André Oscar Wallenberg
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André Oscar Wallenberg (19 November 1816 – 12 January 1886) was a Swedish
banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
,
industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
,
naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...
, newspaper tycoon,
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
and a patriarch of the
Wallenberg family The Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish family of bankers, industrialists, politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats, present in most large Swedish industrial groups, including EQT AB, Ericsson, Electrolux, ABB, SAS Group, SKF, Atlas Copco, ...
. In 1856 Wallenberg founded the Stockholms Enskilda Bank, the predecessor of today's
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (; lit. "Scandinavian Private Bank"), abbreviated SEB, is a Swedish bank headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. In Sweden and the Baltic countries, SEB has a full financial service offering. In Denmark, Finland, Nor ...
.


Early life

He was son of the bishop of Linköping, Marcus Wallenberg (1774–1833), and his wife Anna Laurentia Barfoth (1783–1862). During his stay in
Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and
) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...
, Marcus Wallenberg had become acquainted with and fell in love with Anna Laurentia Barfoth, the daughter of the medical professor Anders Eilert Barfoth and Ebba Bager, who belonged to a prominent Danish-Scanian family. He married her in 1804. In this marriage, three sons were born, whose baptismal names along with other attention and courtesy to the older generations of the family burst testimony to Marcus Wallenberg's classic interests and perhaps also hopes or predictions about the boys' most distinguished characteristics before or during the impending journey through life. The oldest of the brothers was called Marcus Hilarion (the happy one), the middle one Jacob Agathon (the good) and the youngest André (Andreios – the powerful, the tenacious) Oscar. Marcus Hilarion became a lieutenant in the 1st Life Grenadier Regiment, landowner and owner of Lövingsborg estate, Jakob Agathon, became deputy circuit judge,
ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...
of Östergötlands Enskilda Bank and member of the board of Stockholms Enskilda Bank. But most of all, the bishop's prediction seems to have been based on André Oscar, for he became the most prominent of the brothers. Wallenberg attended Linköping's trivial school and Linköping gymnasium from 1825 to 1832, and traveled as a deck hand to the Caribbean in 1832 and became a sea cadet on his return. After being commissioned as a naval officer in
Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...
in 1835, he sailed for a couple of years as a seaman on North American merchant navy ships and in 1837 became a lieutenant in the
Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...
. In 1841 he followed as a first mate Göran Adolph Oxehufvud's expedition, which had the La Plata states as destination, but left the expedition in
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
and stayed for a year in Spain and France, during which he studied law in
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. From 1846 to 1847 Wallenberg was captain of the first Swedish propeller boat, ''Linköping''. He subsequently devoted himself to the Swedish naval service and served in the
Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...
in 1849 during the blockade of German coasts. In 1850 Wallenberg became head of a boatswain company in
Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. Old town i ...
. He now began to engage in business, became a Burgess of Sundsvall, to be eligible for election to a member of parliament and was discharged from military service in 1851 with the rank of ''premierlöjtnant''. In 1855 Wallenberg moved to
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 ...
.


