View source for Axel Oxenstierna

{{Short description|Swedish statesman (1583–1654)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The High Wellborn]]
| name                = Count Axel Oxenstierna
| image               = Unknown painter after M. van Mierevelt - Portrait of Axel Ochsenstierna.jpg
| imagesize           = 
| caption             = 
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1583|6|16|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Enköping Municipality|Fånö]], Sweden
| residence           = [[Tidö Castle]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1654|8|28|1583|6|16|df=y}}
| death_place         = Stockholm, Sweden
| office              = [[Lord High Chancellor of Sweden]]
| term_start          = 1612
| term_end            = 1654
| monarch1            = {{Plainlist|
* [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden|Gustavus Adolphus]]
* [[Christina, Queen of Sweden|Christina]]}}
| predecessor         = [[Svante Turesson Bielke]]
| successor           = [[Erik Oxenstierna]]
| constituency        = 
| office2             = [[Governors-General of Sweden|Governor-General]] of [[Riga]]
| term_start2         = 1622
| term_end2           = 1626
| predecessor2        = Office created
| successor2          = ?
| constituency2       = 
| office3             = [[Governors-General of Sweden|Governor-General]] of [[Prussia]]
| term_start3         = 1626
| term_end3           = 1631
| predecessor3        = Office created
| successor3          = Office abolished
| constituency3       = 
| party               = 
| religion            = 
| signature           = Axel Oxenstierna (signature).png
| occupation          = Statesman
| majority            = 
| relations           = 
| spouse              = Anna Åkesdotter Bååt
| partner             = 
| children            = 13, including [[Johan Oxenstierna|Johan]]
| website             = 
| footnotes           = 
}}

'''Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna''' ({{IPA|sv|ˈǎksɛl ˈʊ̂ksɛnˌɧæːɳa|lang|sv-Axel Oxenstierna.ogg}}; 1583–1654)<!--Per MOS, full dates in infobox need not be repeated in lede--> was a Swedish statesman and [[Count]] of Södermöre.<ref name="Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna">{{cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/nfbt/0622.html|title=Nordisk Familjebok – Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna|year=1914|work=Nordisk Familjebok at runeberg.org|language=sv|access-date=2 July 2009}}</ref> He became a member of the [[Privy Council of Sweden|Swedish Privy Council]] in 1609 and served as [[Lord High Chancellor of Sweden]] from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of King [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden|Gustavus Adolphus]] and then [[Christina, Queen of Sweden|Queen Christina]],<ref name="Nationalencyklopedien">{{cite web|url=http://ne.se/axel-oxenstierna|title=Axel Oxenstierna|work=ne.se|publisher=Nationalencyklopedien|language=sv|access-date=4 July 2009}}</ref> for whom he was at first regent. 

Oxenstierna is widely considered one of the most influential people in Swedish history. He played an important role during the [[Thirty Years' War]] and was appointed [[Governors-General of Sweden|Governor-General]] of occupied [[Prussia]]; he is also credited for having laid the foundations of the modern central administrative structure of the State, including the creation of [[Counties of Sweden|counties]] ({{langx|sv|län}}).

==Early life and education==
Oxenstierna was born on 16 June 1583, at [[Enköping Municipality|Fånö]] in [[Uppland]], the son of Gustaf Gabrielsson Oxenstierna (1551–1597) and Barbro Axelsdotter Bielke (1556–1624), as the oldest of nine siblings.<ref name="Oxenstierna Family Website - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre">{{cite web|url=http://www.oxenstierna.org/person_card.php?lang=en&pid=243&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id= |title=Oxenstierna Family Website – Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre |work=oxenstierna.org |language=sv, en |access-date=25 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727161048/http://www.oxenstierna.org/person_card.php?lang=en&pid=243&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id= |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}</ref> His parents belonged to the ancient and influential high noble families of [[Oxenstierna]] and [[Bielke]], both of which had held high offices in the state and the church for generations. After the death of her husband Gustaf, Axel's mother Barbro decided to let Axel and his brothers Christer and Gustaf finish their studies abroad. Thus, the brothers received their education at the universities of [[Rostock]], [[Wittenberg]] and [[Jena]]. On returning home in 1603 he took up an appointment as [[valet de chambre]] ''(kammarjunkare)'' to King [[Charles IX of Sweden]].<ref name="Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna">{{cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/sbh/b0252.html|title=Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon – Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna|last=Hofberg|first=Herman |author2=Frithiof Heurlin |author3=Viktor Millqvist |author4=Olof Rubenson|year=1906|work=Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon at runeberg.org|language=sv|access-date=2 July 2009}}</ref>

