Career
His chancellorship occurred during the reign of King Frederick IV. After attending university, Reventlow was called to the Danish Court in 1665, where he rose through various positions of responsibility. In the 1670s, he became a colonel in the Danish military. He recruited a regiment and distinguished himself in the prevailing intra-Scandinavian warfare of the day.
In 1700, Reventlow was deeply involved in the negotiations for peace with Sweden during that country"s naval blockade of Copenhagen, an early event in the Great Northern War.
Both France and the United Kingdom dealt extensively with Reventlow in their efforts to pressure Denmark to declare peace, in order to prevent a wider war from spreading into Europe. In 1685, Reventlow used his influence as a councillor to the court on behalf of privateer Benjamin Raule, to promote Danish acquisition of the island of Saint Thomas in the West Indies.
Count Reventlow"s youngest daughter, Anna Sophie (1693-1743), married Frederick IV in 1721, becoming the first Queen of Denmark not to have been born a princess. Another daughter, Ulrikke Eleonor (1690-1754), married Ferdinand Anton Gyldenløve, a grandson of King Frederick III by his mistress, Margrethe Pape.
His sarcophagus in the Schleswig Cathedral (Schleswiger Dom) was designed by the renowned sculptor Thomas Quellinus.