Baron Carl Fredrik Pechlin (8 August 1720 – 29 May 1796) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

demagogue A demagogue (; ; ), or rabble-rouser, is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, especially through oratory that whips up the passions of crowds, Appeal to emotion, appealing to emo ...

Life

He was son of the

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

minister at

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Johan Pechlin, and brother of Johanna Lohm. After moving to Sweden at age six, he was educated in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, and entered the

Swedish army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

. He rose to the rank of major-general, but became famous by being the type par excellence of the corrupt and egoistic Swedish parliamentarian of the final period of the

Age of Liberty In Swedish history, the Age of Liberty () was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights, and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with the adoption of the Instrument of Government in 1719 and ended with Gustav ...

; he received for many years the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...

of "General of the Riksdag". Pechlin first appears prominently in Swedish politics in 1760, when by suddenly changing sides he contrived to save the

Hats A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

from

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

. Enraged at being thus excluded from power by their former friend, the

Caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

procured Pechlin's expulsion from the two following

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

s. In 1769 Pechlin sold the Hats as he had formerly sold the Caps, and was largely instrumental in preventing the projected indispensable reform of the Swedish

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. During the revolution of 1772 he escaped from Stockholm and kept quietly in the background. In 1786, when the opposition against

Gustavus III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he s ...

was gathering strength, Pechlin reappeared in the Riksdag as one of the leaders of the malcontents, and is said to have been at the same time in the pay of the

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. In 1789 he was one of the

deputies A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-nati ...

whom Gustavus III kept under lock and key until he had changed the government into a semi- absolute monarchy. It is fairly certain that Pechlin was behind the plot for murdering Gustavus in 1792. On the eve of the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

(16 March) the principal conspirators met at his house to make their final preparations and discuss the form of government which should be adopted after the king's death. Pechlin undertook to crowd the fatal

masquerade Masquerade or Masquerades may refer to: Books * ''Masquerade'' (book), a 1979 children's book by Kit Williams that sparked a worldwide treasure hunt * ''Masquerades'' (novel), a 1995 Forgotten Realms novel by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb * ''Masq ...

with

accomplice Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets (encourages, incites) another person in the commission of a crime (or in another's suicide). It exists in a number of different countries and generally al ...

s, but took care not to be there personally. He was arrested on 23 March but nothing definite could ever be proved against him. Nevertheless, he was condemned to

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

in the fortress of

Varberg Varberg () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 35,782 inhabitants in 2019. Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their "typical west coast" sandy beaches. In Varberg th ...

, where he died four years later.

References

Attribution: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pechlin, Carl Fredrik 1720 births 1796 deaths Swedish politicians Swedish Army major generals 18th-century Swedish nobility Gustavian era people Age of Liberty people