Gabriel Gustafsson Oxenstierna

Baron Gabriel Gustafsson Oxenstierna (15 June 1587 – 27 November 1640) was a Swedish statesman. Born either in Tyresö, Sweden, or in Reval (modern Tallinn, Estonia), he was the son of Privy Councillor Gustaf Gabrielsson Oxenstierna and Barbro Axelsdotter Bielke. As such he was brother of, among others, Lord High Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna. Career Oxenstierna began studying in Uppsala. He continued to study abroad, in German towns Rostock, Wittenberg and Jena. After his return to Sweden, he was in the service of King Charles IX from 1604. From 1612 he was chancellor and chief adviser of Duke John, son of former King John III. Also in 1612, Oxenstierna was appointed governor of Estonia. In 1617 he became a Privy Councillor and a marshal of the court of King Gustavus Adolphus. Being a close confidant of older brother Axel Oxenstierna (Lord High Chancellor 1612–1654) as well as of the king, Gabriel Oxenstierna was used as a diplomatic representative on numerous occasions. He was sent as a legate to Denmark both in 1622 and 1625, and during the latter year he also visited Lübeck, Hamburg, Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Pomerania, the Netherlands and England.