Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt
Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (Germanized often Gustav Moritz Armfelt , Finnish also Kustaa Mauri Armfelt; born April 1, 1757 in Marttila / St Mårtens , Finland ; † August 19, 1814 in Tsarskoje Selo , Russia ) was a Finnish-Swedish statesman, military and diplomat.
Life
Armfelt, scion of one of the most respected families in Finland, son of Major General and Governor Baron Magnus Wilhelm Armfelt, embarked on the career of young noblemen, which was customary at the time, joined the Swedish army and became an officer in the king's bodyguard . He soon won the familiar friendship of King Gustav III. Because of a duel, he fell temporarily out of favor, but after spending several years abroad in Paris, he regained the favor of the king, who valued everything French. As Gustav's avowed favorite, he soon held several offices, including being Chancellor of the Turku Academy and, especially after the Diet of 1786, he had ruling influence.
Armfelt was considered quick-tempered, impulsive and thoughtless and made numerous enemies at court. The friendship of the king, however, saved him from the consequences of numerous intrigues directed against him. In 1785 Armfelt married Hedwig (Swedish: Hedvig) de la Gardie. The son Alexander Armfelt emerged from the marriage. 1788–1790 he distinguished himself as a soldier in the war against Russia and during this time saved the king, surrounded by intrigues, twice freedom and life. When Gustav was attacked by his western neighbors at the instigation of Russia, he sent Armfelt to Dalarna . Armfelt formed a corps of 18,000 men here, defeated the Danes and ordered his army to march near the capital in order to be at hand to the king during the Diet of 1789.
Elevated to major general, he signed the Peace of Värälä on August 14, 1790 , followed by the offensive alliance with Russia against the French Revolution in 1791. Gustav III died in 1792. on the consequences of the attack by Anckarström . On his deathbed he had nominated Armfelt as governor for his underage son and successor Gustav IV Adolf , but after his death Armfelt was appointed by Duke Karl (brother of Gustav III and uncle Gustav IV Adolf, later as Charles XIII King of Sweden) and Reuterholm ousted. Together with his lover Magdalena Rudenschöld, the cabinet secretary J. A. Ehrenström and Colonel J. F. Aminoff , Armfelt made contact with Tsarina Katharina II and conducted extensive correspondence in which a coup d'état in Sweden and the restoration of the influence of the Gustavians were discussed. Spies exposed the plans of Armfelt, who was sentenced to death in absentia in 1794. Armfelt fled to Naples , where he was granted asylum and refused to extradite him to Sweden. Tsarina Katharina II also offered Armfelt asylum in the city of Kaluga .
Gustav IV returned him rank and property in 1799 and showered him with favors. Armfelt was appointed envoy in Vienna, in 1805 governor-general of Finland and was unsuccessful commander-in-chief in Pomerania during the war against Napoleon and failed because of the planned conquest of Norway. Armfelt's relationship with King Gustav IV Adolf cooled down when he was deprived of command of the Swedish troops. In 1809 Armfelt was involved in the deposition of the king. Appointed President of the War College in 1809, he said goodbye as early as 1810 and suffered new violent persecutions through his association with Countess Piper.
Even with the new King Karl Johan Bernadotte (Karl XIV.) There were soon tensions. In 1811 Armfelt was expelled from Sweden and went to Russia in the service of Tsar Alexander . He was raised to the rank of count, president of the Finnish Affairs Committee, and a member of the Senate. At this post he worked zealously for the interests of Finland, which owed him the preservation of its privileges and the reunification with the old part of Finland , whose peasants, illegally made serfs, were released at his instigation. On the one hand, he represented Sweden's interests vis-à-vis the Russian authorities, but on the other hand, he did not believe in the success of a recapture of the lost Finland by Sweden. He advocated moving Finland's capital from Turku to Helsinki , because Turku was geographically and culturally too close to Sweden from a Russian perspective. He followed his new sovereign in the campaign of 1812, contributed significantly to the important conclusion of peace with Turkey and aroused in Alexander I. First, the idea of the emancipation of Poland, the reinstatement of the House of Bourbon and the sovereignty of the Roman Pope . On August 19, 1814, he died unexpectedly in Tsarskoye Selo.
In 1830 his autobiography Handlingar rörande Sveriges historia was published in Stockholm .
His son Gustav Magnus Armfelt (* 1792) entered Russian military service in 1812, rose to the highest ranks and died on July 8, 1856 as lieutenant general and inspector of the Finnish national troops.
literature
- Hans Eggert Willibald von der Lühe (Hrsg.): Militair-Conversations-Lexikon. Volume 1. Leipzig 1833, pp. 248-249
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Armfelt, Gustaf Mauritz |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Armfelt, Gustav Moritz; Armfelt, Kustaa Mauri |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Finland-Swedish statesman, military and diplomat |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 1, 1757 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Marttila / St Mårtens , Finland |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 19, 1814 |
| Place of death | Tsarskoye Selo , Russia |