Career

As a banker, Wallenberg was a pioneer in Europe. Already during his stay in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in 1837, when the
Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression (economics), depression which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pes ...
occurred, he had the desire to become a banker when he "learned how banks should not be run". In Stockholm in 1852, Wallenberg sought to form a
branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...
, but received "no sanction" due to the
Sveriges Riksbank Sveriges Riksbank, or simply the Riksbank, is the central bank of Sweden. Founded in 1668, it is the world's oldest surviving central bank, and the third oldest bank in continuous operation. Prior to World War I, it was also the only state- ...
's proximity. A few years later, Wallenberg participated in the establishment of branches in Sundsvall and
Hudiksvall Hudiksvall () is a cities of Sweden, city and the seat of Hudiksvall Municipality, in Hälsingland, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 16,792 inhabitants as of 2024. Hudiksvall is also known as Glada Hudik (), a term that originated in the 19th centur ...
and became Sundsvallsbanken's first manager. In 1856 he formed Stockholms Enskilda Bank; the capital, 1 billion, was fully subscribed in two days. Until his death, Wallenberg was the CEO of this bank. He introduced
promissory note A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument (more particularly, a financing instrument and a debt instrument), in which one party (the ''maker'' or ''issuer'') promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of ...
s, interest-free and payable on demand, a novelty, yet almost unknown outside Sweden, and by relatively high deposit rates developed the deposit and the revaluation and depreciation movement. Wallenberg also took an active part in the formation of the Skandinaviska kreditaktiebolaget, and it was to his credit that this bank's head office wasn't placed to
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 ...
, which
Carl Frederik Tietgen Carl Frederik Tietgen (19 March 1829 – 19 October 1901) was a Danish financier and industrialist. He played an important role in the industrialisation of Denmark as the founder of numerous prominent Danish companies, many of which are stil ...
wanted, but to
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 ...
. In 1861 Wallenberg was involved in the founding of the ('Stockholm Mortgage Bank'). For his financial wishes and ideas, he used the print media extensively. He was co-owner and contributor of the newspaper ''Bore'' from 1848 to 1851 and provided both pecuniary support and articles for '' Stockholms-Posten'' from 1869 to 1870. In ''
Aftonbladet (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish language, Swedish daily tabloid newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lar ...
'', Wallenberg wrote ('Economically') almost regularly once a week from 1865 to 1868. During the latter part of his life he published articles in various dissimilar newspapers, which seemed to him to promote his purposes. From 1853 to 1863 Wallenberg was a member of the burghers' estate () of the
Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates (; informally ) 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 the King. It was a Diet made up of the Fou ...
, in which he soon became known as one of the more powerful and energetic forces of the liberal majority. He was also used by the same in the first three of his parliamentary meetings in the Standing Committee on Banking nd Currency(), as well as in the fourth and last in the Committee of Supply. After the Representation Reform of 1865, he represented the City of Stockholm in the '' Första kammaren'' (upper house) from the beginning of the new
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
until his death in Stockholm on 12 January 1886. However, he belonged here to those who thought that the reform work could be delayed and confined it to purely practical issues. Among those to whom he devoted special interest may be mentioned: the introduction of the
metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
, the adoption of
gold standard A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...
as a
unit of account In economics, unit of account is one of the functions of money. A unit of account is a standard numerical monetary unit of measurement of the market value of goods, services, and other transactions. Also known as a "measure" or "standard" of ...
, the development of banking legislation, the cancellation of the compulsory rate on the
Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
's banknotes in accordance with §72 of the Constitution, the cancellation of the Riksdag's sovereignty over Sveriges Riksbank, the introduction of the irrevocable 4 per cent bonds as a type for Swedish government loans, reforms in the debt collection and bankruptcy law, abolition of the wool discount and the convoy commissariat (), new provisions concerning the measurement of ships, port tariffs, pilotage, improvement of officials' pay conditions, introduction of open voting in parliament, determination of unmarried women's
age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when a person ceases to be considered a minor (law), minor, and assumes legal control over their person, actions, and decisions, thus te ...
to 21 years, extension of the right of married women to themselves take possession of inherited and acquired property etc. It was also on his initiative that the Swedish Riksdag made the decision to appoint a
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
as head of the king's council. Wallenberg, who was a member of the Committee of Supply from 1867 to 1870, otherwise made himself known as one of the power-owning Lantmanna Party's most unforgiving adherents and was vigorously active at the Riksdag of 1883 to bring the army order and tax proposals of Arvid Posse's government to a fall. In the municipal life of the capital, Wallenberg played a particularly significant role. He served in the Stockholm City Council () from the introduction of this institution to his death and in 1876–1877 as its deputy chairman and for a number of years as a member of the Drafting Committee (). In 1867 Wallenberg was Sweden's official representative at the international monetary conference 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 ...
, where his proposal that all states should agree on the same alloy in the gold coins was adopted. He was also considerably employed by committees on matters of an economic nature. His financial activities are characterized by rare foresight, paired with energy and power, but also by a ruthlessness that made him, before and after his death, one of the more contentious.


Personal life

Wallenberg fathered 21 children. Wallenberg married in 1846 to Catharina Wilhelmina ("Mina") Andersson (1826–1855), with whom he had four children; the daughter Oscara (1847–1863), the sons Jacob (1851–1872), Knut Agathon (1853–1938), and Wilhelm (1855–1910). After Mina's death, he lived with her sister Lovisa Andersson from 1855 to 1861. Wallenberg married in 1861 to Anna Eleonora Charlotta von Sydow (1838–1910), the daughter of Rear Admiral and his wife Eleonora Juliana Wiggman. They had 14 children; the sons Gustaf (1863–1937), Marcus (1864–1943), Louis (1867–1869), (1872–1939), (1874–1963), Victor (1875–1970), and the daughters Mrs. Anna Bergenstråhle (1865–1950), Countess Siri Oxenstierna (1868–1929), Mrs. Ingeborg Qvarnström (1870–1929), Mrs. Lilly Crafoord (1873–1956), Baroness Alfhild af Ugglas (1877–1952), Oscara (1878–1880), Baroness Ruth von Essén (1880–1972), and Thyra (born and died 1884).


Ancestry


See also

*
Wallenberg family The Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish family of bankers, industrialists, politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats, present in most large Swedish industrial groups, including EQT AB, Ericsson, Electrolux, ABB, SAS Group, SKF, Atlas Copco, ...


References


Notes


Sources

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Further reading

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallenberg, Andre Oscar 1816 births 1886 deaths People from Linköping Andre Oscar Swedish bankers 19th-century Swedish businesspeople Swedish Navy officers Members of the Riksdag of the Estates Members of the Första kammaren