Haakon Ditlev Lowzow was a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 military officer and politician for the Liberal Party. He is best known as the Norwegian Minister of Defence

Minister of Defence (Norway)

The Norwegian Minister of Defence is a Councillor of the Council of State and Chief of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, the position has existed since the Secretary of the Army and Secretary of the Navy was combined into the Minister of Defence...

 from 1908 to 1909.

Personal life

Lowzow was born in Kristiania

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, and came from a military background. His father was a Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

, his grandfather was a Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 and his great-grandfather was a Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

. Also, he was a granduncle of Carl Fredrik

Carl Fredrik Lowzow

Carl Fredrik Lowzow was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Akershus in 1977, and was re-elected on two occasions....

 and Wenche Lowzow

Wenche Lowzow

Wenche Bryn Lowzow is a Norwegian politician in the Conservative Party of Norway. She was a member of the Norwegian parliament as a representative from Oslo between 1977–1985...

.

Career

He became a military officer in 1872, and was promoted to Premier Lieutenant in 1887 and Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 in 1904. On 11 April 1908, when the first cabinet Knudsen

First cabinet Knudsen

The Knudsen's First Cabinet governed Norway between 19 March 1908 and 2 February 1910. It had the following composition:-Cabinet members:-State Secretary:Not to be confused with the modern title State Secretary...

 assumed office, he was appointed as the new Minister of Defence

Minister of Defence (Norway)

The Norwegian Minister of Defence is a Councillor of the Council of State and Chief of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, the position has existed since the Secretary of the Army and Secretary of the Navy was combined into the Minister of Defence...

. He held this position until 19 August 1909, when he resigned. He later became Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

of rank and Inspector-General of the Infantry. He died in August 1915.