Henrik Jakob von Düben (; May 1733 – March 25, 1805) was a

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 ...

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 ...

, Master of Ceremonies and Hofmarschall. Notably, he served as an envoy to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1767, during which time he headed the Embassy of Sweden 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 ...

until 1769 and also held the role of Minister Plenipotentiary in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Early life

Born in Stockholm, Sweden, into the

Düben family The Düben family () is a Swedish family originally from Saxony, Holy Roman Empire, whose members were elevated to the Swedish nobility, that rose to prominence with Andreas Düben (–1662), an organist to the German Church in Stockholm, Swe ...

renowned for its contributions to classical music, he held the title of ''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

'', and was a half-brother of Joachim von Düben the Younger, the President of the Privy Council of Sweden. Henrik Jakob von Düben was baptised on May 31, 1733, and entered the world as the son of the composer Anders von Düben the Younger and Christina Sparwenfeld, whose dad was linguist

Johan Gabriel Sparwenfeld Johan Gabriel Sparwenfeld ( lat, links=no, Ioannes Gabriel Sparvenfeldius; (17 July, 1655 – 2 June, 1727) was a 17th-century Swedish diplomat, linguist, polyglot and diarist. Biography Johan Gabriel Sparwenfeld was born to Johan Sparwenfeld (1 ...

. Besides Swedish, he had Dutch and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

ancestry.

Diplomatic career

Düben, who was a student in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

in 1746 and later associated with the court, served as an envoy to Poland in 1767 and was recalled in 1772. He was the head of the Embassy of Sweden in Warsaw from 1767 to 1769. During his time in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, he held the position of Minister Plenipotentiary.

Court career

In the 1750s, Düben arrived at the court of

Adolf Frederick Adolf Frederick, or Adolph Frederick ( sv, Adolf Fredrik, german: Adolf Friedrich; 14 May 171012 February 1771) was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina ...

and Lovisa Ulrika, initially serving as the Master of Ceremonies.

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 ...

appointed him as the Master of Ceremonies of the Court in 1779, a role he, however, relinquished in October 1781.

Other efforts

Düben was elected as an auditor by the Riksdag of the Estates in the Swedish National Debt Office, including war financing.

Family

Düben married Julie af Petersens (1765–1791) in 1781, she was a daughter of

Herman Petersen Herman Petersen (13 December 171313 August 1765) was a Swedish merchant. Biography Herman Petersen was born on 13 December 1713 to Abraham Petersen, a wholesaler in Gothenburg and his wife Christina Tham. He was elected to serve as director ...

and Charlotta Bedoire. They had four children, including Anders Gustaf von Düben, who received an

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

sentence. In 1795, Düben married Gustafva Charlotta von Düben, his cousin's son's daughter. They had one child, Joacim Ulric von Düben. Düben maintained a close connection with Élisabeth Soligny, a French ballet dancer, leading to an

extramarital affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...

and the birth of an

illegitimate child Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

Appointments

Order_of_the_Polar_Star_-_Ribbon_bar,_pre_1975

Recipient of the Order of the Polar Star. * RUS_Order_św

Chorągiew_królewska_króla_Zygmunta_III_Wazy

Recipient of the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

. *

Recipient of the Order of the White Eagle .

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duben, Henrik Jakob 1733 births 1805 deaths Swedish diplomats Age of Liberty people 18th-century Swedish businesspeople Swedish people of German descent Swedish people of Dutch descent Swedish people of Belgian descent Uppsala University alumni Businesspeople from Stockholm Swedish expatriates in Poland Barons of Sweden Ambassadors of Sweden to Poland Henrik Jakob