One of Oxenstierna's more unusual intellectual qualifications was his knowledge of the [[Scots language]], reflecting the importance of the Scottish expatriate community in Sweden at that time. As Chancellor, he would regularly receive correspondence in Scots from his agent [[James Spens (diplomat)|Sir James Spens]], and he ventured into the language himself for an official letter to his Scottish counterpart, the [[John Campbell, 1st Earl of Loudoun|Earl of Loudoun]].<ref name="Nostra Vulgari Lingua">{{cite web|url=http://www.scots-online.org/airticles/eurlang.htm|title=Nostra Vulgari Lingua: Scots as a European Language 1500–1700|last=Horsburgh|first=David|year=1999|work=Scottish Language 18 pp. 1–16, reprinted at scots-online.org|language=sco, en|access-date=30 June 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110716163137/http://www.scots-online.org/airticles/eurlang.htm| archive-date= 16 July 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref>

==Career==

===1606–1611: Diplomat and Privy Councillor===
In 1606 he undertook his first diplomatic mission, to [[Mecklenburg]] and other German royal courts. While on diplomatic duty abroad, Oxenstierna gained appointment to the [[Privy Council of Sweden|Privy Council]] (''Riksrådet'').<ref name="Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" /> Henceforth, Oxenstierna became one of the king's most trusted servants.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Oxenstjerna|display=Oxenstjerna s.v. Count Axel Gustafsson|volume=20|pages=401–402|first=Robert Nisbet|last=Bain|author-link=Robert Nisbet Bain}}</ref> In 1609 he travelled to Reval (present day [[Tallinn]]), on King Charles's behalf, to receive tributes from the city of Reval and the Estonian knighthood.<ref name="Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" /> Together with other councillors, Oxenstierna tried to warn the king of Denmark and the intentions of Danish King [[Christian IV]].<ref name="Populär Historia">{{cite web|url=http://www.popularhistoria.se/o.o.i.s?id=43&vid=1205 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070627002703/http://www.popularhistoria.se/o.o.i.s?id=43&vid=1205 |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 June 2007 |title=Den mäktige Oxenstierna |last=Wetterberg |first=Gunnar |year=2005 |work=popularhistoria.se |publisher=Populär Historia |language=sv |access-date=2 July 2009 }}</ref> In 1610, Oxenstierna travelled to [[Copenhagen]] with the aim of preventing war with the neighbours, but unsuccessfully.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/> The following year, Danish forces crossed the border, initiating the [[Kalmar War]]. In autumn 1611, King Charles died. Around New Year 1611–12, the parliament had to deal with the situation. According to the rules, the 17-year-old [[Gustavus Adolphus]] had not reached the proper age to be considered adult enough to rule as king. However, the estates agreed to disregard those rules. In return, the young king agreed to ensure the nobles further privileges and appoint Axel Oxenstierna [[Lord High Chancellor of Sweden]].<ref name="Populär Historia"/>
[[File:Axel Oxenstierna painted by Jacob Heinrich Elbfas 1626.jpg|right|thumb|Axel Oxenstierna in 1626]]

===1612–1629: Lord High Chancellor and Governor-General===
On 6 January 1612 Oxenstierna became Lord High Chancellor (''Rikskansler'') of the Privy Council.<ref name="Oxenstierna Family Website - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre" /> His controlling, organizing hand soon became apparent in every branch of the administration.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/> Sweden was at the time troubled by three wars against [[Denmark]] ([[Kalmar War]]), [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland-Lithuania]] ([[Polish–Swedish War (1600–1629)|Polish-Swedish War]]) and Russia ([[Ingrian War]]). Oxenstierna's first big task as Chancellor was to achieve peace in some of the wars. The war against Denmark was considered the most dangerous of the three as the enemy-controlled parts of Sweden itself.<ref name="Populär Historia"/> Negotiations began in Knäred and Oxenstierna was first Swedish plenipotentiary. The negotiations led to the [[Treaty of Knäred]] in 1613. For his efforts regarding these negotiations, Oxenstierna received the title of district judge in the hundred of Snävringe and, eventually, the barony of [[Kimito]].<ref name="Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" />

