Horn, Arvid Bernhard (1664-1742), was one of Sweden’s greatest statesmen. He served as a general and political leader during the Great Northern War, which Sweden fought from 1700 to 1721 against Denmark, Poland, Saxony, and Russia. Horn’s policies also guided the nation’s postwar recovery.
Horn was born on April 6, 1664, in Finland. At that time, Sweden ruled Finland. Horn served in the Swedish army during the early years of the Great Northern War. Beginning in 1704, he received several political and diplomatic assignments. In 1710, King Charles XII of Sweden made him head of the royal council.
Swedish armies were victorious in the early years of the war. But in 1709, they suffered a crushing defeat by the Russians at the Battle of Poltava, in what is now Ukraine. Charles XII escaped to the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). He remained there until 1714, trying to gain Ottoman support to fight Russia. In Sweden, Horn struggled to meet the constant demand for more soldiers, money, and resources for the war. He began to favor peace negotiations, against the king’s wishes. When King Charles returned to Sweden in 1715, he removed Horn from positions of power.
In 1718, Charles XII was killed during a siege. He left no child or chosen heir. As a condition for recognizing a new ruler, the Swedish Riksdag (parliament) set limits on royal authority that gave the council and Riksdag more power than the monarch. Horn served as head of the council briefly in 1719, and then from 1720 to 1738. Recognizing Sweden’s weakened condition after so many years of war, Horn negotiated a series of treaties from 1719 to 1721 that ended the Great Northern War. He refused to be drawn into any other conflicts and worked to rebuild the nation’s economy. His parliamentary skill enabled him to dominate policymaking until 1738. In that year, opponents who considered Horn’s policies too cautious forced him to resign. Horn died on April 17, 1742.
See also Sweden (The age of expansion).
