A governor-general () was appointed by the

Swedish monarch The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parl ...

as his permanent representative, with both civil and military jurisdiction, over parts of

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 ...

, from the 17th century to the early 19th century, when constitutional changes made the office obsolete. A

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

was always appointed as the highest representative of the Swedish monarch in the dominions ruled, or the possessions governed, by Sweden. Conquered, and unintegrated, territories were apart from this, more or less allowed to retain their internal political structure. The term

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

is better reserved for the '' stattholder'', the representative of the Swedish monarch in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

when that neighboring country was in personal union with Sweden, as it concerns a whole kingdom, and notably in the several cases where the incumbent was no lesser than the Swedish crown prince. Governors-general could also be appointed over parts of

Sweden proper Sweden proper (, literally ''Actual Sweden'') is a term used to distinguish those territories that were fully integrated into the Kingdom of Sweden, as opposed to the dominions and possessions of, or states in union with, Sweden. Only the est ...

, today's

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, and usually consisting of several

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in that part of the country, when circumstances so required. When this happened the '' royal governor'' of each county would report to the governor-general instead of directly to the monarch or the Privy Council. A royal governor, regardless if whether under a governor-general or not, held the civil, but not the military, jurisdiction over his county. The governors-general were always members of the Privy Council. The list of governors-general given below is not complete. Some of those listed held the title of governor, not governor-general.

Finland

The following were the governors-general of

: * Nils Bielke (1623–1631) * Gabriel Bengtsson Oxenstierna (1631–1634) * Per Brahe the Younger (1637–1640; 1648–1654) * Gustaf Evertsson Horn (1657) * (1664–1669) * Carl Nieroth (1710–1712) * (1747–1752)

Ingria

The following were the governors-general of

Ingria Ingria (; ; ; ) is a historical region including, and adjacent to, what is now the city of Saint Petersburg in northwestern Russia. The region lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian ...

: * Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm (1617–) * Nils Assersson Mannersköld (1626–1629) * Johan Skytte (1629–1633) * Bengt Bengtsson Oxenstierna (1634–1643) * Erik Stenbock (1651–1654) * Gustaf Evertsson Horn (1654–1657) *

Krister Klasson Horn af Åminne Krister is a Swedish variant of the Swedish masculine given name Christer Christer or Krister are varieties of the masculine given name Kristian, derived from the Latin name ''Christianus'', which in turn comes from the Greek language, Greek word '' ...

(1657–1659) * Simon Grundel-Helmfelt (1659) * Jacob Johan Taube (1660–1668) * Simon Grundel-Helmfelt (1668–1673) * Jacob Johan Taube (1673–1681) * Martin Schultz (von Ascheraden) (1681–1682) ''(governor)'' * Hans von Fersen d.ä. (1682–1683) ''(governor)'' * Göran Sperling (1683–1690) * Otto Wilhelm von Fersen (1691–1698) * Otto Vellingk (1698–1708)

Estonia

The following were the governors-general of

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

: * Anders Torstenson (1674–1681) * Robert Lichton (1681–1687) * Nils Turesson Bielke (1687) *

Axel Julius De la Gardie Axel Julius de la Gardie (1637–17 May 1710 in Stockholm) was a Swedish field marshal and was appointed Governor-General over Estonia from 1687 to 1704. Axel Julius was the son of military commander Jacob De la Gardie and Ebba Brahe. He became ...

(1687–1704) * Wolmar Anton von Schlippenbach (1704–1706) * Niels Jonsson Stromberg af Clastorp (1706–1709) * Carl Nieroth (1709–1710)

Livonia

The following were the governors-general of

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

: *

Jacob De la Gardie Field Marshal and Count Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie (20 June 1583 – 22 August 1652) was a wikt:statesman, statesman and a soldier of the Swedish Empire, and a Marshal from 1620 onward. He was Privy Council of Sweden, Privy Councilor from ...

(1622–1628) * Johan Skytte (1629–1634) * Bengt Oxenstierna (1634–1643) *

Herman Wrangel Herman Wrangel (born 1584/1587 – 10 December 1643) was a Swedish military officer and statesman of Baltic German extraction. Biography Herman von Wrangel was born in Livonia. He came to Sweden around 1608. In 1612, he participated in the ...

(1643) *

Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie (15 October 1622 – 26 April 1686) was a Swedish Empire, Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Privy Council of Sweden, Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three ...

