Axel Von Fersen, Senior
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Count Fredrik Axel von Fersen (5 April 171924 April 1794) was a Swedish statesman and soldier of
Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...
descent. He served as Lord Marshal 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 ...
, and although he worked closely with King
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 King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he saw ...
before and through the Revolution of 1772, he later opposed the king.


Biography

A son of Lieutenant-General Hans Reinhold von Fersen and his wife Countess Eleonora Margareta
Wachtmeister (Wm; German for 'master-sentinel' or 'watch-master') is a military rank of non-commissioned officers (NCO) in Austria and Switzerland. It is also used in civil authorities in German-speaking countries (police, judiciary, customs service, bord ...
(1684–1748), he entered the Swedish Life Guards in 1740, and from 1743 to 1748 was in the French service in the Royal-Suedois, where he rose to the rank of brigadier. His brother was Count Carl von Fersen (1716-1786). In the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
Fersen distinguished himself during the operations round
Usedom Usedom ( , ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It lies north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the ...
and Wollin in 1759, when he inflicted serious loss on the
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
ns. But it is as a politician that he is best known. A member of the Hat party, at 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 ...
of 1755–1756, he was elected Lord Marshal and served three non-consecutive terms in that post before the Revolution of 1772. In 1756 he defeated the projects of the court for increasing the royal power; but, after the disasters of the Seven Years' War, returned to court. On the accession of the
Caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
to power in 1766, Fersen refused to employ the Guards to keep order in the capital when King
Adolf Frederick of Sweden Adolf (or Adolph) Frederick (; ; 14 May 171012 February 1771) was List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1751 until his death in 1771. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina Frederica of B ...
, driven to desperation by the demands of the Caps, abdicated, and a seven days’ interregnum ensued. At the ensuing Riksdag of 1769, when the Hats returned to power, Fersen was again elected marshal of the diet, but he made no attempt to redeem his pre-election pledges to Crown Prince Gustavus (later Gustav III) that he would carry out a very necessary reform of the constitution, and thus involuntarily contributed to the subsequent establishment of absolutism. When Gustav ascended the throne in 1772, and attempted to reconcile the two factions by a composition which aimed at dividing all political power between them, Fersen said he despaired of quickly bringing the people back to the path of virtue and patriotism, after more than half a century of licence and corruption. Nevertheless, he consented to open negotiations with the Caps, and was the principal Hat representative on the abortive composition committee. During the revolution of August 1772, Fersen remained a passive spectator of the overthrow of the constitution, and was one of the first whom Gustavus summoned to his side after his triumph. He obstructed the measures of Gustav III, whom he is said to have treated with colossal insolence, for several years. There was a slight collision between them as early as the diet of 1778, but at the diet of 1786, Fersen led the opposition against the king's financial measures, which were consequently rejected. He and twenty of his friends were arrested in 1789, leading to the collapse of the opposition; however, he was quickly released and thereafter remained aloof from politics. His book ''Historiska Skrifter'' is mainly autobiographical, but its historical accounts are often biased. He was one of the richest men in the realm. He was the lord of four grand houses in Sweden: Löfstad nherited through his wife Steninge, Ljung and Mälsåker. He also owned mines, land, forests and iron foundries in Sweden and Finland, and a large share of Sweden's East India Company, the country's most profitable undertaking ever. Fersen was the father of Axel von Fersen the Younger and Sophie von Fersen, two of his four children with his wife Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie. His other two children were Fabian Reinhold von Fersen and Hedvig Eleonora von Fersen.


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fersen, Axel Von, Elder 1719 births 1794 deaths Age of Liberty people Gustavian era people Field marshals of Sweden Lord marshals of the Riksdag of the Estates Members of the Swedish Academy Politicians from Stockholm 18th-century Swedish nobility Swedish people of German descent 18th-century diplomats 18th-century Swedish politicians 18th-century Swedish military personnel Axel Von, Elder