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 ...
Louis Gerard De Geer af Finspång (18 July 181824 September 1896) was a Swedish statesman, lawyer and writer. He was the first
Prime Minister of Sweden
The prime minister of Sweden (, "minister of state") is the head of government of the Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subject to th ...
.
Biography
De Geer was born at
Finspång Castle in Risinge parish, and was a member of the
De Geer family. He was a lawyer, and in 1855 became president of the
Göta Court of Appeal
The Göta Court of Appeal (), located in Jönköping, is one of the six appellate courts in the Swedish legal system.
The court was established in 1634 during the regency of Queen Christina. It is the second oldest of the Swedish courts of appe ...
, or lord justice for the
appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appel ...
of
Götaland
Götaland (; also '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, with the deep wo ...
. From 7 April 1858 to 3 June 1870 he was
Prime Minister for Justice and again from 11 May 1875 to 20 March 1876. As a member of the nobility, he took part in the Swedish
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 1851 onwards. From 1867 to 1878 he was the member for
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 ...
in the first chamber in the
New Riksdag, where he introduced and passed many useful reforms.
According to his ''Minnen'' ("Memoirs") he considered himself a Liberal, in sympathy with universal suffrage. He never tried, however, to introduce legislation which he deemed impossible to get through the Riksdag.
Architect of the New Riksdag
De Geer's greatest political achievement was the reform of the Swedish representative system. The reforms introduced a bi-cameral elected Riksdag replacing the existing cumbersome and less democratic Riksdag of the Estates, a hangover from the
later Medieval period. This measure was accepted by 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 ...
in December 1865, and received the royal sanction on 22 June 1866. For some time after this De Geer enjoyed considerable popularity. He retired from the ministry in 1870, but took office again, as
Prime Minister of Justice in 1875.
First Prime Minister
In 1876 De Geer became the first
Prime Minister of Sweden
The prime minister of Sweden (, "minister of state") is the head of government of the Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subject to th ...
following a reform where the previous offices of Prime Minister for Justice (which he held at the time) and
Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs were changed into
Minister for Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
and a
Minister for Foreign Affairs. He served until April 1880, when the failure of his repeated efforts to settle the
armaments
A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...
issue again induced him to resign. From 1881 to 1888 he was
Chancellor
Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
for the Universities of
Uppsala
Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Loc ...
and
Lund
Lund (, ;["Lund"](_blank)
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...
. He was an advocate of
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
and
economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
. Some argue that it was De Geer who laid the foundations for the strong economic growth in Sweden from 1870 to 1970.
Literary works
Besides several novels and aesthetic essays, De Geer wrote a few political memoirs of supreme merit both as to style and matter, the most notable of which are ''Minnesteckning öfver A. J. v. Höpken'' (Stockholm, 1881); ''Minnesteckning öfver
Hans Järta'' (Stockholm, 1874); ''Minnesteckning öfver B. B. von Platen'' (Stockholm, 1886); and his own ''Minnen'' (Stockholm, 1892), an autobiography, invaluable as a historical document, in which the political experience and the matured judgments of a lifetime are recorded with singular clearness, sobriety and charm. For example, his explanation of why he, at such a young age, was appointed Prime Minister of Justice, was that in the narrow circles of Swedish nobility at the time, it was difficult to find anyone with at least the mediocre intelligence which was needed for the office.
Membership in academies
De Geer was a member in the
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...
from 1862, on Seat 17. In 1862, he was also elected a member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...
.
Personal life
In 1848, De Geer married the
countess
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Carolina Lovisa Wachtmeister. They had three sons, of which the eldest,
Gerhard Louis De Geer (1854–1935), was prime minister of Sweden from 1920 to 21 and the second was
Gerard De Geer
Baron Gerard Jacob De Geer (20 November 1858 – 24 July 1943) was a Swedish geologist who made significant contributions to Quaternary geology, particularly geomorphology and geochronology. De Geer is best known for his work on varves. In 1890 ...
(1858–1943), a geologist.
Death
De Geer died on 24 September 1896 at his residence
Hanaskog Castle 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 ...
.
He is buried in the cemetery of
Kviinge Church.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Geer, Louis Gerhard
1818 births
1896 deaths
People from Finspång Municipality
Members of the Första kammaren
Members of the Swedish Academy
Prime ministers of Sweden
Ministers for justice of Sweden
Swedish nobility
Uppsala University alumni
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
19th-century Swedish politicians
Swedish people of Belgian descent
Louis Gerhard
Members of the Riksdag of the Estates