Lord High Steward of Sweden - Early Modern Period

Early Modern Period

The title was pushed aside by another office, hovmästare, and not until Per Brahe the Elder was appointed steward by John III in 1569, was the title revived. Albeit honorable, the title meant no particular assignment until 1614, when Lord High Steward Magnus Brahe was put in charge of the newly established Svea Court of Appeal, the highest court of Sweden at the time. The steward became responsible of supervising justice in Sweden. From 1634, the steward was one of five Great Officers of the Realm, who were the most prominent members of the Privy Council. Lord High Steward had the highest rank of the five officers, and because of that, the steward was the most important figure during the regencies who ruled when Christina and Charles XI had not yet come of age.

Sweden suffered from political turmoil under the regency when Charles XI's was still a minor, which brought about changes to among others the Lord High Steward and the other Great Officers of the Realm. The significance of the office had decreased when Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie got the position when Per Brahe the Younger died. After De la Gardie, no new steward was appointed.

The title Lord High Steward was revived once more in 1787, when Gustav III gave Carl Axel Wachtmeister the title and put him in charge of all Swedish high courts. In 1809 the office was once again withdrawn when a new constitution was established in Sweden. The new office State Minister of Justice became the new head of the Swedish justice system.