Baron Johan Gustaf Nils Samuel Åkerhielm af Margaretelund (24 June 1833 – 2 April 1900) was a Swedish

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 ...

, a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

, a landowner, member of the

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates (; informally ) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King. It was a Diet made up of the Fou ...

from 1859 to 1866 and the '' Andra kammar'' (Lower house) of the

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 ...

from 1870 to 1900, a

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 1874 to 1875, a minister for foreign affairs in 1889, and a

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

from 1889 to 1891. He was married to Ulrika Gyldenstolpe in 1860, with whom he had three children.

Biography

Gustaf Åkerhielm was born 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 ...

, son of Swedish cabinet member Gustaf Fredrik Åkerhielm and his wife, Elisabeth Sophia Anker. After diplomatic service in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, he had a successful political career, where he held a long succession of different positions in the government from

from 1874 to 1875. In 1889 he was appointed to the position of minister for foreign affairs by Gillis Bildt, and in October of the same year, he became the new prime minister of Sweden. Åkerhielm sought to solve military defense issues, but his efforts were blocked because of opposition in the Lower House of the Swedish Parliament. However, he was able to remain in power due to support he had in the Upper House. In 1891, he was nevertheless forced to resign after an careless reply to a question about defense, which was interpreted as a war-like threat against

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 ...

. The exact wording of his statement was unclear, but those who were present said the statement was, more or less, that "a new order for the Army will allow us to speak Swedish with Norwegians." He died on 2 April 1900 in Stockholm.

References

External links

* 1833 births 1900 deaths Politicians from Stockholm Prime ministers of Sweden Ministers of finance of Sweden Ministers for foreign affairs of Sweden Swedish barons 19th-century Swedish politicians Members of the Riksdag of the Estates Members of the Andra kammaren {{Sweden-politician-stub