Gregor Iwan Alexis Feodor Aminoff (4 April 1897 – 26 April 1977) was a Swedish

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and chamberlain.

Early life

Aminoff was born on 4 April 1897 in

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 ...

, Sweden, son of the cabinet chamberlain Gregor Aminoff and his wife Elisabeth (née af Edholm). He served as ''

ryttmästare ''Ryttmästare'' (from the German word ''Rittmeister'') was a military rank in the Swedish cavalry in the Swedish Army. The rank corresponded to the rank of captain in other service branches. The rank was abolished in 1972. History The military ...

'' in the Life Regiment of Horse (K 1) in 1934 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1925.

Career

Aminoff became an attaché at the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

in Stockholm in 1926. Aminoff left in 1928 and then worked in private companies. He served as chamberlain of the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and Duchess of Västergotland from 1935 to 1950, and he was back at the Foreign Ministry in 1938. Aminoff became first secretary in 1939, first legation secretary in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1941, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1943, and was legation counsellor there in 1943. He was envoy in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

from 1949 to 1951 and foreign affairs councillor and head of the human resources department at the Foreign Ministry from 1951 to 1954. Aminoff was then envoy in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

from 1954 to 1959, ambassador in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

from 1959 to 1963 and ambassador in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

from 1959 to 1961 (accredited from Lisbon). In August 1960, during Aminoff's tenure as ambassador in Lisbon, he was asked by UN Secretary-General

Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (English: ,; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second secretary-general of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in Septe ...

to act as an impartial mediator in the Buraimi dispute between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. Aminoff served as Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps (''Introduktör av främmande sändebud'') from 1970 to 1974 (deputy in 1966) and Grand Master of the Ceremonies from 1971 to 1977.

Personal life

In 1925 he married Märtha Linder (1900–1991), the daughter of General

Ernst Linder Ernst Linder (25 April 1868 – 14 September 1943) was a Swedish general of Finnish descent who served in the Swedish Army from 1887 to 1918, after which he participated in the Finnish Civil War as the commander of the Satakunta and Savo a ...

and baroness Augusta (née Wrangel von Brehmer). He was the father of Gregor (born 1926) and Alexandra (born 1933).

Death

Aminoff died on 26 April 1977 in Stockholm and was buried at

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Burial Place" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Th ...

in Stockholm.

Awards and decorations

King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948) * Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

Grand Cross of the

Military Order of Christ The Military Order of Christ is a Honorific orders of Portugal, Portuguese honorific order. It is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910, it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Chr ...

(19 October 1963) * PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...

(9 March 1961) * GRE Order of the Phoenix - Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of the Phoenix Order of the Phoenix may refer to: *Order of the Phoenix (Greece), a medal conferred on Greek or foreign citizens * Royal Order of the Phoenix (Tonga), a knighthood order of the Kingdom of Tonga, founded in 2010 *Various uses related to the ''Ha ...

* Grand Commander of the

Humane Order of African Redemption The Humane Order of African Redemption, an order (honour), order presented by the government of Liberia, was founded on January 13, 1879 during the presidency of Anthony W. Gardiner. It is awarded for humanitarian work in Liberia, for acts supporti ...

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

* Commander of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

with star * BEL Kroonorde Commandeur BAR

Commander of the Order of the Crown * FIN Order of the White Rose Commander BAR

Commander of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

Commander of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aminoff, Alexis 1897 births 1977 deaths Ambassadors of Sweden to Greece Ambassadors of Sweden to South Africa Ambassadors of Sweden to Portugal Ambassadors of Sweden to Liberia People from Stockholm Commanders First Class of the Order of the Polar Star Knights of the Order of Vasa 20th-century Swedish nobility Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen

Alexis Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946– ...

20th-century Swedish diplomats

Early life

Career

Personal life

Death

Awards and decorations

See also

References