Per Abraham Örnsköld (18 November 1720 – 16 April 1791) was a Swedish nobleman, with the title of

friherre (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in i ...

, 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 Västernorrland County () is a county ('' län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name ''Västernorrland'' means "Western Norrland", as it was in the ...

, which at that time consisted of the

Medelpad Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia. The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Northe ...

Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from the ...

and

Jämtland Jämtland () is a historical provinces of Sweden, province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland, Sweden, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norw ...

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

. 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 Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

city planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

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 The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

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. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

, 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 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 ...

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

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

. 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, a part of the larger

Södermanland County Södermanland County (, ) is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' on the southeast coast of Sweden. In the local Sörmlandic dialects it is virtually universally shortened and pronounced as Sörmlands län, or simply Sörmland, which is the ...

, 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 Nyköping () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden, with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the ...

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 Örnsköldsvik (; ), often shortened to just Ö-vik, is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 32,953 inhabitants in 2017. Its natural harbour and archipelago is in th ...

, founded in 1842, fifty-one years after his death, was named after him.

References

*
"Örnsköld, Per Abraham" biographical entry at the
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Nordisk Familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, 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. The public domain edit ...

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

See also

References