Per Abraham Örnsköld (18 November 1720 – 16 April 1791) 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 ...

nobleman, with the title of friherre, whose notability in his country's history stems from his dedication to the able management of Sweden's regional subdivisions which he administered in his capacity as governor. In 1762, the year of his forty-second birthday, he was appointed county governor of the vast Västernorrland County, which at that time consisted of the Medelpad, Ångermanland and

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 ...

provinces. Örnsköld realized the possibilities of the area and often travelled through it, by foot or using a carriage. He put to good advantage his knowledge about agriculture and city planning to found new settlements, thus relieving the old, overcrowded ones and, with the main goal of improving agriculture, provided aid for the farmers in trenching dikes, a procedure which they had previously found difficult to utilize. Among his other innovations was the introduction of new plants, including potato and

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

, which quickly became popular; organizing the removal of stones from fields; commissioning maps of various parts of the region; opening pharmacies and myriad other improvements designed to help the inhabitants. During the 1769 session of 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 ...

, opponents attacked his self-decided reforms, claiming he made them to glorify himself. They also made accusations that he enriched himself through

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

. Although Örnsköld instituted several drastic reforms, some of which were arbitrary, his accusers were known to have acted with political motives as well as envy. Ultimately, Örnsköld was not punished, but rather transferred to govern

Nyköping County Nyköping County, or ''Nyköpings län'', was a county of the Swedish Empire from 1634 to 1683. It was one of three counties in the province of Södermanland, and in 1683 they were merged into Södermanland County. See also * List of governo ...

, a part of the larger Södermanland County, where he continued his pattern of vigorously instituting reforms. In 1771 he was again accused of unlawful actions, but historical records do not indicate that he suffered any adverse consequences. Per Abraham Örnsköld died in Nyköping at the age of 70. His previous county of administration, Västernorrland, has kept his memory and honoured it with various publications. The town of Örnsköldsvik, founded in 1842, fifty-one years after his death, was named after him.

References

*
"Örnsköld, Per Abraham" biographical entry at the
''

Nordisk Familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a 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. Despite their consi ...

'' encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Ornskold, Per Abraham County governors of Sweden Swedish nobility 1720 births 1791 deaths Place of birth missing Age of Liberty people