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Ragnar Gyllenswärd

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Ragnar Gyllenswärd
President of the Supreme Court of Sweden
In office
1 May 1952 – 1958
MonarchGustaf VI Adolf
Prime MinisterTage Erlander
Preceded byAxel Afzelius
Succeeded byCarl Gustaf Hellquist
Justice of the Supreme Court of Sweden
In office
1 October 1935 – 31 August 1958
Parliamentary Ombudsman
In office
1 October 1933 – 30 September 1935
Preceded bySeve Ellenius Ekberg
Succeeded byNils Ljunggren
Personal details
Born
Ragnar Hugo Ferdinand Gyllenswärd

(1891-08-11)11 August 1891
Växjö, Sweden
Died26 February 1967(1967-02-26) (aged 75)
Stockholm, Sweden
Spouse
Anna Posse
(m. 1919⁠–⁠1967)
Children3
Alma materUppsala University
ProfessionJurist

Ragnar Hugo Ferdinand Gyllenswärd (11 August 1891 – 26 February 1967) was a Swedish jurist who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Sweden for 23 years, including six years as its president. Gyllenswärd started his academic career at Uppsala University with studies in the humanities before obtaining a law degree. He worked in various legal roles, including contributing to legislative matters at the Ministry of Justice and helping draft a Swedish-Norwegian water rights convention. He later served on a committee revising inheritance law and contributed to reforms related to death declarations. Gyllenswärd held several significant positions, including Parliamentary Ombudsman and Supreme Court Justice, where he was recognized for his legal expertise and commitment to maintaining and developing legal standards. He was also engaged in historical studies, particularly in personal and cultural history.[1]

Early life

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Gyllenswärd was born on 11 August 1891 in Växjö Cathedral Parish [sv] in Växjö, Kronoberg County, Sweden, the son of the major and the infirmary clerk Oskar Hugo Gyllenswärd and his wife Wendla Wilhelmina Isabella Hultman.[1] Gyllenswärd completed his secondary school examination at Växjö Higher General School i Växjö in 1909 and enrolled at Uppsala University the same year.[2] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1911, with Romance and Nordic languages as his main subjects. He deepened his familiarity with the French language and culture through studies at the University of Grenoble, and he maintained a lifelong interest in the humanities in general. Gyllenswärd was particularly captivated by historical works, especially those of a biographical nature, and his knowledge of past eras, both their history and their stories, was extensive.[3] He received a Candidate of Law degree in 1916.[2]

Career

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After serving in the district court, he joined the Göta Court of Appeal in 1918, where he held positions as an extraordinary legal clerk (fiskal) and adjunct member until 1923. From 1923 to 1929, he served as an assessor, and from 1929 to 1930, and for a short period in 1935, he held the office of Court of Appeal judge. His active service in the Court of Appeal was interrupted as early as 1925 when he became an acting judge referee and later became attached to the Ministry of Justice's legislative department, where he served as an extraordinary member from 1927 to 1929. Gyllenswärd served as secretary to the experts investigating the issue of amending the 1905 convention with Norway regarding shared lakes and waterways from 1925 to 1928.[2] He was a member of the Legislative Council (Lagberedningen) from 1929 to 1932 and served as a minister without portfolio in Carl Gustaf Ekman's second cabinet and Felix Hamrin's cabinet from 7 June 1930, to 24 September 1932.[4][2] He was then the state secretary in the Ministry of Justice from 1932 to 1933 and the Parliamentary Ombudsman from 1933 to 1935. Gyllenswärd held the position of judge referee from 1930 to 1934.[2] He served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Sweden from 1935 to 1958, a member of the Council on Legislation from 1946 to 1948, and president of the Supreme Court of Sweden from 1952 to 1958. He was also a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands from 1963.[5]

Gyllenswärd contributed to the Nytt juridiskt arkiv [sv; fi] from 1939, serving as co-editor from 1941 and as chief editor from 1943. His significant contributions to the journal were mainly in Section I, the judicial section, while his involvement with Section II, the legislative section, was more formal. He completely stepped down from the latter section with the 1961 edition and from the former with the 1963 edition. Gyllenswärd was the first editor for Sweden in the Nordisk Domssamling [no], which began publication in 1958, and he remained in this role until the year he died.[3] He also contributed to the Svensk Juristtidning [sv] and Tidsskrift for Rettsvitenskap.[4]

Personal life

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On 3 July 1919 in Bergunda Church [sv][6] in Bergunda [sv], Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Gyllenswärd married Countess Anna Aurora Maria Posse (30 June 1894 – 18 March 1967), the daughter of Count Knut Arvid Posse and Baroness Sigrid Elisabeth Carolina Gustafsdotter Leijonhufvud.[1] They had three children: Christina (born 1920), Isabella (born 1921), and Birgitta (born 1922).[4]

Death

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Gyllenswärd died on 26 February 1967 in Hedvig Eleonora Parish, Stockholm County.[1] The burial took place on 7 March 1967 in Hedvig Eleonora Church in Stockholm. He was buried in Bergunda [sv].[7]

Awards and decorations

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Honours

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Hellquist, Carl Gustaf (1967–1969). "Ragnar H F Gyllenswärd". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 17. National Archives of Sweden. p. 633. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Bohman, Nils; Dahl, Torsten, eds. (1946). Svenska män och kvinnor: biografisk uppslagsbok (in Swedish). Vol. 3 G-H. Stockholm: Bonnier. p. 201. SELIBR 53802.
  3. ^ a b Hellquist, Carl Gustaf (1967). "Ragnar Gyllenswärd †". Svensk Juristtidning (in Swedish). Stockholm: Svensk juristtidning. pp. 237–239. SELIBR 8258422. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? [Who's Who?] (in Swedish). Vol. 1, Stor–Stockholm (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem bokförlag. p. 478. SELIBR 53509.
  5. ^ Lagerström, Sten, ed. (1966). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1967 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1967] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 324. SELIBR 3681518.
  6. ^ Elgenstierna, Gustaf, ed. (1927). Den introducerade svenska adelns ättartavlor (in Swedish). Vol. 3 Gadde-Höökenberg. Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 384. SELIBR 10076750.
  7. ^ "Döde" [Deceased]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1967-03-01. p. 2. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  8. ^ Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1955. p. 51.
  9. ^ Sveriges statskalender för året 1939 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1939. p. 83.
  10. ^ Sveriges statskalender för året 1931 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1931. p. 106.
[edit]
Legal offices
Preceded by
John Alsén
State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice
1932–1933
Succeeded by
Gustaf Eklund
Preceded by
Seve Ellenius Ekberg
Parliamentary Ombudsman
1933–1935
Succeeded by
Nils Ljunggren
Preceded by
Axel Afzelius
President of the Supreme Court of Sweden
1952–1958
Succeeded by