[[File:Gustav II of Sweden.jpg|left|thumb|King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden]]
During the frequent absences of Gustavus in [[Duchy of Livonia (1629–1721)|Livonia]] and in [[Finland]] (1614–1616) Oxenstierna acted as his viceroy.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/> One assignment Oxenstierna received while the king was in Livonia, was the task to finalize the negotiations regarding the marriage of [[John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg|John Casimir]] and the king's sister, Princess [[Catherine of Sweden (1584-1638)|Catharina]].<ref name="Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" /> At the coronation of Gustavus Adolphus, in October 1617, Oxenstierna was [[knight]]ed.<ref name="Oxenstierna Family Website - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre" /> In 1620 he headed the embassy dispatched to [[Berlin]] to arrange the nuptial contract between Gustavus and [[Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg]]. During the king's Russian and Polish wars he had the principal duty of supplying the [[Swedish Army|armies]] and the [[Royal Swedish Navy|fleets]] with everything necessary, including men and money.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/> Oxenstierna's ways of carrying out his assignments apparently gained King Gustavus's appreciation, since the king, in 1622, asked Oxenstierna to accompany him to Livonia and appointed him [[Governor-General in the Swedish Realm|Governor-General]] and commandant of [[Riga]], a strategically important town during the ongoing war against Poland.<ref name="Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" /><ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/> His services in Livonia gained him the reward of four castles (among others [[Burtnieki]] and [[Valmiera]])<ref name="Oxenstierna Family Website - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre" /> and the whole bishopric of [[Cēsis|Wenden]]. Entrusted with the peace negotiations which led to the truce with Poland in 1623, he succeeded in averting a threatened rupture with Denmark in 1624. The Polish-Swedish War was reinitiated in 1626, and on 7 October that year, Oxenstierna became Governor-General in the newly acquired [[Possessions of Sweden|Swedish possession]] of [[Duchy of Prussia|Prussia]]. In 1629 he concluded the advantageous [[Truce of Altmark]] with Poland-Lithuania. Prior to this, in September 1628, he arranged a joint occupation of [[Stralsund]] with Denmark to prevent that important fortress from falling into the hands of the Imperialists.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/>

Oxenstierna was not only highly successful within the diplomacy. During these years, he was entrusted with various important assignments in which he succeeded, such as gathering money and troops for the attack in Prussia in 1626. He played the leading organizational and administrational role in Prussia, as he had done earlier in Livonia. He was in charge of, for example, tolls, fortifications and the entire state [[grain trade]].<ref name="Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" /> During the latter part of the 1620s, [[Elbląg]] (German: ''Elbing''), where Oxenstierna resided and from where he governed the Swedish parts of Prussia, became a major Swedish centre of power, second only to Stockholm.<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget">{{cite book|last=Ericson Wolke|first=Lars|author2=Larsson, Villstrand|title=Trettioåriga kriget|year=2006|editor=Historiska Media|pages=145–148|publisher=Historiska media |isbn=91-85377-37-6|language=sv}}</ref>

===1630–1636: Oxenstierna in the Thirty Years' War===
When Sweden entered the [[Thirty Years' War]] in the summer of 1630, tolls from Oxenstierna-controlled Prussia, as well as food supplies acquired by Oxenstierna, were pivotal assets.<ref name="Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" /> He had also obtained credits from foreign businessmen, ensuring large sums of money making it possible to hire mercenary soldiers to the army used in Germany.<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget"/>

After the [[Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)|Battle of Breitenfeld]] on 7 September 1631, Oxenstierna received a summons to assist the king with his counsels and co-operation in Germany. During the king's absence in [[Franconia]] and [[Bavaria]] in 1632 he held the appointment of ''legatus'' in the [[Rhineland]], with plenipotentiary authority over all the German generals and princes in the Swedish service. Although he never fought a battle, he frustrated all the efforts of the Spanish troops by using strategically successful regulations.{{Clarify|date=August 2018}} He managed to conduct large reinforcements to King Gustavus through the heart of Germany in the summer of 1632.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/>

In the [[Battle of Lützen (1632)]], on 6 November 1632, Gustavus Adolphus died.<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget - Gustavus death">{{cite book|last=Ericson Wolke|first=Lars|author2=Larsson, Villstrand|title=Trettioåriga kriget|year=2006|editor=Historiska Media|pages=125|publisher=Historiska media |isbn=91-85377-37-6|language=sv}}</ref> This meant that Oxenstierna became supreme commander of the Swedish troops in Germany, although he let his subordinate generals be responsible for the military operations on a lower level. He moved his headquarters to [[Mainz]], which in practice became the new Swedish capital.<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget"/> Oxenstierna was now absolute ruler of the significant area that the Swedish army had conquered in Germany. He was offered the position as prince-elector of Mainz, but, after serious considerations, the offer was turned down.<ref name="Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" />

