Axel Oxenstierna

thumb| Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna (16 June 1583 – 28 August 1654) was a Swedish statesman and Count of Södermöre. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of King Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina, for whom he was at first regent. Quotes An nescis, mi filli, quantilla prudentia mundus regatur? Don't you know, my son, with what little sense the world is governed? Attributed to Oxenstierna in H. L. Mencken, "The Russian Phantasmagoria" [Review of My Life, by Leon Trotsky] in The American Mercury, 20 (July 1930) pp. 381–83. An almost identical translation is attributed (without the Latin) to Pope Julius III in Alan C. Filley, The Compleat Manager: What Works When (Champaign, IL: Research Press Co, 1978) ch. 2, p. 9: Do you know, my son, with what little understanding the world is ruled? [To a Portuguese monk who sympathised with the Pope's burden of office] External links Category:1583 births Category:1654 deaths Category:Politicians from Sweden