Leo von Heidenstam
Leo von Heidenstam | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait of von Heidenstam in 1867 | |
| 1st Premier of Geatland | |
| In office 10 August 1867 – 12 December 1878 | |
| Monarch | Gunnar III |
| Preceded by | office created |
| Succeeded by | Baron Ingemar Ulf |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Leo Verner von Heidenstam 29 September 1798 Kungslandning, Ibsäm, Geatland |
| Died | 21 November 1882 (aged 84) Esholm, Geatland |
| Spouse | Greta Mulborg |
| Parents |
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| Awards | |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Geatland |
| Branch/service | Royal Geatish Army |
| Years of service | 1816–1867 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Battles/wars | King Rudolf's War
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Field Marshal Leo Verner von Heidenstam, 1st Duke of Dromund (29 September 1798 - 21 November 1882) was a Geatish military commander and statesman who is most renowned for crushing the Engström Revolt and serving as Geatland's first premier. He is considered among the most predominant figures in contemporary Geatish history.
Leo von Heidenstam was born into a moderately wealthy and landed noble family in Kungslandning. As the second son of a army captain, von Heidenstam was made to enlist in the Royal Geatish Army at age 18. After distinguishing himself in the army academy, von Heidenstam rose rapidly through the ranks and became a captain at the age of 23 in 1821. When King Rudolf's War broke out between Geatland and Azmara, von Heidenstam served with valor distinction, his most famous achievement being the siege of Fort Aalmsted in 1844. After King Rudolf's War, von Heidenstam was promoted to field marhall and largely retired from his military duties, conducting mostly ceremonial matters. This changed when Gunnar III called on him to personally quell the Engström Revolt, a republican insurrection against the Geatish Crown. Von Heidenstam's brute force and decisive understanding of logistics proved vital in destroying the rebel forces.
After his distinguished service in the Engström Revolt, von Heidenstam expected to resign from public life completely. However, in 1867 the Constitution of Geatland was ratified, and Gunnar III asked von Heidenstam to serve as the nation's first premier, an offer von Heidenstam reluctantly accepted. He would go on to be extremely popular in that position and enacted various policies aimed at democratizing the newly-minted constitutional monarchy and liberalizing its economy. His most famous achievement is extending voting rights to property-less men. Despite strong popular approval, von Heidenstam declined to stand as premier for a third term in 1875, continuing an unbroken political precent in Geatland. He died in 1882 and was accorded a state funeral.
Von Heidenstam is among the mostly highly rated and celebrated premiers of Geatland. His military prowess as well as his close personal relationship with and understanding of his soldiers made him an extremely popular figure. In 2006, von Heidenstam was declared the third greatest Geat to have ever lived, behind only Eric the Great and Otto IV. He and his descendants are among the only non-royal families to hold the title of duke in Geatland.
Early life and ancestry
Leo Verner von Heidenstam was born into an aristocratic Geatish family in the family's ancestral home in Kungslandning, Ibsäm County, on 29 September 1798. He was the second of four suriviving sons of Oskar von Heidenstam, Count of Kravall and Lady Marta Trausch. Through his father's side, he belonged to the von Heidenstam family, which was given landed rights around 1701. The von Heidenstams were minor nobility with limited connection to the realm's ruling royal elite. Leo was the third cousin twice removed of the reigning Geatish monarch at his birth, Eric X. His great-grandfather, Lord Sigmund von Heidenstam, was the deputy viceroy of Eldmark from 1705 - 1711.
The von Heidenstams were wealthy, though by the standards of the ruling elite they were relatively poor. Around Leo von Heidenstam's birth, the family estate had been falling into desrepair. Most of the family's wealth was reinvigorated when Oskar married Marta Trausch, the daughter of a wealthy Sunrosian businessman, and thus received a large dowry. Growing up, von Heidenstam learned to speak Weranic through his mother, and he would hold a strong appreciation for Weranic culture for the rest of his life.
Until the age of 12, von Heidenstam attended a local grammar school. Teachers often remarked that he was lonesome and shy but excelled in academia, especially in mathematics. He suffered from a bad stammer for which he was bullied and mocked. One tutor remarked that he was an "affectatious, insignificant boy of no remark." On von Heidenstam's personal insistance, his father found him a private tutor, and he educated at home until he was eighteen. His father personally taught him horseback riding and shooting. In his later years, von Heidenstam wrote, "I am my father's work."