(1655–) * Jacob Johan Hastfer (1687–1695) * Erik Dahlberg (1696–1702) * Carl Gustaf Frölich (1702–1706) * Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt (1706–1709) * Henrik Otto Albedyll (1709) * Niels Jonsson Stromberg af Clastorp (1709–1710)

Karelia

The following were the governors-general of

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

: * Johan Skytte (1629–1634)

Scania

The Scanian Dominion (), was established after the

Treaty of Roskilde The Treaty of Roskilde was negotiated at Høje Taastrup Church and was concluded on 26 February ( OS) or 8 March 1658 ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish ci ...

in 1658 and initially included all of

Skåneland Skåneland is a region on the southern Scandinavian Peninsula. It includes the Sweden, Swedish provinces of Sweden, provinces of Blekinge, Halland, and Skåne, Scania. The Denmark, Danish island of Bornholm is traditionally also included.For pop ...

. In 1660, Bornholm was returned to Denmark.

Blekinge Blekinge () is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second-smallest provin ...

, which had been part of Kristianstad County while under the dominion, was removed in 1680 and placed under

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg County, Kronoberg, Jönköping County, Jönköping, Blekinge County, Blekinge and Östergötland County, Östergötland. To the ...

. The dominion was suspended in 1670, but recreated during the

Scanian War The Scanian War (; ; ; ) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Swedish Empire, Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish ...

. In 1675, Bohus County was added and it remained administered by the Scanian governors-general until 1693.

Halland County Halland County (, ) is a county ('' län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. Prince Julian, the son of Prince Carl Philip, is Duke of Halland. ...

was removed from the dominion in 1693 and for the periods 1693–1719 and 1801–1809, the dominion included the counties in the province of

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

only. The following were the governors-general of Scania: * Gustaf Otto Stenbock (1658–1664) (

Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...

was returned to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in 1660.) * Gustaf Persson Banér (1664–1669) * Fabian von Fersen (1676–1677) * Göran Sperling (1677–1679) * Johan Gyllenstierna (1679–1680) * Rutger von Ascheberg (1680–1693) (Bohus County added 1675; Blekinge removed 1680.) The following were the governors-general of Scania (the province only): * Otto Vellingk (1693–1698) * Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld (July 4, 1698 – December 27, 1705) * Magnus Stenbock (December 27, 1705–1711) * Jacob Burenskiöld (1711–1716) * Carl Gustaf Skytte (1716–1719) * Carl Gustaf Hård (1717–1719) * Johan Christopher Toll (February 9, 1801 – March 27, 1809)

Prussia

The following were the governors-general of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

: * Axel Oxenstierna (1626–1631)

Pomerania

The following were the governors-general of

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

: *1631–1633 Klas Horn *1633–1638 Sten Svantesson Bielke *1638–1641

Johan Banér Johan Banér (23 June 1596 – 10 May 1641) was a Swedish field marshal in the Thirty Years' War. Early life Johan Banér was born at Djursholm Castle in Uppland. As a four-year-old he was forced to witness the execution of his father, the ...

*1641–1648

Lennart Torstenson Lennart Torstensson (17 August 1603 – 7 April 1651), Swedish List of Swedish field marshals, Field Marshal and later Governor-General of Pomerania, Västergötland, Dalsland, Värmland and Halland. He adapted the use of artillery on the battlef ...

*1648–1650

Carl Gustaf Wrangel ''Fältmarskalk'' Carl Gustaf Wrangel (also Carl Gustav von Wrangel; 23 December 1613 – 5 July 1676) was a Swedish statesman and military commander who commanded the Swedish forces in the Thirty Years' War, as well as the Torstenson, Bremen, ...

*1650–1652 Johan Axelsson Oxenstierna *1652–1661(?) Axel Lillie *1661–1676(?)

*1678–1679 ''possessed by Brandenburg'' *1679–1685 Otto Wilhelm Königsmarck *1687–1698 Nils Bielke *1698–1711 Jürgen Mellin *1715–1720 ''possessed by Prussia and Denmark'' *1720–1747 Johan August Meijerfeldt d.ä. *1748–1766 Axel Löwen *1766–1772 Hans Henrik von Liewen d.y. *1772–1776 Fredrik Carl Sinclair *1776–1791 Fredrik Vilhelm von Hessenstein *1792–1796 Eric Ruuth *1796–1800 Philip von Platen *1800–1807 Hans Henric von Essen *1807–1809 ''possessed by France'' *1811–1812 Carl Mörner af Tuna *1813-1815 Wilhelm Malte zu Putbus *1815 ce''ded to Prussia''

Bremen-Verden

The following were the governors-general of

Bremen-Verden Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden (; ), were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained imperial immediacy in 1180. By their original constitution they were prince-bishoprics of th ...

: * Jurgen Mellin (1696–1698) * Nils Carlsson Gyllenstierna af Fogelvik (1698–1711) * Mauritz von Vellingk (1711–1712)

References

{{reflist

Finland

Ingria

Estonia

Livonia

Karelia

Scania

Prussia

Pomerania

Bremen-Verden

References

See also