When King Gustavus died in November 1632, his only legitimate and surviving child, [[Christina of Sweden|Christina]], was almost six years old. Until her declaration of majority at 18, a [[Privy Council of Sweden|regency council]] ruled Sweden. This council was headed by Lord High Chancellor Oxenstierna, who wrote [[Instrument of Government (1634)]], a new constitution. During the years after the king's death, it became apparent that differences of opinion existed within the council. Some of Oxenstierna's colleagues recommended that Sweden should seek peace and withdraw from the war in Germany, not least after the defeat at [[Battle of Nördlingen (1634)|Nördlingen]] in 1634. However, Oxenstierna's opinion, that Sweden should remain in the war to ensure compensation for the sacrifices made, prevailed.<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget"/> The, for the Swedish side, disastrous outcome at Nördlingen brought him, for an instant, to the verge of ruin and compelled him for the first time so far to depart from his policy of independence as to solicit direct assistance from France. But, well aware that [[Cardinal Richelieu|Richelieu]] needed the Swedish armies as much as he himself needed money, he refused at the Conference of Compiègne in 1635 to bind his hands in the future for the sake of some slight present relief. In 1636, nevertheless, he concluded a fresh subsidy-treaty with France at [[Wismar]].<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/> Swedish troops remained in Germany all the way until 1648 and the Thirty Years' War's end.<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget - End of War">{{cite book|last=Ericson Wolke|first=Lars|author2=Larsson, Villstrand|title=Trettioåriga kriget|year=2006|editor=Historiska Media|pages=180|publisher=Historiska media |isbn=91-85377-37-6|language=sv}}</ref> Oxenstierna, however, left Germany and returned to Stockholm in 1636, after ten years duty as premier Swedish representative in Prussia and Germany.<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget"/>

===1636–1654: Back in Sweden===
Oxenstierna more directly claimed his place within the regency of Queen Christina and became the young queen's teacher in statesmanship.<ref name="Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna"/><ref name="Populär Historia"/> His presence at home dominated all opposition, and such was the general confidence for Oxenstierna, that for the next nine years his voice, especially as regarding foreign affairs, remained omnipotent in the [[Privy Council of Sweden|Privy Council]].<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/>

====Torstenson War====
In May 1643, the Swedish Privy Council decided to attack Denmark. The [[Torstenson War]] was at large parts the work of Oxenstierna. The purpose was to gain territories from Denmark and be released from the Danish [[Sound Dues]].<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget"/> Another factor might have been a will to avenge the tough peace [[Treaty of Knäred]] in 1613. Whatever the reason, Oxenstierna considered the time was right to finally settle the score with Denmark. Swedish troops led by Field Marshal [[Lennart Torstensson]] attacked Danish [[Jutland]] from Germany, while Field Marshal [[Gustav Horn, Count of Pori|Gustav Horn]] was in charge of the troops that attacked [[Scania]].<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget - Denmark-Sweden">{{cite book|last=Ericson Wolke|first=Lars|author2=Larsson, Villstrand|title=Trettioåriga kriget|year=2006|editor=Historiska Media|pages=191–199|publisher=Historiska media |isbn=91-85377-37-6|language=sv}}</ref> 

