Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz

Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz (Born January 19, 1724 in Copenhagen - Died May 15, 1802 Copenhagen) was a Danish statesman and a wealthy landowner.^[1] He was the son of Privy Iver Rosenkrantz and Charlotte Amalie Skeel, married with Dorte Reedtz and father of Iver Rosenkrantz-Levetzau.

Early career

Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz became a kammerjunker in 1741 and a chamberlain in 1748. In 1749, he was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Denmark, a position he held until 1771. Likewise, he was released from the court in 1749 when he was apponted envoyé extraordinaire for the Prussian court and in 1751 by the English court. In 1760 he was appointed as a Knight of the Dannebrog. In 1763, Rosenkrantz's career received a tremendous boost; the king appointed him to the war secretary of the navy, as well as the first General in the newly created vejbygningsvæsen. He also admitted into the order of l'Union parfaite. In 1764, he received the title of Privy Councillor and in 1765 was began working for the General Trading Company. In January 1766, he became the war secretary of State Government service. But Rosenkrantz 's predecessor as head of the fleet, Count Frederick Danneskiold-Samsøe, complained to Christian VII that the fleet was not being run properly. The king responded by dismissing Rosenkrantz from all his important government positions. In 1767, he was appointed privy to konseillet, who was a member of the government's inner circle. Finally, he became part of the Order of the Elephant in 1769. Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz retired when he was 46 years old, but was associated with people who would attempt overthrow the Struensee, the result was that he was relieved of his ministerial pension. It was disastrous for him as he had accumulated a huge debt of 140,000 dollars.

Prime Minister

For the next 13 years lived Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz privately on his estates. He occasionally worked at the court but had no official office. In 1784, Crown Prince Frederik conducted his coup and deposed Hoegh-Guldberg government. The circle around the crown prince chose to take some experienced men in the government, including Frederick Christian Rosenkrantz. He was re-appointed as prime minister and president of the Admiralty and kommissariatskollegiet. He was considered an experienced administrator and could bring the government a continuity to the time before Struensee. He remained in this office until June 1788.

Family life

On 11 October 1748 he was married to Dorte Reedtz (1730-1801) in the Church of Our Lady. She was the daughter of Chamberlain Tonne Reedtz of Barritskov. They has 3 sons that were born in 1749, 1750 and 1762. While the last two died shortly after birth, the oldest, Iver, made it to adulthood. He died, as 38-year-old in 1787.

Legacy

Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz was the Rosenkrantz family's most prominent man since the 1600s. From his parents he inherited the Stamford House, Rosenholm in Jutland and the North Zealand manor houses Egholm, Ryegaard and Krabbesholm. In addition, he bought Trudsholm and his wife inherited Barritskov in Jutland.

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