Axel Wachtmeister, Count of Mälsåker

Who was Axel Wachtmeister, Count of Mälsåker?

Axel Wachtmeister was a Swedish count and field marshal.

Axel Wachtmeister was a younger son of Hans Wachtmeister and Agnes Margareta von Helmstedt. His elder brother was Swedish admiral Hans Wachtmeister. His father was a member of an Estonian-Finnish-German family of incorporated Swedish nobles, and was elevated to the title of Baron of Koivisto, near Viipuri, eastern Finland, in 1653.

Axel Wachtmeister distinguished himself in the Scanian War, became a colonel in 1676 and was appointed Major General in 1679. In 1697, he was appointed chairman in Krigskollegium, the headquarters of the Swedish Army. From 1680 and onwards, he had the title Royal Counsellor and was a close associate of King Charles XI. Baron Axel Wachtmeister was created count of Mälsåker and field marshal in 1693.

He married Baroness Anna Maria Soop, who married into the Gyllenstierna family after his death.