Johan Jakob Albert Ehrensvärd (9 May 1867 – 6 March 1940) was a Swedish diplomat. He was Sweden's envoy to Washington D.C between 1910 and 1911. He became Sweden's Foreign Minister in Liberal leader and Prime Minister

Karl Staaff Karl Albert Staaff (21 January 1860 – 4 October 1915) was a Swedish liberal politician and lawyer who served as the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1905 to 1906 and again from 1911 to 1914. He was chairman of the Liberal Coalition Party from ...

's Second Cabinet. As Foreign Minister of Sweden he instituted reforms in the Swedish Foreign Service and worked to ease tensed relations with Czarist Russia.

Early life and education

Ehrensvärd was born on 9 May 1867 in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden. His father was the politician and civil servant Count (1821–1901), who served as

minister for foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

from 1885 to 1889. His mother, Ingeborg Hedvig Vogt (1825–1904), was the daughter of Norwegian government minister

Jørgen Herman Vogt Jørgen Herman Vogt (21 July 1784 – 12 January 1862) was a Norwegian politician who served as First Minister of Norway from 1856 to 1858, during the personal union between Sweden and Norway. The first minister was subordinated to the gover ...

and Countess Hedvig Lovisa Frölich, and she served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Josephine. He had four siblings: Admiral Carl August Ehrensvärd (1867–1940), Henriette Eleonore Ingeborg Ehrensvärd (born 1853), Anna Louise Dorotée (born 1855), and Augustine Sofia Amalia (1862–1944). His paternal grandfather was Colonel of the Scanian Dragoon Regiment, and his great-grandfather was Count Carl August Ehrensvärd, a naval officer, art theorist, artist, and architect. Ehrensvärd completed his school-leaving examination on 27 May 1884 and enrolled at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

the same year. He earned a Bachelor of Philosophy degree on 31 May 1887, a Candidate of Law degree on 31 January 1891, and a Licentiate of Law degree in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

on 24 May 1895. On 31 May 1895, he was awarded a Doctor of Law degree.

Career

Ehrensvärd was appointed extraordinary notary at the

Svea Court of Appeal Svea Court of Appeal (), located in Stockholm, is one of six appellate courts in the Swedish legal system, as well as the oldest Swedish court currently in use (the Supreme Court being constituted only in 1789, over 150 years later). It is loca ...

in February 1891 and became vice district judge (''vice häradshövding'') on 31 May 1894. That same year, he joined the Ministry for Civil Service Affairs as an amanuensis. On 31 January 1896, he was appointed attaché. He then became acting extra legal clerk (''fiskal'') at the Svea Court of Appeal on 2 October 1898 and was promoted to assessor on 30 October 1903. On 15 September 1905, he was named director general for administrative affairs at the Ministry for Civil Service Affairs. The following year, on 16 February 1906, he was appointed state secretary for foreign affairs at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. His diplomatic career continued with his appointment as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the Belgian and Dutch courts on 17 June 1908, and later to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on 8 October 1910. On 7 October 1911, Ehrensvärd was named

. He resigned from the position on 17 February 1914 and was placed on standby as a minister on 21 February 1914. His diplomatic service resumed when he was appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the

Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...

on 12 August 1915, and later to the

French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 11 June 1918. On 15 March 1919, he represented Sweden in the negotiations for the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. That same year, he served as a delegate for the

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

and Spitsbergen questions at the

Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...

. In 1920, he was a delegate for the

Åland Islands dispute The Åland Islands dispute () was a political conflict between Sweden and Finland over the Åland Islands after World War I. Most Ålanders wanted to reunite with Sweden, but in 1921 the League of Nations decided that the islands would stay unde ...

the Council of the League of Nations. Ehrensvärd was chairman of the French committee of the Cartesius Foundation in 1931. He left the minister position in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and retired in 1934.

Personal life

On 11 April 1917, in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark, Ehrensvärd married Marna Edit Christina Münter (1 November 1869 in Copenhagen – 17 September 1935 in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

). She was the daughter of the Danish chamberlain and lieutenant commander Alexander Balthasar Herman Jacob Münter and Johanne Elisabeth Johnson.

Death

Ehrensvärd died on 6 March 1940 in in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

, Sweden. He was interred on 10 March 1940 at the Ehrensvärd family grave at in ,

Tomelilla Municipality Tomelilla Municipality () is a municipality in Skåne County in southern Sweden. Its seat is located in the town Tomelilla. The municipality was formed through a series of amalgamations taking place in 1952, 1969 and 1971. The number of pre-1952 ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

* Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Polar 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 ...

(6 June 1912) * Commander 1st Class of the

(6 June 1909) * Commander of the

(16 June 1908) * Knight of the

(1 December 1905) * King Gustaf V's Olympic Commemorative Medal (1912) * ''Letterstedtska priset'' (1923)

Foreign

Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

(1913) *

Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

with diamond (18 November 1912) * Order of the Dannebrog S

Grand Cross of the

(2 January 1911) * BEL - Order of Leopold - Grand Cordon bar

Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (1910) * Order of Saint Sava - Ribbon bar

Grand Cross of the Order of St. Sava (1908) * ESP Isabella Catholic Order GC

Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

(1907) *

Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(1909) *

1st Class of the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie (, August 29, 1852 – 1922) was a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the order was awarded in five classes, with the Firs ...

(June 1906) * Knight 1st Class of the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

(1908) *

Russian Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky ribbon bar

Knight of the

Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

(1912) * 2nd Class of the

Order of the Double Dragon The Imperial Order of the Double Dragon () was an Order (decoration), order awarded in the late Qing dynasty. The Order was founded by the Guangxu Emperor on 7 February 1882 as an award for outstanding services to the throne and the Qing court. ...

(1908) * French Academy Medal

Honorary degrees

*Honorary Doctor of Philosophy,

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 ...

(16 September 1927) *Honorary Doctor of Philosophy,

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

(1934) *Honorary Doctor of Philosophy,

University of Poitiers The University of Poitiers (UP; , ) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest student/inhabitant ratio in France ...

(1934)

References

External links

Article
at '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' 1867 births 1940 deaths Ministers for foreign affairs of Sweden Ambassadors of Sweden to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Sweden to Belgium Ambassadors of Sweden to the United States Ambassadors of Sweden to Switzerland Ambassadors of Sweden to France Diplomats from Gothenburg Lund University alumni Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star {{Authority control