Ove Gjedde

Ove Gjedde (alternatively spelled Giedde; 27 December 1594 – 19 December 1660) was a Danish nobleman and Admiral of the Realm (Danish: Rigsadmiral), who established the first Danish colony in Asia.

Born in Tomarps (Tommerup), Denmark–Norway, in 1594 to Brostrup Gjedde and Dorthe Ulfeldt, Ove Gjedde went to Sorø Academy from 1609 to 1612 and studied thereafter at various German universities. In 1616, Gjedde was employed in the Danske Kancelli (Danish Chancellery) and was ordered by King Christian IV of Denmark to lead an expedition to the East Indies in 1618. Gjedde arrived in Ceylon in May 1620 and negotiated trade agreements with Senarat of Kandy and Raghunatha Nayak, ceding the coastal towns of Trincomalee and Tranquebar to the Danish East India Company.

Gjedde returned to Denmark–Norway in February 1622, where he became lensmand (fief-holder) of Brunla and Numedal in the same year. He swapped this position with Tønsberg in 1637 and again with Bratsberg in 1640. Meanwhile, he took command of the Norwegian galley fleet, became land commissioner in 1639, and Oberstleutnant in 1640.

At the outbreak of the Torstenson War, Gjedde became admiral of a Norwegian fleet and in 1645 became a part of the Danish rigsråd (Council of the Realm), subsequently being appointed Admiral of the Realm. In 1646, Gjedde acquired Jungshoved, which he exchanged with Herrevad Abbey in 1649 and thereafter with Helsingborg. Concurrently, he became a part of the interim government that was put in place after Christian IV's death in 1648.

After the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, Helsingborg was ceded to the Swedish Empire, and Gjedde received Hald fiefdom as compensation. Gjedde went back to Scania in 1658, but was captured and subsequently imprisoned by the Swedes. He was released in 1660 and came to Copenhagen swearing an oath to the new Danish constitution. He would die in September of the same year.