Hannibal Sehested (governor)

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For the later prime minister, see Hannibal Sehested (council president).

Hannibal Sehested
Governor-general of Norway
In office
1642–1651
MonarchsChristian IV, Frederick III
Preceded byChristoffer Urne
Succeeded byGregers Krabbe
Personal details
Born1609
Denmark-Norway
Hannibal Sehested

Hannibal Sehested (1609 – 23 September 1666) was a

Dano-Norwegian statesman and son-in-law of King Christian IV. He served as Governor-general of Norway from 1642 to 1651. He fought in the Torstenson War against Sweden and implemented many reforms in Norway.[1][2] After a fall from grace leading to his resignation as Governor-general in 1651, he regained the trust of Frederick III in 1660 and negotiated the Treaty of Copenhagen. He worked as lord treasurer and councillor of state until his death in 1666.[3]

Early life

Sehested was born at

Båhus fiefdom in Norway and was also appointed member of the Danish National Council.[1]

In 1640 and 1641 he was sent to

Gustavus Adolphus's daughter Christina. Though failing in both particulars, he retained the favor of the king, who had marked him out as a son-in-law, one of seven by whose influence he hoped to increase the influence of the crown. Accordingly, in 1636 he was betrothed to one of the daughters, the countess Christine, then aged nine, whom he married in 1642.[4][2]

In May 1640, Sehested became a member of the

Governor-General of Norway.[4][2]

Governor-general of Norway under Christian IV

In April 1642 he was appointed Governor-General of Norway, where he served until 1651. He now had the opportunity of displaying his administrative and organizing abilities, united with a remarkable zeal for reform. He made it his main objective to develop Norway's material resources, reorganize the army, fortifications and fiscal system; and he aimed at giving the country a more independent position in the

union with Denmark.[4][1][2]

The Hannibal War

During Christian IV's

Herjedalen, both Norwegian provinces, were ceded to Sweden by Denmark-Norway with Sehested's acquiescence.[1]

After the war he renewed his reforming efforts, and during the years 1646–1647 strove to withdraw his governorship from the benumbing influence of the central administration at Copenhagen, and succeeded with the help of Christian IV in creating a separate defensive fleet for Norway and giving her partial control of her own finances. He was considerably assisted in his endeavours by the fact that Norway was regarded as the hereditary possession of the Kings of Denmark-Norway. [5]

Fall from favor

At the same time, Sehested freely used his immense wealth and official position to accumulate for himself property and privileges of all sorts. His successes finally excited the envy and disapprobation of the Danish Rigsraad, especially of his rival,

Korfits Ulfeldt, also one of the king's sons-in-law. The quarrel became acute when Sehested's semi-independent administration of the finances of Norway infringed upon Ulfeldt's functions as lord treasurer of the whole realm. In November 1647, Ulfeldt carried his point, and a decree was issued that henceforth the Norwegian leaders should send their rents and taxes direct to Copenhagen.[6][5]

Governor-general of Norway under Frederick III

On the accession of Frederick III (1648) to the throne, Sehested strove hard to win his favor, but an investigation into his accounts as governor conducted by his enemies brought to light such wholesale embezzlement and peculation that he was summoned to appear before a herredag, or assembly of notables in May 1651 to give an account of his whole administration. Unable to meet the charges brought against him, he compromised matters by resigning his governorship and his senatorship, and surrendering all his private property in Norway to the crown.[3]

After the fall

Throughout his trial, Sehested had shown prudence. He gave back three times what he had

embezzled. Calculating on the sympathy of Frederick III for a man of his monarchical tendencies, he had nothing to do with the projects of revenge which were the ruin of Korfits Ulfeldt. From 1651 to 1660, he lived abroad. At the end of 1655, he met the exiled Charles II of England at Cologne and lived a part of the following year with him in the Spanish Netherlands
. In the summer of 1657, he returned to Denmark, but Frederick III refused to receive him, and he hastily quit Copenhagen. During the crisis of the
Charles X of Sweden. In seeking the help and protection of the worst enemy of his country, Sehested approached the very verge of treason, but he never quite went beyond it. When, at last, it seemed probable that the war would not result in the annihilation of Denmark-Norway, Sehested strained every nerve to secure his own future by working in the interests of his native land while still residing in Sweden.[3]

The final years

In April 1660, he obtained permission from Frederick III to come to Copenhagen and was finally instructed by him to negotiate with the Swedes. The

Peter, count Griffenfeldt, supporting the policy of friendship with Sweden and a French alliance. He died suddenly in Paris, where he was conducting important negotiations. His political testament is perhaps the best testimony to his liberal and statesmanlike views.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Rian, Øystein (n.d.). "Hannibal Sehested". Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  2. ^
    Dansk biografisk leksikon
    (in Danish). Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e Bain 1911, p. 586.
  4. ^ a b c d e Bain 1911, p. 585.
  5. ^ a b Erik Opsahl. "Hannibal Sehested". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  6. ^ Bain 1911, pp. 585–586.
  7. ^ Jacob Petersen at Dansk Biografisk Leksikon - lex.dk

Other Sources

  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Sehested, Hannibal". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 585–586. which in turn cites:
    • Thyra Sehested, Hannibal Sehested (Copenhagen, 1886)
    • Julius Albert Fridericia, Adelsvældens sidste Dage (Copenhagen, 1894)
  • Carl Olaf Bøggild Andersen (1946) Hannibal Sehested: en dansk statsmand (Universitetsforlaget i Århus)
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