Johan Wilhelm Normann Munthe

Who was Johan Wilhelm Normann Munthe?

Johann Wilhelm Normann Munthe was born in Bergen, Norway. After a military education in the cavalry, he emigrated to China in 1886, and started working as a customs officer. He enlisted in the Chinese army in the war against Japan, and remained as a cavalry instructor under general Yuan Shikai.

Johann Munthe's association with Yuan Shikai proved advantageous, and he advanced in rank to lieutenant general and advisor to the Ministry of War; the first and only foreigner to achieve such a position.

General Munthe was an avid collector of Chinese works of arts, and his collection includes porcelain, paintings, costumes, and statues in bronze and marble. The collection now resides with the Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum.

General Munthe was the stepfather of Sir Alexander Grantham, Governor of Hong Kong from 1947 to 1957.