In July 1644, [[Andries Bicker]] and [[Jacob de Witt]] were sent as envoy to Oxenstierna and the queen to mediate between Sweden and Denmark.<ref name="Aa518" >[http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/retroboeken/vdaa?source=aa__001biog02_01.xml&page=519&view=imagePane Abraham Jacob van der Aa, Biographisch Woordenboek der Nederlanden (BWN), (1878), volume 1-2, p 517]</ref> Oxenstierna spoke [[High German]], Christina Dutch.<ref>[https://www.vriendenvandewitt.nl/assets/files/johan-in-zweden181123-2-2.pdf Johan de Witt in Zweden ]</ref>  The outcome of the war was decided in the naval [[Battle of Fehmarn (1644)]] in October when the Royal Swedish Navy decisively defeated the Danish Navy. The defeat of the Danish Navy left the Danish isles open to a Swedish invasion, and Denmark sued for peace.<ref>[https://www.vriendenvandewitt.nl/assets/files/johan-in-zweden181123-2-2.pdf Johan de Witt in Zweden ]</ref> The end of the war rested on the power of the Dutch naval dominance by Admiral [[Witte de With]] who arrived in the [[Øresund|Sound]] in July to support the Dutch and Swedish point of view, a [[Mare Liberum|free passage]].<ref>[https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/a-kaag-and-a-galjoot-close-to-the-shore-with-witte-de-with-in-the-brederode-leaving-the-vlie-9-june-1645-175829  Witte de With in the 'Brederode' leaving the Vlie, 9 June 1645]</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://inter-antiquariaat.nl/antiek/verkocht/denemarken-frederik-de-wit-1680/ | title=Oude kaart Denemarken geschiedenis 17e-eeuw originele gravure }}</ref>  Oxenstierna was personally involved in the negotiations leading to the [[Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645)|Treaty of Brömsebro]] at a creek in [[Blekinge]]. Sweden gained [[Gotland]], [[Saaremaa]] (Ösel), [[Jämtland]], [[Härjedalen]] and for thirty years [[Halland]].<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget"/><ref name="Trettioåriga kriget - Denmark-Sweden"/> Sweden <!--now virtually controlling the [[Baltic Sea]],--> had unrestricted access to the North Sea and was no longer encircled by [[Denmark–Norway]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Antique map of Scandinavia by Blaeu W. & J.|url = https://www.sanderusmaps.com/en/our-catalogue/detail/163777/antique-map-of-scandinavia-by-blaeu-w--j/|website = www.sanderusmaps.com|access-date = 2015-12-07|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305012133/https://www.sanderusmaps.com/en/our-catalogue/detail/163777/antique-map-of-scandinavia-by-blaeu-w--j/|archive-date = 2016-03-05|url-status = dead}}</ref> Shortly after the peace treaty, Oxenstierna was created Count of Södermöre.<ref name="Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna"/>

[[File:Swedish queen Drottning Kristina portrait by Sébastien Bourdon stor.jpg|thumb|Queen Christina of Sweden]]

====Queen Christina and her abdication====
When Christina came of age, she tried to push Oxenstierna, her old mentor, aside.<ref name="Populär Historia" /> The relations between the two were not good and Oxenstierna always attributed the exiguousness of Sweden's gains under the [[Peace of Westphalia]] − Sweden gained only [[Swedish Pomerania|Western Pomerania]], [[Usedom]], [[Wollin]], [[Wismar]] and [[Bremen-Verden]] − following the conference in [[Osnabrück]] to Christina's undue interference.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/> When the queen, a few years later, wanted to abdicate, Oxenstierna at first opposed this because he feared mischief to Sweden from the unruly and adventurous disposition of her preferred successor, [[Charles X Gustav]]. The chancellor changed his mind about Charles Gustav, however, and gave Christina the help she needed to go through with her abdication. Oxenstierna died two months after the ascension of the new king.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/><ref name="Populär Historia" />

==Death==
[[File:Jäders kyrka från sydost.jpg|thumbnail|Oxenstierna is interred in the family burial vault in [[Jäder Church]], north-east of [[Eskilstuna]].]]
Oxenstierna died in Stockholm on 28 August 1654. He was interred in [[Storkyrkan]], Stockholm on 18 March 1655. His body was then moved to [[Jäder Church]] close to the Oxenstierna estate at [[Fiholm Castle|Fiholm]], in present-day [[Eskilstuna Municipality]],<ref name="Oxenstierna Family Website - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre" /> where a vault had been built in accordance with his wishes. In the vault, ''Oxenstiernska gravvalvet'', several members of the Oxenstierna family have been buried, including Axel and his spouse Anna.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxenstierna.org/property_card.php?prid=76&lang=en&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id= |title=Oxenstierna Family Website – Jäder kyrka |work=oxenstierna.org |language=sv, en |access-date=25 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727161155/http://www.oxenstierna.org/property_card.php?prid=76&lang=en&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id= |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}</ref>

