Henrik Klasson Fleming (15 August 1584 – 7 November 1650) was a member of the Swedish nobility and

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

lord marshal Lord Marshal may refer to one of the following *Lord Marshal of England *Earl Marischal * Lord Marshal (Sweden) (Swedish: ''Lantmarskalk'') was in Sweden before 1866 the presiding officer for the nobles in the Riksdag of the Estates ** That title ...

. He was the author of one of the first autobiographies in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, a colourful depiction of his early life which he wrote for his children in a moralising purpose.

Biography

Fleming was born at Åkerholm in Inkoo,

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; sv, Nyland, ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, He ...

coast,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. He was raised at Yläne and

Pöytyä Pöytyä (; sv, Pöytyä, also ) is a municipality of Finland 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 unilingua ...

in southwest Finland. He was a student in

Rostock University The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

(1602). He was part of the king's command in active military service, having participated as a captain under King

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...

in war campaigns against Denmark and Russia. In 1617 he was a Swedish delegate took part in the conclusion of the

Treaty of Stolbovo The Treaty of Stolbovo () was a peace treaty that ended the Ingrian War (), which had been fought between the Swedish Empire and the Russian Tsardom between 1610 and 1617. History After nearly two months of negotiations, representatives from Swe ...

which ended the

Ingrian War The Ingrian War ( sv, Ingermanländska kriget) between the Swedish Empire and the Tsardom of Russia lasted between 1610 and 1617. It can be seen as part of Russia's Time of Troubles and is mainly remembered for the attempt to put a Swedish duke ...

. The same year he became governor of the Province of Viipuri and Olavinlinna and colonel of the cavalry at

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

the following year. In 1620 he was appointed governor of

Ingria Ingria is a historical region in what is now northwestern European Russia. It lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian Isthmus in the north and by the River Narva on the border with Est ...

, colonel of the Finnish cavalry in 1622 and vice admiral in 1628. Along with

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

members Philip von Scheiding (1578-1646) and Erik Karlsson Gyllenstierna (1602-1657) he traveled in March 1634 as

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an automobile brand used to sell Bri ...

to the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

. He was sharply criticized by the government, as he demanded payment to undertake this assignment. As lord marshal, he led the nobility party during 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 ...

deliberations in 1643 and 1644. As a military officer, one of his major successes was when he led the Swedish forces that conquered

Jämtland Jämtland (; no, Jemtland or , ; Jamtish: ''Jamtlann''; la, Iemptia) is a historical province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the north a ...

in 1644. In his youth he was left without any support from his father who had become a very rich man. He was for a few years struggling with poverty. Later, he supplied goods to the army through trade and leasing, so that by his death he had accumulated a fortune, both in wars and partly on business speculation, of which he used a large portion to benefit his people. He died on 7 November 1650 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. In 1641, Henrik Fleming had financed the construction of Virmo Church (''Mietoisten kirkko'') in

Mynämäki Mynämäki (; sv, Virmo) is a municipality of Finland located in the Southwest Finland region. Neighbouring municipalities are Aura, Eura, Laitila, Masku, Nousiainen, Pöytyä, Rusko, Taivassalo, Turku and Vehmaa. The municipality has a popul ...

, Finland. The Fleming family sandstone tomb from the year 1632 is located here.

Personal life

He was son of Governor Klas Hermansson Fleming and Elisabet Henriksdotter Horn as well as the grandson of

Henrik Klasson Horn Henrikki Laavunpoika of Kankainen, or Henrik Klasson Horn (c. 1512–1595), was a Swedish military officer and Governor-General of Finland. He was an ancestor of the noble Swedish family, Horn af Kanckas. Biography He was the son of Kl ...

(c.1512 – 1595). He married his sister-in-law Ebba Erlandsdotter Bååt (1588 – 1630) on 13 March 1608. He was the father of Johan Henriksson Fleming (24 June 1609 – 29 April 1646).

References

;Attribution *''This article is based on the translation of the corresponding article of the Swedish Wikipedia. A list of contributors can be found there in the'
History
''section.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Henrik 1584 births 1650 deaths People from Ingå Swedish Navy vice admirals Swedish diplomats Swedish nobility 17th-century Swedish military personnel 17th-century Finnish people Members of the Riksdag of the Estates People of the Swedish Empire

Biography

Personal life

See also

References