Count Axel Charles Emil Lewenhaupt (27 May 1917 – 20 November 2018) was a Swedish diplomat and Grand Master of Ceremonies at the

Royal Court of Sweden The Royal Court of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga Hovstaterna) is the official name for the organisation ( royal households) that supports the monarch, and the royal house. The incumbent monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf, is head of the Royal Court. The Royal ...

Career

Lewenhaupt was born in

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

, Sweden, the son of Colonel, Count Gustaf Lewenhaupt and his wife Baroness Elisabeth Ramel. He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and r ...

'' in 1936 and his reserve officer exam in 1938 and received a

Candidate of Law Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. ...

degree from

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

in 1942 before becoming an attaché at the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

in 1943. Lewenhaupt served as an attaché in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1943. The Swedish legation's duties during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in Rome included taking special measures to protect Swedish interests and Swedish nationals (including Elizabeth Hesselblad) who was still in Rome. The focus was to protect the Swedish Institute and the convent church Santa Brigida. After Rome, Lewenhaupt was attaché in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in 1944 and in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

from 1945 to 1947. He was second secretary at the Foreign Ministry from 1948 to 1952 and first legation secretary in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

from 1952 to 1956. Lewenhaupt was first secretary at the Foreign Ministry from 1956 to 1958 and director at the Foreign Ministry from 1958 to 1960. He was embassy counsellor in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1960 to 1962 and ambassador in Leopoldville from 1962 to 1963. Lewenhaupt was acting head of the political department at the Foreign Ministry from 1964 to 1965 and its administrative department from 1965 to 1967. He was ambassador in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, Rangoon,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

from 1967 to 1970 and ambassador in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

and Katmandu from 1970 to 1975. Lewenhaupt was then ambassador in Belgrade and

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

from 1975 to 1978 and served at the Foreign Ministry from 1978 to 1979. He was ambassador in Rome and

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

from 1979 to 1983 and Grand Master of Ceremonies at the

from 1983 to 1988.

Other work

Lewenhaupt was also secretary of the Foreign Ministry's admissions commission (''UD:s antagningskommission'') in 1951 and representative at trade negotiations with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and other nations from 1952 to 1958. He became a member of the

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range ...

in 1956 and was the companion of the

Duke of Halland This lists those feudal magnates (counts, dukes, and other sort of princes) who have held Halland (''Hallandia'') as fief, or its southern or northern part, as a substantive title. Earl in Halland * Charles Eriksen, maternal grandson of Canute IV ...

at the officer's visit to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and Liberia in 1959. Lewenhaupt was representative at the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

in 1973 and permanent representative at the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

from 1979 to 1983.

Personal life

In 1944, Lewenhaupt married Elsa Rudberg (1918–1990), the daughter of first accountant Ivar Rudberg and Sonja Bergström. He was the father of Anne (1946–2018) and Eva (born 1948). In 1991 he married Countess Louise Ehrensvärd (1925–2014), the daughter of the General, Count

Carl August Ehrensvärd Count Carl August Ehrensvärd (5 May 1745 – 21 May 1800) was a Swedish naval officer, painter, author, and neo-classical architect. Ehrensvärd was born in Stockholm, and died in Örebro. Though active as a naval officer during his entire l ...

and Countess Gisela Bassewitz. He turned 100 in May 2017 and died in November 2018 at the age of 101.

Awards and decorations

Lewenhaupt's awards: *Commander of the

Order of Civil Merit The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...

*Knight of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

*Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy *Knight of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit ( hu, Magyar Érdemrend) is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the O ...

*Grand Officer of the

Order of the Star of Ethiopia The Order of the Star of Ethiopia was established as an order of knighthood of the Ethiopian Empire, founded by the Negus of Shoa and later Emperor of Ethiopia Menelik II in 1884–1885. It is currently awarded as a house order by the Crown Cou ...

*Commander of the Order of the Crown *Commander of the Order of Merit of the Austrian Republic *Swedish Red Cross badge of merit in silver (''Svenska Röda Korsets förtjänsttecken i silver'')

Bibliography

References