==Personal life==

===Family===
[[File:Anna Åkesdotter Bååt.jpg|right|thumb|Anna Åkesdotter Bååt]]
[[File:Oxenstiernas platset stockholm.jpg|right|thumb|[[Axel Oxenstierna palace|Oxenstiernska Palace]]]]
On 5 June 1608, Axel Oxenstierna married Anna Åkesdotter Bååt (December 1579{{snd}}26 June 1649),<ref name="Oxenstierna Family Website - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre" /> a daughter of nobleman Åke Johansson Bååt and Christina Trolle. The wedding took place at [[Fiholm Castle]], which was owned by the Oxenstierna family. Anna was constantly pregnant during her marriage, giving birth to 13 children in just 15 years, of which only five survived early childhood:
#Gustaf (29 March 1609{{snd}}1629), the oldest child, became a chamberlain.
#Johan (born and died 17 June 1610).
#[[Johan Oxenstierna|Johan]] (24 June 1611{{snd}}5 December 1657), named after his deceased brother, became a privy councillor.<ref name="Oxenstierna Family Website - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre"/>
#Christina (29 June 1612{{snd}}8 August 1631), married [[Gustav Horn, Count of Pori|Gustav Horn]], [[Swedish Field Marshals|Field Marshal]] and [[Lord High Constable of Sweden|Lord High Constable]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxenstierna.org/person_card.php?pid=437&lang=en&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id= |title=Oxenstierna Family Website – Catharina Axelsdotter Oxenstierna af Södermöre |work=oxenstierna.org |language=sv, en |access-date=25 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727161245/http://www.oxenstierna.org/person_card.php?pid=437&lang=en&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id= |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxenstierna.org/person_card.php?pid=623&lang=en&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id= |title=Oxenstierna Family Website – Christina Axelsdotter Oxenstierna af Södermöre |work=oxenstierna.org |language=sv, en |access-date=25 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727161252/http://www.oxenstierna.org/person_card.php?pid=623&lang=en&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id= |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}</ref>
#Catharina (29 June 1612{{snd}}25 June 1661), twin with Christina, married Johan Jespersson Cruus.
#Beata (22 November 1613{{snd}}15 January 1617).
#Barbro (12 February 1615{{snd}}21 June 1617).<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.geni.com/people/Barbro-Oxenstierna-af-S%C3%B6derm%C3%B6re/6000000001050346787| title = geni.com| date = May 2022}}</ref>
#Åke (March 1616{{snd}}1617).
#Son (1617), either stillborn or died immediately after birth.
#Maria (born and died August 1618).
#Gabriel (born and died March 1620).
#Jakob (30 July 1621{{snd}}August 1621).
#Erik (13 January 1624{{snd}}23 October 1656), served as a [[Lord High Chancellor of Sweden|Lord High Chancellor]] after the death of his father Axel in 1654.

===Properties===
Oxenstierna was in possession of large estates and many mansions. During his life he owned palaces in, among others, Estonian [[Otepää]], in Latvian [[Burtnieki]], [[Ropaži]] and [[Valmiera]], in Finnish [[Nousiainen]] (Nousis) and in Stockholm ([[Axel Oxenstierna palace|Oxenstiernska Palace]]).<ref name="Oxenstierna Family Website - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre" /> The foremost of the mansions was [[Tidö Castle]] in [[Västmanland]].<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget"/> In 1647, [[Wallonia]]n merchant [[Louis De Geer (1587–1652)|Louis De Geer]], who had returned from a Swedish trading expedition to [[West Africa]], gifted four [[Swedish slave trade|enslaved Africans]] to Oxenstierna.<ref>{{cite news|last=Granberg|first=Mats|url=https://nt.se/kultur-noje/den-svenske-slavhandelns-fader-9988541.aspx|title=Den svenske slavhandelns fader|work=[[Norrköpings Tidningar]]|date=17 July 2014|access-date=21 July 2021}}</ref>

==Impact and legacy==

===The modernization of Sweden===
Axel Oxenstierna is perhaps most remembered for the establishment of a uniform administrative system.<ref name="Nationalencyklopedien" /> He was ever-present during the vast reforms of the 1610s and 1620s, when the Swedish government was hugely modernized and made more effective. This was necessary for the war policies that would build the Swedish Empire. Among the areas reformed were army and navy organization and recruiting, trade and industrial policies, regional and local administration, the system of higher education, and the judicial system.<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget"/> The boundaries of the administrative [[counties of Sweden]] still to a large extent follow the boundaries established by Oxenstierna in the 17th century.

