Swenson, Laurits]]> Biography/History:
Laurits Selmer Swenson (June 12, 1865–November 4, 1947) was an American diplomat whose career spanned more than three decades and included service as U.S. minister (ambassador) to Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, and the Netherlands. Born in New Sweden, Minnesota, to Norwegian immigrant parents, Swenson was the son of Minnesota state legislator Swen Swenson. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Luther College in Iowa in 1886 and 1889, respectively, and went on to serve as principal of the Lutheran Academy in Albert Lea from 1888 to 1897. During this period, he also sat on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents and pursued business interests as vice president of the Union State Bank and president of the Wiprud Land & Colonization Company, which promoted European immigration to Minnesota.

Swenson entered the diplomatic service in 1897 as U.S. minister to Denmark, where he served until 1905 and helped negotiate the terms for the sale of the Danish West Indies, later the U.S. Virgin Islands. He was subsequently appointed minister to Switzerland (1909–1911) and Norway (1911–1913), returning to Norway again from 1921 to 1930, where he was especially well regarded, in part because of his Norwegian heritage. In 1925, Swenson represented the United States at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, accepting the award on behalf of Vice President Charles Gates Dawes. He concluded his diplomatic career as ambassador to the Netherlands from 1931 to 1934, after which he retired and settled in Norway near his daughter. Swenson died in Oslo on November 4, 1947.

Scope and Content:
An extensive collection consisting of correspondence, remarks and addresses, proclamations, and photographs.

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14/B/4, 68/A/2]]> Swenson, Laurits S.]]>