Count
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: ...
Arvid Bernhard Horn af Ekebyholm (6 April 166418 April 1742) was a Swedish general,
diplomat and politician, a member of the noble
Horn family. He served twice as President of the
Privy Council Chancellery (1710–1719 and 1720–1738) and was one of the leading figures of the Swedish
Age of Liberty.
Soldier and diplomat
Arvid Bernhard Horn was born at Vuorentaka Manor in
Halikko
Halikko () is a former municipality of Finland that existed until December 31, 2008. On January 1, 2009, the municipality was merged with the larger neighboring Salo. Before the merge Halikko had become a rapidly urbanizing rural area.
It was l ...
(now
Salo, Finland
Salo () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
The municipality is unilingually Finnis ...
).
He was the son of Gustaf Horn af Kanckas (1627–1673) and his wife Anna Helena von Gertten (1640–1709). After completing his studies at the
Royal Academy of Turku
The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...
, he entered the Royal
Swedish Army and served for several years in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
under
Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736), and in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
under
Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck
Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck (31 January 1620 – 19 November 1692) was a German and Dutch Field Marshal and, for the last three years of his life, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg).
In 1641, Waldeck e ...
(1690–1695).
Horn stood high in the favour of King
Charles XII of Sweden and was one of his foremost generals in the earlier part of the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...
, being the
captain lieutenant
Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army.
Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland
The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Finl ...
over the
Drabant Corps since 1696. In 1704 he was entrusted with his first diplomatic mission, the deposition of
Augustus II
Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...
, Elector of Saxony and the election of King
Stanislaus I Stanislav and variants may refer to:
People
*Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.)
Places
* Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine
* Stanislaus County, Cali ...
, King of Poland. This mission. he accomplished with distinguished ability but absolute unscrupulousness. Shortly afterwards he was besieged by Augustus in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
and compelled to surrender.
Politician
In 1705 Horn was made a Privy Councillor and in 1706 a count. In 1708, he was given oversight of Charles XII's nephew,
Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Charles Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp () (30 April 1700 – 18 June 1739) was a Prince of Sweden and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp and an important member of European royalty. His dynasty, the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gott ...
(1700–1739), who was under the guardianship of his grandmother
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (23 October 1636 – 24 November 1715) was Queen of Sweden from 1654 until 1660 as the wife of King Charles X Gustav. She served as regent during the minority of her son, King Charles XI, from 1660 until 1672, ...
(1636–1715) following the death of his mother
Hedvig Sophia of Sweden
Hedvig Sophia Augusta of Sweden (26 June 1681 – 22 December 1708), Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp, was the eldest child of Charles XI of Sweden and Ulrike Eleonore of Denmark. She was heir presumptive to the Swedish throne until her death and the ...
(1681–1708).
In 1710 Horn succeeded
Nils Gyldenstolpe as President of the
Privy Council Chancellery. Transferred to the central point of the administration, he had ample opportunity of regarding with other eyes the situation of the kingdom, and in consequence of his remonstrances he fell rapidly in the favour of Charles XII. Both in 1710 and 1713 Horn was in favour of summoning the
Estates, but when in 1714 the diet adopted an anti-monarchical attitude, he gravely warned and ultimately dissolved it. In Charles XII's later years Horn had little to do with the administration. After the death of Charles XII, in 1718 it was Horn who persuaded Princess
Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden
Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor (23 January 1688 – 24 November 1741), known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen of Sweden, reigning in her own right from 5 December 1718 until her abdication on 29 February 1720 in favour of her husband ...
(1688–1741) to be elected Queen of Sweden after she had agreed to renounce the powers of
absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism (European history), Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute pow ...
established by her father, King Charles XI. However, he later protested against the queen's autocratic behaviour and resigned from the Privy Council.
President of the Privy Council
Horn was elected
lantmarskalk
Lantmarskalk, ( en, Lord Marshal) was the title of one of the speakers of the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates, from 1627 to 1866 and of the Diet of Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906. The Lantmarskalk was appointed by the Estate of the Nob ...
, for the
Caps Party (''Mössorna'') at the
Riksdag of 1720, and contributed, on the resignation of Ulrika Eleonora, to the election of
Frederick of Hesse as king of Sweden, whose first act was to restore to him to the Privy Council and as President of its Chancellery, in effect as
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
. For the next eighteen years he so absolutely controlled both the foreign and the domestic affairs of Sweden that the period between 1720 and 1738 has well been called the Horn period.
Horn's strong hand kept the inevitable strife of the parliamentary factions within due limits, and it was entirely owing to his provident care that Sweden so rapidly recovered from the wretched condition in which the wars of Charles XII had plunged her. In his foreign policy Horn was extremely wary and cautious, yet without compromising either the independence or the self-respect of his country. He was, however, the promoter of a new principle of administration which in later days proved very dangerous to Sweden under ministers less capable than he was.
This was to increase the influence of the
Riksdag of the Estates
Riksdag of the Estates ( sv, Riksens ständer; informally sv, Ståndsriksdagen) 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 t ...
and its secret committees in the solution of purely diplomatic questions, which should have been left entirely to the executive, thus weakening the central government and at the same time facilitating the interference of foreign Powers in Sweden's domestic affairs. Not till 1731 was there any appearance of opposition to Horn's "system"; but Horn, piqued by the growing coolness of the king, the same year offered his resignation, which was not accepted.
In 1734, however, the opposition denounced his neutrality on the occasion of the
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of thei ...
, when
Stanislaus I of Poland Stanislav and variants may refer to:
People
*Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.)
Places
* Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine
* Stanislaus County, Cali ...
again appeared upon the scene as a candidate for the Polish throne; but Horn still was able to prevent a rupture with
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. Henceforth he was accused of want of patriotism, and in 1738 was compelled at last to retire before the triumphant young
Hats Party (''Hattarna'').
For the remainder of his life, Horn lived in retirement at his estate at
Ekebyholm Manor (''Ekebyholms slott'') at
Norrtälje
Norrtälje is a locality and the seat of Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 17,275 inhabitants in 2010. It is one of the largest towns in Roslagen.
History
Norrtälje’s early history dates back to the Iron Age. Around 225 ...
.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horn, Arvid
1664 births
1742 deaths
People from Salo, Finland
Swedish generals
Lord Marshals of the Riksdag of the Estates
Members of the Privy Council of Sweden
Swedish counts
Swedish military personnel of the Nine Years' War
Swedish military personnel of the Great Northern War
18th-century Swedish politicians
Governors of Västerbotten County
Age of Liberty people
Caroleans
Swedish-speaking Finns