Jump to content
 







Main menu
   


Navigation  



Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
 




Contribute  



Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
 








Search  

































Create account

Log in
 









Create account
 Log in
 




Pages for logged out editors learn more  



Contributions
Talk
 



















Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 Career  





2 Diplomacy  





3 Military service  





4 In Russian service  





5 Legacy  





6 Family  





7 See also  





8 References  





9 Further reading  





10 External links  














Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt






العربية
Беларуская
Brezhoneg
Deutsch
Ελληνικά
فارسی
Français
Italiano
مصرى
Nederlands

Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Русский
Slovenščina
Suomi
Svenska
Українська
 

Edit links
 









Article
Talk
 

















Read
Edit
View history
 








Tools
   


Actions  



Read
Edit
View history
 




General  



What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Cite this page
Get shortened URL
Download QR code
Wikidata item
 




Print/export  



Download as PDF
Printable version
 




In other projects  



Wikimedia Commons
 
















Appearance
   

 






From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 


Major General


Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt
Armfelt standing next to the bust of Alexander IbyJohan Erik Lindh
Born(1757-03-31)31 March 1757
Tarvasjoki, Swedish Empire
Died19 August 1814(1814-08-19) (aged 57)
Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire
Buried
Allegiance
  • Sweden
  • Russian Empire Russian Empire
  • Service/branch
  • Russian Army
  • Years of service1780–1810
    RankMajor General
    UnitLife Guards
    Commands heldNyland Infantry Regiment
    Battles/wars
  • Battle of Kärnakoski
  • Battle of Savitaipal
  • War of the Third Coalition
  • War of the Fourth Coalition
  • Franco-Swedish War
  • Dano-Swedish War of 1808–09
  • Awards
  • Order of the Sword
  • Lord of the Realm
  • Spouse(s)

    (m. 1785)
    Children8

    Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (Russian: Граф Густав-Маврикий Максимович Армфельт, tr, Gustav-Mavrikiy Maksimovich Armfel't; 31 March 1757 – 19 August 1814)[1] was a Finnish-Swedish-Russian courtier and diplomat. In Finland, he is considered one of the greatest Finnish statesmen. His advice to Russia's Tsar Alexander I was of utmost importance for securing the autonomy of the Grand Duchy of Finland. [2]

    Career

    [edit]

    Born in Tarvasjoki, Finland, he was the great grandson of Charles XII of Sweden's general, Carl Gustaf Armfeldt.

    In 1774, Armfelt became an ensign in the guards, but his frivolous behavior involving a duel provoked the displeasure of Gustav III of Sweden. As a result, he thought it prudent to go abroad 1778. Subsequently, however, in 1780, Armfelt met the king again at Spa in the Austrian Netherlands and completely won over the previously disgruntled monarch with his natural amiability, intelligence and social gifts. Henceforth, his fortune was made. At first, he was given the position of maître des plaisirs in the Swedish court, but it wasn't long before more serious affairs were entrusted to him. He took part in negotiations with Catherine II of Russia in 1783, and, during the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790), he was one of the king's most trusted and active counsellors.[3]

    He displayed great valour in the field during this time. In 1788, when the Danes unexpectedly invaded Sweden and threatened Gothenburg, Armfelt organized the Dalecarlian levies under the king's direction and led them to victory. He remained absolutely faithful to King Gustav when nearly the whole of the Swedish nobility fell away from him. Armfelt distinguished himself in the later phases of the Russo-Swedish War, eventually becoming the Swedish plenipotentiary who negotiated the war's demise with the Treaty of Värälä in August 1790. Armfelt had been seriously wounded in the battle of Savitaipale in June 1790. During the reign of Gustav III, his influence was paramount in Sweden, though Armfelt protested against his master's headstrong championship of the Bourbons.[3]

    Diplomacy

    [edit]

    On his deathbed in 1792, King Gustav III committed the care of his son to Armfelt and appointed him to the Privy Council, which was to advise the new regent, the king's younger brother, Charles. Armfelt was also appointed as the Governor of Stockholm, but the new regent was staunchly anti-Gustavian and sent Armfelt to serve as the Swedish ambassador to Naples in order to get rid of him.

