Count Mathias Rosenblad (23 June 1758 – 4 September 1847) was a Swedish count, a

Lord of the Realm ''En af rikets herrar'' (in Swedish) or Lord of the Realm was an honorary title introduced by King Gustaf III of Sweden shortly after his bloodless coup d'état in 1772, and after the new constitution was passed by the Riksdag of the Estates. It ...

, civil servant, politician, and minister of justice from 1829 to 1840.

Biography

Mathias Rosenblad was the son of physician Eberhard Rosenblad and Eleonora von Hermansson. He studied at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Chancellor of Justice The Chancellor of Justice is a government official found in some northern European countries, broadly responsible for supervising the lawfulness of government actions. History In 1713, the Swedish King Charles XII, preoccupied with fighting the ...

, and then secretary to the Auditor General. In 1794 Rosenblad was appointed Secretary of State in the Civil Division, and gained increasing influence in the Chancellery. He was a member of several state committees, was entrusted by the King with positions of trust, and participated in the Riksdag, where he was a member of the secret committee (). For his merits he was elevated to the rank of Lord of the Realm, to the rank of baron (''

friherre (; 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 to that of count (1815). After the state reform of 1809, which resulted in the

1809 Instrument of Government The 1809 Instrument of Government ( sv, 1809 års regeringsform), adopted on 6 June 1809 by the Riksdag of the Estates and King Charles XIII, was the constitution of the Kingdom of Sweden from 1809 to the end of 1974. It came about as a result ...

, he was appointed to the Council of State on 9 June and played a prominent role both in the implementation of the state organisation and later in the union negotiations with Norway in 1814. He was a close associate of

Gustav IV Adolf Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland. The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...

, but when the latter was deposed Rosenblad does not seem to have come to his defence. Liberals, however, considered Rosenblad the embodiment of the blindly obedient yes-men among the royalists. On 31 August 1829 Rosenblad was appointed Minister of Justice, and remained in that position until 6 February 1840. His bureaucratic and conservative style was disapproved of by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, and in 1834 he was impeached, but acquitted. He resigned in 1840 on the advice of the king, and was then eighty-two years old. Rosenblad was a Knight in the

Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the P ...

. In 1797, he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He was persuaded by to become the president of the Evangelical Society of Stockholm, continuing its work after Brunnmark died shortly thereafter. Rosenblad was a member of the Swedish Bible Society () and the Swedish Missionary Society (), and on 21 May 1805 he became an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. From 1804–1806 he was president of the

Pro Fide et Christianismo (full name , ) is a Christian association within the Church of Sweden. The organization was an "informal or semi-official national school board" prior to the founding of Sweden's public education system and made a significant impact on Sweden's ...

society. He was a supporter of Scottish Methodist missionary George Scott while Scott was living and preaching in Stockholm. He married Charlotta Maria Toutin in 1790, but they had no children.

References

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Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenblad, Mathias 1758 births 1847 deaths People from Ekerö Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Knights of the Order of Charles XIII