Valdemar Rudolph von Raasløff

Who was Valdemar Rudolph von Raasløff?

Valdemar Rudolph von Raasløff was a Danish politician, military officer and diplomat.

Raasløff spent his school years in Sorø and in 1832 he was admitted to the Royal Military College, 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 Army in Algeria. 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, 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 in Washington, DC.

On behalf of Christian IX, he concluded the first commercial treaty between Denmark and the Qing Empire on 13 July 1863, a treaty which was modeled on the Treaties of Tianjin 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.