    From Naples, Armfelt began secret communications with Catherine II, arguing that she should bring about by means of a military intervention a change in the Swedish government in favour of the Gustavians. The Armfelt Conspiracy, though, was discovered by spies for the regent, who immediately sent a Swedish man-of-war to Naples to seize him. With the assistance of the exiled British Queen Caroline, he was just barely able to escape. He fled to Russia, where he was interned at Kaluga 1794–1797. At home, he was condemned to death as a traitor and his property confiscated. His mistress, Magdalena Rudenschöld, was judged for complicity and pilloried on the Riddarhus Square before being imprisoned for two years in Stockholm.[3]

    Military service

    [edit]

    When Gustav IV of Sweden attained his majority, Armfelt was completely rehabilitated and sent as Swedish ambassador to Vienna in 1802, but was obliged to quit the post two years later for sharply attacking the Austrian government's attitude towards Napoleon Bonaparte. From 1805 to 1807, he was the commander-in-chief of the Swedish forces in Pomerania, where he displayed great ability and stopped the conquest of the duchy for as long as possible; the Great Sortie of Stralsund was particularly successful. On his return home, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Norwegian frontier, where he was stifled in his duties by the constant flow of ordres, contre-ordres et désordres from his master.[3]

    In Russian service

    [edit]
    Armfelt in his later days

    Armfelt was firmly opposed to the revolutionaries who overthrew Gustav IV and exiled his family in the Coup of 1809. He was the most courageous of the deposed king's supporters and resolved afterwards to retire to Finland, which had been ceded to Russia. Appointed to high offices in the Swedish government, his departure was delayed on purpose until his enemies could gather and declare a decree expelling Armfelt as a conspirator in 1811. On 31 March, he visited Russia's ambassador in Stockholm and gave him an oath of allegiance. The following day, he was deported from Sweden.[3]

    Armfelt's position greatly improved in Russia. After deposing Speransky he exercised almost as much influence over Emperor Alexander IasAdam Czartoryski. He contributed more than anyone else to Finnish independence with his plan to turn the Grand Duchy of Finland into an autonomous state within the Russian Empire. He also won over Alexander to the idea of uniting Norway with Sweden.

    Armfelt, who had been Chancellor of the Royal Academy of Turku from 1791 to 1792, was made Chancellor of the new Imperial Academy of Turku in 1812. He held the position for two years. In 1812, the grateful Emperor raised him to the rank of count. He served as the Minister State Secretary of Finland, the Grand Duchy's highest representative, in St Petersburg 1812–14. He was also briefly Governor-General of Finland in 1813. He was the Chairman of the Committee for Finnish Affairs in Saint Petersburg.[4]

    He died at Tsarskoe Selo near Saint Petersburg on 19 August 1814.[3]

    Legacy

    [edit]

    Together with Göran Magnus Sprengtporten, Armfelt is regarded as one of the fathers of Finnish independence. Because of his unpopularity among the anti-Gustavian Swedish nobility and the fact that he "turned Russian", Armfelt has been a somewhat mysterious and generally unknown character in Swedish history.

    Ignorance of Armfelt and his accomplishments persisted for well over a century in Sweden and only recently has a more nuanced, positive approach to Armfelt emerged there. In Finland, he has always been highly regarded as a great patriot and statesman.

    Because Armfelt chose to remain loyal to Finland and its people, rather than its former ruler, he was labeled as a traitor in Sweden and sentenced to death for treason. The Swedish people could not accept at the time the loss of Finland, which had been part of the realm for over 600 years. Their anguish was exacerbated by the fact that the province had been lost to Sweden's archenemy, Russia. Armfelt's death sentence, however, had no actual meaning outside of Sweden as there was never a realistic Swedish attempt launched to recapture Finland. Politicians threatened action mainly to gain favour among the nobles and populace. Already, in 1812, Sweden allied with Russia, and the sentence was annulled.

    Family

    [edit]

    In 1785, Armfelt married Countess Hedvig Ulrika De la Gardie (1761–1832), daughter of Count Carl Julius De la Gardie and Countess Magdalena Christina Stenbock.

