 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (January 2022) |
Count Peder Griffenfeld | |
|---|---|
 Peder Schumacher portrayed by Abraham Wuchters in 1672 | |
| Chancellor of Denmark | |
| In office November 1673 – March 12, 1699 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 24, 1635 Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Died | March 12, 1699 Munkholmen, Norway |
Count Peder Griffenfeld (before ennoblement Peder Schumacher) (24 August 1635 – 12 March 1699) was a Danish statesman and royal favourite. He became the principal adviser to King Christian V of Denmark from 1670 and the de facto ruler of the dual kingdom of Denmark-Norway in the first half of the 1670s. In 1673 he was appointed as Chancellor of Denmark, elevated to count, the highest aristocratic rank in Denmark-Norway, and received the Order of the Elephant, the country's highest order. At the behest of his enemies at court, Griffenfeld was arrested in early 1676 and convicted of treason, a charge that historians agree was false. He was imprisoned for 22 years, mainly at Munkholmen in Norway.