Instrument of Government (1634)
The Instrument of Government of 1634 was a document describing the form and operation of the Swedish government, retrospectively regarded as the country's first constitution, although it was not intended to function as such. It was composed by the Lord High Chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, and was adopted by the Riksdag of the Estates on 29 July 1634. It was rendered void when the Riksdag repudiated it in 1680.
Axel Oxenstierna, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden and architect of the 1634 Instrument of Government.
King Charles XI, who in 1680 persuaded the Riksdag to repudiate the Instrument of Government and accept an absolute monarchy.
Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna was a Swedish statesman and Count of Södermöre. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of King Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina, for whom he was at first regent.
Axel Oxenstierna
Axel Oxenstierna in 1626
King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Queen Christina of Sweden