Axel Oxenstierna

Count Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna {{Audio|sv-Axel Oxenstierna.ogg|listen}} or Oxenstjerna (June 16, 1583 - August 28, 1654), Lord High Chancellor of Sweden, was born at Fånö in Uplandia, and received his education with his brothers at the universities of Rostock, Jena and Wittenberg. On returning home in 1603 he took up an appointment as kammarjunker to King Charles IX of Sweden. In 1606 he undertook his first diplomatic mission, to Mecklenburg, gained appointment to the Privy Council (Riksrådet) during his absence, and henceforth became one of the king's most trusted servants. In 1610 he travelled to Copenhagen with the aim of preventing war with Denmark, but unsuccessfully. This embassy has importance as marking the beginning of Oxenstierna's long diplomatic struggle with Sweden's traditional rival in the west, which he regarded as his country's most formidable enemy throughout his life.

Quotation

"Behold, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed" (in a letter to his offspring written in 1648). - Although attributed to Cardinal Richelieu as well, probably the most famous Swedish quotation in the Anglo-Saxon world.

Related Topics:
1648 - Cardinal Richelieu

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~