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#emdiplomat of the day: Carl Gyllenborg (1679-1746)
You think #emdiplomacy is boring? Then you don’t know Carl Gyllenborg’s life; it reads like a spy novel, although it began quite ordinary for a Swedish diplomat.
Gyllenborg was born as the son of the Swedish politician Count Jacob Gyllenborg. He studied law, latin and history at the university of Uppsala, before he joined the army and fought in the Great Northern War.
This is already interesting, as the connection between military experience and expertise and #emdiplomacy is an aspect that needs more attention from research. (1/4)
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In 1703, he then was dispatched to London as secretary to the Swedish ambassador, before becoming ambassador himself in 1710. Here he married an Englishwomen, Sara Wright. Around 1717 he became involved in a conspiracy to restore the Stuart dynasty to the British throne which led to his imprisonment in England. But this was by no means the end of his career, quite the contrary. After the English had expelled him back to Sweden, he was sent to the peace negotiations on Åland between Sweden and Russia. Unfortunately, the negotiations failed. (2/4)
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Gyllenborg’s career as an #emdiplomat was quite eventful, full of conspiracies and failures. Nonetheless, back at home in Sweden he continued to make a career and later becoming chancellor of State and chancery president as well as chancellor of the universities of Lund and Upsalla.
His career clearly shows the dangers of the job of an #emdiplomat, but also that it was often only the stepping stone for a career at the home court. (3/4)
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If you want to know more about Gyllenborg’s involvement in the “Swedish Plot”, we recommend the master thesis by Emma Forsberg:
http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1433695/FULLTEXT02.pdf
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