Gustav Horn, Count of Pori

Who was Gustav Horn, Count of Pori?

Count Gustav Horn af Björneborg was a Swedish/Finnish soldier and politician. He was the youngest son of Field Marshal Carl Horn and Agneta von Dellwig, born while his father was imprisoned in Örbyhus Castle, after the defeat against the Russians.

He was born of the Finnish noble family Horn of Kankas, and was appointed member of the Royal Council in 1625, Field Marshal in 1628, Governor General of Livonia in 1652 and Lord High Constable since 1653. In the Thirty Years' War, he was instrumental as a commander in securing victory at the Battle of Breitenfeld, in 1631. He was High Councillor of the realm in 1625, elevated to the rank of field marshal in 1628, and sometimes commander-in-chief of Swedish forces in Germany during Thirty Years' War. After the war, he served as Governor-General of Livonia 1652, President of War department and Lord High Constable in 1653. In 1651, Queen Christina created him Count of Pori.

He married Kristina Oxenstierna, daughter of Count Axel Oxenstierna, the Chancellor, in 1628, and fathered countess Agneta Horn, his heiress, who married baron Lars Cruus of Gudhem, Lord of Harviala. In 1643 he married his second wife Sigrid Bielke, and fathered two more daughters: countess Eva Horn and countess Hedvig Lovisa Horn.