Gillis Bildt

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Gillis Bildt

Baron Didrik Anders Gillis Bildt (born October 16, 1820 in Gothenburg , † October 22, 1894 in Stockholm ) was a Swedish lieutenant general , diplomat , politician and prime minister .

Family and military career

The son of a lieutenant colonel also embarked on a military career. First he graduated from the military academy in Karlberg Castle ( Military Högskolan Karlberg ). He then joined as an officer candidate in the 1837 Artillery Regiment of Götaland one. In 1842 he finished his officer training and attracted the attention of Crown Prince Oskar . After graduation , he was also a mathematics tutor for a few years . Still as a lieutenant in 1851, he became adjutant to King Oskar I. In the following years, this led to his rapid promotions to major and chief of an artillery staff in 1854, lieutenant colonel in 1856 and colonel in 1858.

After the death of Oscar I he was succeeded by Charles XV. Promoted to major general and first aide-de-camp in 1859 . For his services he was made baron in 1864 . In 1875 he became lieutenant general .

His great-great-grandson is the politician, former Swedish Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt .

Political career

MP

Bildt began his political career in 1847 when he was elected member of the aristocratic house in the State Council . He was a member of this until 1867. During this time he was a representative of the conservative nobility party ( Junkerpartiet ), which called for a free trade policy . On the other hand, he also campaigned for social issues such as nursing and schooling for women.

As a member of the House of Lords, he was rapporteur in the main committee ( Statsutskottet ) from 1848 to 1860 . In 1863 he was a strong supporter of the electoral reform of Louis De Geer the Elder. Ä. and the introduction of universal suffrage. As such, he played a major role in the dissolution of the Estates ' Diet in favor of a two-chamber Reichstag . His support even went so far as to keep troops in reserve in order to maintain law and order in Stockholm should the reform be rejected.

After the parliamentary reform of 1867 he was a member of the First Chamber of the Reichstag until 1874. Here he was elected a member of the first statute committee with the most votes. He later also sat on the Defense Committee.

From 1887 until his death he was again a member of the First Chamber. This reappointment by the protectionist MPs took place against the wishes of Oskar II , since he did not want to see a close friend of the royal family confronted with party politics and opposition to the incumbent government with its pro-free trade policy. Bildt then promised the king to remain politically independent. In fact, however, he took part in meetings with the protectionist faction in the House of Lords, although he advocated moderate protectionism.

District President

In addition to his military career and his membership in parliament, he took over offices within the state administration. From 1858 to 1862 he was first district president and military commander of the Gotland province and then from 1862 to 1874 of the Stockholm province . During this tenure he campaigned for the expansion of the railway network , especially promoting the military and economic importance for Stockholm . For this he received wide support from the Reichstag, the City Council of Stockholm, the Stockholm Stock Exchange, but also from the citizenship. He was also a shareholder and board member of the company that wanted to operate a railway line between Stockholm and the mines of Västmanland .

Ambassador in Berlin

In 1874 he was appointed Swedish ambassador to the German Empire . In this office, which he held until 1886, he strengthened the ties between Sweden and the young German nation-state. In particular, bilateral agreements on mail, telegraphy, extradition and seafarers have been concluded. At the same time he was able to pursue Otto von Bismarck's protectionist policy in Germany , especially in the field of agriculture.

After his return from Germany in 1886 he became head of the royal court as Reichsmarschall . He held this office until his death.

Prime Minister 1888–1889

At the same time, the Protectionist Party was founded in Sweden after the fall in grain prices . They demanded protective tariffs to support local farmers, which the free trade- oriented government of Robert Themptander (1884-88) was rejected. When the majority of the Second Chamber passed grain and protective tariffs in March 1887, Themptander dissolved the Reichstag and achieved a majority in the subsequent election that supported free trade.

However, this decreased in the Reichstag elections in autumn 1887, especially since the Supreme Court declared the election of the 22 free-trade representatives of Stockholm to be invalid due to a formal error and the representatives of the protective tariff policy to be elected. In the First Chamber, too, the number of supporters of grain tariffs grew. Therefore, the Themptander ministry resigned after the opening of the new Reichstag in January 1888. In view of the fact that the majority of the two chambers had not yet finally decided on the position, the king instructed Gillis Bildt to put together a moderately protective cabinet, which he succeeded on 6 February 1888. Because of his first-hand experience with protectionism in favor of agriculture in Germany, but not least because of his own sympathy for the protection of domestic products, Bildt was an ideal successor to Themptander after the former spokesman for the Reichstag chambers, Archbishop Anton Niklas Sundberg , who Had refused to take over the office.

The Bildt cabinet, half of which was in favor of free trade and half of protectionism, soon raised the prices of food and tools, while the proceeds from protective tariffs were used to reduce national debt , build railways and build armaments.

On October 12, 1889, Gillis Bildt resigned as Prime Minister.

literature

Web links

Commons : Gillis Bildt  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Sweden (history to the present). In: Meyers Konversationslexikon. 4th edition, Leipzig 1885-1892, Volume 14, p. 716