Anders Rudolf du Rietz (pronounced yrié 5 February 1722 – 21 October 1792 in Hedensberg,

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''västerm ...

) was a Swedish count, lieutenant-general, commander grand cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

, County Governor and politician.

Family

du Rietz was the son of lieutenant-colonel Carl Magnus

du Rietz Du Rietz (pronunciation: ��dʏrjeː is a Swedish noble family of French Flanders origin. According family tradition deriving from French old nobility traditionally held to date back to 1100. The family first came to Sweden in 1642 with Grégoire F ...

and his wife countess Ebba Katarina Horn. Ebba Katarina was the daughter of Henning Rudolf Horn and his wife Helena Sperling.

Life

du Rietz began his military career as a lieutenant in the Life Guards and was sent to the Finnish front in the

Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743) The Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743 (also known as The War of the Hats) was instigated by the Hats, a Swedish political party that aspired to regain the territories lost to Russia during the Great Northern War, and by French diplomacy, which soug ...

with that regiment. After that war he rose slowly through the officer ranks, reaching major in the Södermanland Regiment, and then went to join the

Pomeranian War The Pomeranian War was a theatre of the Seven Years' War. The term is used to describe the fighting between Sweden and Prussia between 1757 and 1762 in Swedish Pomerania, Prussian Pomerania, northern Brandenburg and eastern Mecklenburg-Schwerin. ...

in north Germany from 1758 to 1760. He won distinction in this war, capturing the Anclamen Feler fort, protecting the Swedish siege of

Peenemünde Peenemünde (, en, "Peene iverMouth") is a municipality on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is part of the ''Amt'' (collective municipality) of Usedom-Nord. The communi ...

and obtaining the advantageous capitulation of the Prussian forces at

Demmin Demmin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Demmin. Geography Demmin lies on the West Pomeranian plain at the confluence of the rivers ...

by Field Marshal Johann von Lehwaldt. From 1760 onwards he concentrated more on politics, becoming an outstanding member of the

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faction and elected to the 'secret committee' in 1760 and 1765. He was not, however, in the Riksråd, although he was nominated to it. During this political career he was also promoted to colonel and to become head of the

Hälsinge Regiment The Hälsinge Regiment ( sv, Hälsinge regemente), designations I 14, I 14/Fo 49 and I 14/Fo 21, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were original ...

, and shortly afterwards was sent to bear the Swedish official congratulations on

Catherine II of Russia , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

's accession. In 1770 he was made major general and in 1772 governor of

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. He managed to retain his post as governor after

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

's coup d'état and managed to make his peace both with Gustav III and the prevailing new order. As a reward he was in 1776 appointed lieutenant general and in 1778 promoted to the nobility as a count. Towards the end of his life, he was suspected of laziness in the defence of Gothenburg during the

Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) The Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 was fought between Sweden and Russia from June 1788 to August 1790. The war was ended by the Treaty of Värälä on 14 August 1790 and took place concomitantly with both the Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791) ...

, though Gustav III arrived in time to save the city.

Marriage and issue

In 1765 he married countess Charlotta de Geer. They had one son, who predeceased Anders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durietz, Anders Rudolf 1722 births 1792 deaths People from Västmanland Swedish nobility Swedish generals Swedish military personnel of the Seven Years' War Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Age of Liberty people