===Relationship with King Gustavus Adolphus===
Oxenstierna would not have had such an impact unless he had won the king's trust. From 1612, when Oxenstierna was appointed Lord High Chancellor, until 1632, when King Gustavus Adolphus died, the two men struck a long and successful partnership. They seem to have complemented each other. With Oxenstierna's own words, his "cool" balanced the king's "heat". More than once, the chancellor had to realize plans of the king, plans that sometimes were highly spontaneous and far from ready to be implemented in reality. When it came to entering the Thirty Years' War, Oxenstierna was not as enthusiastic as the king, but since the king's will was decisive, Oxenstierna accommodated himself to Gustavus's wish. At times, Oxenstierna stepped in to ease tense relations that the harsh behaviour of the king had caused.<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget"/> He regularly received the highest praise for his work from the king and there was almost no area in which King Gustavus did not consult his Lord High Chancellor Oxenstierna.<ref name="Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" />

[[File:Porträtt av Axel Oxenstierna - Livrustkammaren - 65091.tif|thumb|Portrait of Oxenstierna by [[David Beck]]]]

===The mind behind the Instrument of Government of 1634===
The Chancellor made large contributions to the Standing orders of the House of Knights (''riddarhusordning'') of 1626.<ref name="Nationalencyklopedien" /> After the death of Gustavus Adolphus, Oxenstierna was the mind behind the [[Instrument of Government (1634)|Instrument of Government of 1634]], in which, for example, the organization of the five [[Great Officers of the Realm]] was clarified. Five governmental branches, of which the Great Officers became heads, were established.<ref name="Nationalencyklopedien"/><ref name="Nordisk Familjebok - Riksämbetsmän (1916)">{{cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/nfcc/0217.html|title=Nordisk Familjebok – Riksämbetsmän|year=1916|work=Nordisk Familjebok at runeberg.org|language=sv|access-date=4 July 2009}}</ref> Oxenstierna pushed through the Instrument of Government, but not without opposition. He claimed that the new form of government reflected the will of the late King Gustavus, making himself the interpreter of the king's thoughts and wishes, and leaving the opposition no possibility to control the truth in this.<ref name="Trettioåriga kriget"/>

===Opinions===
Oxenstierna is regarded as a brilliant pragmatist, willing to reconsider his positions. There are examples of discussions within the Privy Council when Oxenstierna rejected laws he himself had earlier introduced, admitting that he knew better now. His way of examining, reconsidering, testing, and sometimes rejecting his earlier opinions constitutes his legacy more than his ideas on particular points of policy.<ref name="Populär Historia" />

When he discovered that there were too few young noblemen to staff governmental positions, he worked to make it easier for boys outside the noble families to gain higher education, and gave them the possibility, eventually, to be raised to the nobility themselves. He could therefore be considered the father of Swedish meritocracy.<ref name="Populär Historia" />

Oxenstierna was also a supporter of [[mercantilism]] and a believer in immigration and free enterprise.<ref name="Nationalencyklopedien"/>

In Germany, Oxenstierna became a fear-evoking character in a derived version of the popular German lullaby [[Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf|Schlaf, Kindlein, Schlaf!]], in which he is referred to as "Ochsenstern".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://content.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/stn/page/detail.php/2199406 |title=Ochsenstern im Wiegenlied "Schlaf, Kindlein, Schlaf!" |language=de |access-date=12 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202223254/http://content.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/stn/page/detail.php/2199406 |archive-date=2 December 2013 }}</ref>

====Opinions about Oxenstierna====
Dutch jurist and philosopher [[Hugo Grotius]] considered Oxenstierna "the greatest man of the century". French [[Cardinal Richelieu]] called him "an inexhaustible source of fine advice", while Richelieu's successor, [[Cardinal Mazarin]], said that if all ministers of Europe were on the same ship, the helm would be handed to Oxenstierna. Pope [[Urban VIII]] claimed that Oxenstierna was one of the most excellent men the world had seen.<ref name="Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" />

==Quotation==
{{Quote box
 |quote  = ''An nescis, mi fili, quantilla prudentia mundus regatur''? ''"Do you not know, my son, with how very little wisdom the world is governed?"''
 |author = In a letter to his son Johan written in 1648.<ref>William Francis Henry King, [https://books.google.com/books?id=XdwwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA40 ''Classical and Foreign Quotations, Law Terms and Maxims, Proverbs, Mottoes, Phrases, and Expression in French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Spanish, and Portuguese''], London: Whitaker and Sons, 1887, p. 40.</ref> 
}}

Although attributed to Oxenstierna, the pope [[Pope Julius III|Julius III]] (1487-1555) is regarded to have been the first recorded author.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wetterberg |first=Gunnar |title=Kanslern: Axel Oxenstierna i sin tid |date=2002 |publisher=Atlantis |isbn=978-91-7486-602-5 |location=Stockholm |pages=882–883 |language=sv}}</ref> Cardinal Richelieu has also been attributed to have been the author. This is probably the most famous Swedish quotation in the English-speaking world. The words were intended to encourage his son, a delegate to the negotiations that would lead to the Peace of Westphalia, who worried about his ability to hold his own amidst experienced and eminent statesmen and diplomats.

