Nils Bielke
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Count Nils Bielke (1644-1716) was a member of the High Council of Sweden, military and politician.
Born the posthumous son [1] of baron Ture Nilsson Bielke, queen Christina granted the young boy the barony of Korppoo in archipelago of southwestern Finland. He married countess Eeva Horn, one of the heiresses of the sonless field marshal Count Gustav Horn af Björneborg.
Nils Bielke entered the service of the Swedish Army and the Royal Court in the 1660s. He was appointed Lieutenant General in 1678, Governor-General of Swedish Pomerania in 1687 and he became Field Marshal in 1690.
During the Scanian War (1675-1679), he made important contributions both as a troup organizer and as an officer on the field. He especially distinguished himself at the Battle of Lund in 1676 as the commander of the Royal Cavalry Guard (Livregementet till häst).
He was Sweden's ambassador in France, 1679-1682, and 1684 to 1687, he took part in the Emperor's Turkish war. He was created Reichsgraf in the Holy Roman Empire. Charles XI of Sweden later allowed him comital rank in Sweden.
Nils Bielke was dissatisfied with Charles XI despotic policy towards the old aristocracy. As the governor of Swedish Pomerania it was only reluctantly that he took part in the reduction of property belonging to the nobility. In addition to this, he undertook private negotiations in order to push Sweden towards a pro-French policy against the wishes of the Swedish government.
As a result of this, he lost his position in 1698 and after a long legal process, he was sentenced to death in 1705. He was, however, pardoned and in 1715, he was redeemed.
Nils Bielke had over a dozen children [2]. One of his currently living descendants is William Alexander, Prince of Orange, the heir of the royal throne of the Netherlands.
[edit] Source
- The article Bielke, Nils in Nationalencyklopedin (1990).
