Baron Eric Gyllenstierna af Lundholm (27 March 1882 – 26 June 1940) 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 ...

. Gyllenstierna served as Swedish envoy to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

from 1937 to 1939.

Early life

Gyllenstierna was born on 27 March 1882 at Krapperup Castle in

Höganäs Municipality Höganäs Municipality () is one of 290 municipalities of Sweden, in Skåne County in the southern part of the country. Its seat is located in the city of Höganäs. The rural municipality Höganäs, in which the first ''municipalsamhälle'' (a ...

, Sweden, the son of landowner, ''Friherre'' Nils Gyllenstierna and his wife Ellen (née Stiernstedt). He was the brother of Major General . He passed '' mogenhetsexamen'' in 1900 and received a

Juris utriusque A doctor of both laws, from the Latin , , or ("doctor of both laws") (abbreviations include: JUD, IUD, DUJ, JUDr., DUI, DJU, Dr.iur.utr., Dr.jur.utr., DIU, UJD and UID), is a scholar who has acquired a doctorate in both civil and church law. ...

candidate degree from

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

on 15 December 1909.

Career

Gyllenstierna served in the judge's office in Luggude Hundred and

Medelstad Hundred A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in northern Germanic countries and related colonies, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions. The equivalent term in Swedish is (in Uppland also ...

from 1910 to 1912. Gyllenstierna held district court and judge appointments in Medelstad in 1912. Gyllenstierna was an assistant (''Amanuens'') at the

Ministry for Civil Service Affairs The Ministry for Civil Service Affairs () was a ministry in Sweden, established through the 1840 ministerial reform. The ministry and its most important areas of responsibility were agriculture, ''bergsrörelse'', trade, shipping, factories, cra ...

from 1913 to 1915 and notary in the Committee on Agriculture from 1913 to 1915. He then served as secretary of the

Parliamentary Ombudsman Parliamentary Ombudsman (, , , , ) is the name of the principal ombudsman institutions in Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (where the term ''justice ombudsman'' – or JO – is also used). In each case, the terms refer both to the of ...

from 1915 to 1918 and he was a member and secretary of experts in the Committee Against Opposition to National Defence Propaganda (''Kommittén mot försvarsfientlig propaganda'') in 1917 as well as deputy director at the Ministry for Naval Affairs from 1917 to 1918. He became acting extra head of department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on 29 October 1918 and first legation secretary in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

on 12 September 1919. Gyllenstierna was acting first legation secretary in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

from 26 September 1919 to 16 December 1921 when he became legation counsellor there. He was then legation counsellor and head of the Trade Policy Department's 3rd Bureau at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs from 28 August 1922 but became legation counsellor and head of the Political and Trade Policy Department's 3rd Bureau at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs from 1 September. Gyllenstierna was legation counsellor 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 ...

from 11 February 1927 and was appointed on 6 August 1930 to become envoy in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

from 1 October the same year. He was non-resident envoy (accredited from Moscow) in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

from 5 September 1930 to 1936. Gyllenstierna was also non-resident envoy (accredited from Moscow) in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

from 18 May 1934 to 1936. He was then appointed on 20 December 1937 to become envoy in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and non-resident 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 1 March 1938. Gyllenstierna retired and was appointed

envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

on 7 September 1939.

Personal life

On 21 December 1910 he married ''Wanda'' Charlotte Henriette Henriksson (1881–1917) in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. In his second marriage he married on 22 February 1921 to Lovise Marie Henriette Crespy. They divorced on 25 June 1925. In his third marriage he married on 29 August 1925 to ''Signe'' Maria Fineman (born 7 January 1898), the daughter of Carl Gottfrid Fineman and Ebba af Geijerstam. They divorced on 13 July 1937. In Gyllenstierna's fourth and final marriage he married on 31 August 1937 in

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

to ''Dorothy'' Mary Griffin (born 2 April 1895 in

Wanstead Wanstead () is an area in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge to the east and Manor Park to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 m ...

, England), the daughter of Charles and Rose Griffin. They divorced on 19 September 1939. Gyllenstierna had one daughter, Wanda Ellen Beata (born 30 November 1917 in Stockholm). After his father's death, Gyllenstierna inherited the entailed estates of Krapperup and Bjersgård, both in

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 ...

Death

Gyllenstierna died on 26 June 1940 in Helsingborg.

Awards and decorations

* 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 ...

(6 June 1932) * Knight of the

(1922) *

1st Class of the

Order of the Two Rivers The Order of the Two Rivers ( ''Wisam Al Rafidain'') was an Order awarded by the Kings of Iraq and then the Presidents of Iraq. History It was named after the two rivers, the Euphrates and Tigris, that flow through the middle of the country. I ...

* 1st Class of the Order of Homayoun * BEL - Order of Leopold - Commander bar

Commander of the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

(1927) *

Commander 2nd Class 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 ...

(1926) *

Officer 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 ...

(1921)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyllenstierna, Eric 1882 births 1940 deaths Ambassadors of Sweden to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Sweden to Iran Ambassadors of Sweden to Iraq Ambassadors of Sweden to Turkey Ambassadors of Sweden to Greece People from Höganäs Municipality Lund University alumni Commanders First Class of the Order of the Polar Star