Johan Didrik af Wingård (

né The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Wingård; 14 November 1778 - 21 February 1854) was a Swedish statesman, military official and illustrator who served as the first Swedish

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 1840 to 1842 and Chief of the Artillery Staff from 1813 to 1814.

Early life

Johan af Wingård was born 14 November 1778 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, a late son of the statesman

Johan Wingård Johan Wingård (19 April 1738 – 12 January 1818) was a Swedish people, Swedish Lutheran bishop of the Diocese of Gothenburg of the Church of Sweden, as well as first holder of List of members of the Swedish Academy#Seat 6, chair no. 6 of the ...

and noblewomen Fredrika af Darelli. His older brother, Archbishop Carl Fredrik af Wingård, was also a Lord of the Realm. In 1793, he enrolled as a student of

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

, studying state affairs, military affairs and theology.

Military service

In 1793, he enlisted in the Army of Sweden and became, sergeant at Stedingkska Regiment, a non-commissioned officer. On 13 May 1793, he was he was appointed as a commissioned officer as Fänrik. In 1801, he was became a second lieutenant at the Göta Artillery Regiment and later that year, on 26 October 1801, was promoted to staff lieutenant. On 22 September 1802, Wingård was again promoted to Captain of the Army. On 20 February 1808, he enrolled at the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences () is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for military (army and air force) and de ...

as an artillery staff officer. On 10 July 1809, he was commissioned as

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the Army and adjutant general of the

Göta Artillery Regiment The Göta Artillery Regiment (), designation A 2, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment that traced its origins back to the 17th century. It was disbanded in 1962. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from Götaland, and it was also g ...

. In 1813, lieutenant colonel and chief of the artillery staff. On 13 May 1814, he received the title of Knight of the Royal Order of the Sword (RSO).

Governorship

On 3 May 1814, Wingård was appointed as acting governor of Värmland and chairman of the Regional Agricultural Society. On 7 March 1815, he was officially appointed Governor of Värmland. He served as governor, for 25 consecutive years, from 1815 to 1840. In 1824, Wingård was elected honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Science The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting natural sciences and mathem ...

(HedLKrVA). On 31 August 1829, received the title of knight of the

Order of the North Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

(KNO)

Ministerial career

In 1840, Johan af Wingård was, against his wishes, nominated as minister of finance by brother

Carl Fredrik af Wingård Carl Fredrik af Wingård (born 26 September 1781 in Stockholm, died 19 September 1851) was a Sweden, Swedish Lutheran archbishop of the Church of Sweden, Professor at Uppsala University, and politician. He served as Archbishop of Uppsala 1839&nda ...

. In 1842, he was demoted to consultative state council (minister without portfolio) and was dismissed from office in on 18 December 1843. On 14 October 1844, he was promoted to Commander of the

(kmstkNO) and received the Commander Cross of the Royal Order of Charles XIII (RCXIII:sO) on 28 January 1848. He published his memoirs in 12 volumes from 1846 to 1850. This memoir collection is considered in the Svensk Uppslagsbok from 1940 to be very entertaining, though not particularly credible. He was ennobled in 1799 for his father's merits with the name “af Wingård.” In addition to his duties, he was active as a painter and illustrator, and, according to Fredrik Boije, was a great art enthusiast and skilled draftsman. Wingård is represented at

Uppsala University Library The Uppsala University Library () at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, consists of 11 subject libraries, one of which is housed in the old main library building, Carolina Rediviva. The library holds books and periodicals, manuscripts, music ...

with a red chalk drawing of a study head of a bearded man.

Literature

Wingård published several works, including Militäriska paradoxer (Military Paradoxes, 1809), Uppsats om artilleriundervisningen (Essay on Artillery Education, 1816), Håkan Westgöthe, Läsning för menige man (Håkan Westgöthe, Reading for Commoners, 1828), Minnen af Händelser och Förhållanden under en lång lifstid (Memoirs of Events and Circumstances During a Long Lifetime, 1846–1850), and En Pietists resa till sin Graf, Allegorisk imitation (A Pietist's Journey to His Grave, Allegorical Imitation, 1851).

Later life

On 21 February 1854, he died childless in Stockholm, thereby ending both his own family and the entire noble lineage on the male side. He was buried at the Tölö Churchyard.

Private life

He owned the estate of Edsgatan in the rural parish of

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 67,122 inhabitants in 2020 with 97,233 inhabitan ...

. He was married on August 18, 1810, at Partille in the parish of the same name in Göteborg and Bohus County to Fredrika Björnberg, from whom he was later divorced. She was born on January 21, 1793, and died on April 5, 1859, in Stockholm. She was the daughter of Niklas Björnberg, a merchant in Gothenburg and a councillor of commerce, and Anna Maria Jönsson.

Sources

Prints

*''

Nordisk familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...

archived by

Project Runeberg Project Runeberg () is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries. Patterned after Project Gutenberg, it was founded by Lars Aronsson and ...

at Runeberg.org: see. Johan Didrik af Wingård'' *

Svensk uppslagsbok ''Svensk uppslagsbok'' is a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1929 and 1955, in two editions. First edition The first edition was started in 1929 by ''Baltiska förlaget AB'', but publishing was taken over by ''Svensk uppslagsbok AB'' in 1 ...

, band 29: Utvångstorp - Väggmossa, 1940
Adelsvapen
*''

Svenskt konstnärslexikon The ''Svenskt konstnärslexikon'' is a dictionary of Swedish art and artists that was published in five volumes by Allhems Förlag AB from 1952 to 1967.Allhems Förlag, Malmö.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johan Didrik af Wingard 1778 births 1854 deaths 19th-century Swedish nobility People from Stockholm