Baron
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
Louis Gerard
De Geer af
Finspång
Finspång () is a locality and the seat of Finspång Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 12,440 inhabitants in 2010.
Overview
Finspång is a traditional industrial town. The first industries were established in 1580 when a Royal fact ...
(18 July 181824 September 1896) 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 ...
statesman and writer. He was born at
Finspång Castle
Finspång Castle is situated in Finspång, the province of Östergötland, Sweden. Work on the castle was begun in 1666, by Louis De Geer (1587–1652). It is designed in the Architecture of the Netherlands Neo-Classical Architecture, Classicist s ...
in Risinge parish. He was a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
, and in 1855 became president of the
Göta hovrätt, or lord justice for the
appellate court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
of
Götaland
Götaland (; also '' Geatland'', '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, wit ...
. From 7 April 1858 to 3 June 1870 he was
Prime Minister for Justice
The Minister for Justice ( sv, justitieminister) is the justice minister of Sweden and head of the Ministry of Justice. The current Minister for Justice is Gunnar Strömmer of the Moderate Party.
History
The office was instituted in 1809 as a r ...
and again from 11 May 1875 to 20 March 1876. As a member of the
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
, he took part in the Swedish
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 ...
from 1851 onwards. From 1867 to 1878 he was the member for
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 ...
in the first chamber in the
New Riksdag, where he introduced and passed many useful reforms.
Architect of the New Riksdag
De Geer's greatest political achievement was the reform of the Swedish representative system. The reforms introduced a bi-cameral elected
Riksdag
The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
replacing the existing cumbersome and less democratic Riksdag of the Estates, a hangover from the later
Medieval Times
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire an ...
. This measure was accepted by the
Riksdag
The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
in December 1865, and received the royal sanction on 22 June 1866. For some time after this De Geer enjoyed considerable popularity. He retired from the ministry in 1870, but took office again, as
Prime Minister of Justice
The Minister for Justice ( sv, justitieminister) is the justice minister of Sweden and head of the Ministry of Justice. The current Minister for Justice is Gunnar Strömmer of the Moderate Party.
History
The office was instituted in 1809 as a r ...
in 1875.
First Prime Minister
In 1876 De Geer became the first
Prime Minister of Sweden
The prime minister ( sv, statsminister ; literally translating to "Minister of State") is the head of government of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subj ...
following a reform where the previous offices of Prime Minister for Justice (which he held at the time) and
Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs
The Minister for Foreign Affairs ( sv, utrikesminister) is the foreign minister of Sweden and the head of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Tobias Billström of the Moderate Party.
History
The offic ...
were changed into
Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
and a
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
. He served until April 1880, when the failure of his repeated efforts to settle the
armaments
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
issue again induced him to resign. From 1881 to 1888 he was
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
for the Universities of
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 ...
and
Lund
Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...
. He was an advocate of
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
and
economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
. Some argue that it was De Geer who laid the foundations for the strong economic growth in Sweden from 1870 to 1970.
Literary works
Besides several novels and aesthetic essays, De Geer wrote a few political memoirs of supreme merit both as to style and matter, the most notable of which are ''Minnesteckning öfver A. J. v. Höpken'' (Stockholm, 1881); ''Minnesteckning öfver
Hans Järta
Hans Järta (originally Hans Hierta) (11 February 1774 – 6 April 1847) was a Swedish administrator, revolutionary and philosopher. He helped overthrow Gustavus IV Adolphus in the Coup of 1809 and was one of the main drafters of the 1809 cons ...
'' (Stockholm, 1874); ''Minnesteckning öfver B. B. von Platen'' (Stockholm, 1886); and his own ''Minnen'' (Stockholm, 1892), an autobiography, invaluable as a historical document, in which the political experience and the matured judgments of a lifetime are recorded with singular clearness, sobriety and charm. For example, his explanation of why he, at such a young age, was appointed Prime Minister of Justice, was that in the narrow circles of Swedish nobility at the time, it was difficult to find anyone with at least the mediocre intelligence which was needed for the office.
Membership in academies
De Geer was a member in the
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...
from 1862, on Seat 17. In 1862, he was also elected a member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...
.
Personal life
In 1848, De Geer married the
countess
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...
Carolina Lovisa Wachtmeister. They had three sons, of which the eldest,
Gerhard Louis De Geer
Baron Gerhard Louis De Geer of Finspång (usually known as Louis De Geer; 27 November 185425 February 1935) was a Swedish politician, who served in the first chamber of the ''Riksdag'' 1901–14, was governor of Kristianstad County 1905–23, an ...
(1854–1935), was prime minister of Sweden from 1920 to 21 and the second was
Gerard De Geer
Baron Gerard Jacob De Geer (20 November 1858 – 24 July 1943) was a Swedish geologist who made significant contributions to Quaternary geology, particularly geomorphology and geochronology. De Geer is best known for his work on varves. In 1890 D ...
(1858–1943), a geologist.
De Geer died on 24 September 1896 at his residence
Hanaskog Castle in
Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
.
He is buried in the cemetery of
Kviinge Church.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Geer, Louis Gerhard
1818 births
1896 deaths
People from Finspång Municipality
Members of the Första kammaren
Members of the Swedish Academy
Prime Ministers of Sweden
Swedish Ministers for Justice
Swedish nobility
Uppsala University alumni
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
19th-century Swedish politicians
Swedish people of Belgian descent
Louis Gerhard
Members of the Riksdag of the Estates