Edvard Fallesen

Morten Edvard Fallesen (29 January 1817 – 6 July 1894) was a Danish army officer, politician and theatre manager. He fought in the First and Second Schleswig War and served as a member of both the upper and lower houses of the Danish Parliament. From 1876 until his death at the age of 77, he was the General Director of the Royal Danish Theatre. Fallesen was appointed Chamberlain to King Christian IX in 1872 and awarded the Order of the Dannebrog in 1876.

Life and career Fallesen was born in Copenhagen, the son of Lorentz Nikolai Fallesen, a Protestant clergyman and theologian. He studied at the University of Copenhagen and then at the Royal Military College. After receiving his commission as a First Lieutenant in 1846, he was appointed to the artillery corps of the Danish Army. Fallesen served in both the First and Second Schleswig War, eventually rising to the rank of Captain and serving as a member of the international commission that formulated the 1864 Treaty of Vienna. However, his health had suffered during the second Schleswig campaign, and he retired from active combat duty in 1865. His final military appointment was as Colonel of the Bornholm Regiment in 1866.

Fallesen had been active in politics from 1858 when he became the member for Assens in the Folketing (at the time the lower house of the Danish Parliament). He held the seat until 1866. From 1874 until 1882 he served as the member for Bornholm in the Landsting (upper house of the Danish Parliament). Known for the eloquence of his debating style, he was essentially independent but on major issues voted with the conservative Højre Party.

Edvard Fallesen died at the age of 77 after having been taken ill in Ville d'Avray, France where he had been on holiday. He is buried in the Solbjerg Parkkirkegård cemetery in Frederiksberg.