magistrate in Hald municipality from 1695 to 1713. He served as Governor-General of Norway from 1713 until 1722.][ He became Governor-General as successor to Claus Henrik Vieregg (1655–1713) who had died in office.
]
Family
Frederik Krag was married three times to women from noble families. He was first married in 1683 to Baroness Hedevig Eleonore Juell (1662–1686), the daughter of Baron Jens Juel (1631–1700) and Vibeke Ottesdatter Skeel.
His second marriage in November 1690 was with Charlotte Amalie Griffenfeld (1672–1703), the daughter of the Lord Chancellor, Count Peder Griffenfeld (1635–1699) and Karen Nansen (1656–1672). This marriage brought the manor Stensballegård at Vær Sogn in Horsens municipality into the Krag family, where it remained until 1927.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krag, Frederik
18th-century Danish nobility
Norwegian barons
1655 births
1728 deaths
Governors-general of Norway
18th-century Danish diplomats
Ambassadors of Denmark to the Netherlands
People from Flensburg
Krag family
Diplomats of Denmark–Norway
People from the Duchy of Schleswig
Politicians from Denmark–Norway