    They had the following eight children:

    1. Maria Magdalena Catharina Augusta Armfelt, (1786–1845), countess
    2. Gustaf Fredrik Armfelt, (1788–1789).
    3. Carl Armfelt, born and died 1788.
    4. Magnus Armfelt, born and died 1788.
    5. Gustaf Magnus Armfelt, (1792–1856), major-general, count
    6. Alexander Armfelt, (1794–1876), captain, Finnish minister secretary of state, privy councillor, count
    7. Constantin Armfelt, (1796–1797).
    8. Carl Magnus Wilhelm Armfelt, (1797–1878).

    From the affair with the actress Mademoiselle L'Eclair in Paris, Armfelt had an illegitimate son, Maurice L'Eclair (1780–1841). From the affair with Princess Wilhelmine, Duchess of Sagan, Armfelt had an illegitimate daughter, Adelaide Gustava Aspasie (Vava) Armfelt (1801–1881). Maurice was knighted in 1816 in Sweden as Mauritz Clairfelt and became a general; Vava was adopted in 1812 into the Armfelt family.

    See also

    [edit]

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ "Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt". Biografiskt lexikon för Finland (in Swedish). Helsingfors: Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland. urn:NBN:fi:sls-4538-1416928957144.
  • ^ "Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt". Biografisket Lexikon of Finland. Archived from the original on June 6, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  • ^ a b c d e f Bain 1911.
  • ^ Korhonen, Keijo (1963). Suomen asiain komitea: Suomen korkeimman hallinnon järjestelyt ja toteuttaminen vuosina 1811-1826 (Thesis). Turku: Tekijä.
  • Attribution:

    Further reading

    [edit]
    [edit]
    Cultural offices
    Preceded by

    First holder

    Swedish Academy,
    Seat No.14

    1786–1794
    Succeeded by

    Malte Ramel

    Preceded by

    Johan Murberg

    Swedish Academy,
    Seat No.17

    1805–1811
    Succeeded by

    Gustaf af Wetterstedt

    Political offices
    Preceded by

    Fabian Steinheil

    Governor-General of Finland
    1813–1814
    Succeeded by

    Fabian Steinheil


    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gustaf_Mauritz_Armfelt&oldid=1227929322"

    Categories: 
    1757 births
    1814 deaths
    People from Tarvasjoki
    Swedish generals
    18th-century Swedish nobility
    Members of the Swedish Academy
    Politicians from the Russian Empire
    Members of the State Council (Russian Empire)
    Finland under Swedish rule
    Imperial Russian Army generals
    Governors of the Grand Duchy of Finland
    18th-century Swedish military personnel
    19th-century Swedish politicians
    18th-century Finnish military personnel
    People convicted of treason against Sweden
    People sentenced to death in absentia
    Swedish military commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
    People of the Russo-Swedish War (17881790)
    Ambassadors of Sweden to Italy
    Gustavian era people
    Finnish people from the Russian Empire
    Court of Gustav III
    Armfelt family
    Lords of the Realm
    Hidden categories: 
    CS1 Swedish-language sources (sv)
    Articles with short description
    Short description is different from Wikidata
    Articles lacking in-text citations from August 2023
    All articles lacking in-text citations
    Articles containing Russian-language text
    Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference
    Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
    Commons category link is on Wikidata
    Articles with FAST identifiers
    Articles with ISNI identifiers
    Articles with VIAF identifiers
    Articles with WorldCat Entities identifiers
    Articles with BIBSYS identifiers
    Articles with BNF identifiers
    Articles with BNFdata identifiers
    Articles with GND identifiers
    Articles with KANTO identifiers
    Articles with LCCN identifiers
    Articles with Libris identifiers
    Articles with NKC identifiers
    Articles with NTA identifiers
    Articles with PLWABN identifiers
    Articles with VcBA identifiers
    Articles with ULAN identifiers
    Articles with DTBIO identifiers
    Articles with SUDOC identifiers
     



    This page was last edited on 8 June 2024, at 15:14 (UTC).

    Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.



    Privacy policy

    About Wikipedia

    Disclaimers

    Contact Wikipedia

    Code of Conduct

    Developers

    Statistics

    Cookie statement

    Mobile view



    Wikimedia Foundation
    Powered by MediaWiki