== Fictional portrayals ==

=== Film and TV ===
Oxenstierna has been portrayed on the stage and on the screen several times, mainly due to his role as mentor and guardian to the enigmatic [[Christina, Queen of Sweden|Queen Christina]]. He was played by [[Lewis Stone]] in [[Rouben Mamoulian]]'s 1933 Hollywood movie ''[[Queen Christina (film)|Queen Christina]]'', with [[Greta Garbo]] as the female lead role, by [[Cyril Cusack]] in [[Anthony Harvey]]'s ''[[The Abdication]]'' (1974) and by [[Michael Nyqvist]] in [[Mika Kaurismäki]]'s ''[[The Girl King]]'' (2015).

=== On stage ===
[[Samuel Ahlgren]] (1764–1816) played Oxenstierna in ''Drottning Kristina'' (1790), by the King [[Gustav III of Sweden]] who was an active playwright.

In [[August Strindberg]]'s 1901 play ''Kristina'', Oxenstierna is portrayed as a cold realist criticising Christina's extravagant lifestyle and her gifts to favourites.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dramawebben.se/pjas/kristina |title=Kristina |website=Dramawebben.se |access-date=15 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219134259/http://www.dramawebben.se/pjas/kristina |archive-date=19 February 2012 }}</ref>

The [[Bass (voice type)|bass]] part of Oxenstierna was first performed by [[Giovanni Carlo Casanova]] in [[Jacopo Foroni]]'s 1849 opera ''[[Cristina, regina di Svezia]]''.

=== Literature ===
Oxenstierna figures prominently in the ''[[Ring of Fire (anthology)|Ring of Fire]]'' hypernovel by Eric Flint ''et al.'' until the fifth main sequence novel ''[[1636: The Saxon Uprising]]'' in which he attempts to organize a counter-revolution to restore the supremacy of the aristocrats while Gustav II Adolf is incapacitated, but Gustav Adolf recovers and in chapter 52 Oxenstierna is properly rewarded for his treason, along with three of his staff officers who started to draw their guns.

=== Games ===
The computer strategy game ''[[Europa Universalis IV]]'' has several in-game events related to Oxenstierna's reforms and regency.

==See also==
*[[Swedish Empire]]
*[[Dominions of Sweden]]
*[[Axel Oxenstierna palace]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Axel Oxenstierna}}
*[http://www.statensarkiv.se/default.aspx?searchcritera=correspondence+axel+oxenstierna&btn_sok=S%C3%B6k&id=1256 The Correspondence of Axel Oxenstierna] – at the National Archives of Sweden
*{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Oxenstierna, Axel|year=1905 |short=x}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Svante Turesson Bielke]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Lord High Chancellor of Sweden|Realm Chancellor of Sweden]]|years=1612–1654}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Erik Oxenstierna]]}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=?}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governors-General of Sweden|Governor-General]] of [[Riga]]|years=1622–1626}}
{{s-aft|after=?}}
{{s-bef|before=New title}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governors-General of Sweden|Governor-General]] of [[Prussia]]|years=1626–1631}}
{{s-aft|after=Office abolished}}
{{s-reg|other}}
{{s-new}}
{{s-ttl|title=Count of Södermöre|creation=1st creation|years=1645–1654}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Johan Oxenstierna]]}}
{{s-new}}
{{s-ttl|title=Baron of Kimito|creation=1st creation|years=1614–1654}}
{{s-aft|after=Johan Oxenstierna}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxenstierna, Axel}}
[[Category:1583 births]]
[[Category:1654 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Enköping Municipality]]
[[Category:Oxenstierna family|Axel]]
[[Category:Swedish counts]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of Sweden]]
[[Category:Diplomats for Sweden]]
[[Category:17th-century Swedish politicians]]
[[Category:University of Rostock alumni]]
[[Category:University of Jena alumni]]
[[Category:University of Wittenberg alumni]]
[[Category:People from the Swedish Empire]]
[[Category:Christina, Queen of Sweden]]
[[Category:Swedish people of the Thirty Years' War]]
[[Category:Court of Christina, Queen of Sweden]]
[[Category:Royal favourites]]
[[Category:17th-century regents]]
[[Category:Slave owners]]