Eric Birger Trolle (23 September 1863 – 21 April 1934) was a Swedish diplomat and statesman who served as minister for foreign affairs from 1905 to 1909 and later as Governor of Östergötland County from 1909 to 1930. He began his diplomatic career in 1886, serving in the Swedish legations in Copenhagen, Madrid, and Berlin, and subsequently held senior positions in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In 1903, he became state secretary for foreign affairs and played a role during the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905. He was appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Denmark in 1905 before becoming minister for foreign affairs later that year. As foreign minister, he represented Sweden in the negotiations that led to the Baltic Agreement of 1908. After leaving the government in 1909, he served as Sweden's envoy to several German courts while simultaneously holding the governorship of Östergötland County. In 1930, he was appointed Marshal of the Realm, one of the highest offices of the Swedish royal court, and retired as governor later that year.
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Early life
Eric Trolle was born on 23 September 1863 at Klågerup Castle in Hyby Parish, Svedala Municipality, Sweden, the son of the landed proprietor and member of parliament Carl Axel Trolle (1810–1879) and his wife Ebba Carolina Eva Maria Charlotta Toll (1824–1900).
He was the brother of the baron, courtier, and member of parliament Nils Trolle (1859–1930), and of the jurist, member of parliament, and landed proprietor Carl Axel Trolle (1862–1919).
His paternal grandfather was the chamberlain and baron Nils Trolle (1777–1827). His great-grandfather was the historian and chamberlain Arvid Trolle (1724–1797); his great-great-grandfather was the landed proprietor and politician Fredrik Trolle (1693–1770); his great-great-great-grandfather was the Danish-Swedish officer Arvid Trolle (1653–1698); and his great-great-great-great-grandfather was the Danish nobleman Niels Trolle (1599–1667).
He passed his matriculation examination (mogenhetsexamamen) on 6 June 1882 and enrolled at Lund University in 1883. He passed the preliminary examination in law (juridisk preliminärexamen) on 30 May 1884, followed by the Chancellery Examination (kansliexamen) on 14 September 1886.
Career
Trolle was appointed attaché on 29 October 1886 and began serving in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on 1 November of the same year. He was assigned to the Swedish legation in Copenhagen on 28 February 1887 and to Madrid on 24 June that year, where he served as head of the latter mission from 4 July to 3 October. He returned to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on 23 June 1889 and was appointed acting second secretary there on 29 March of the same year, becoming second secretary on 10 September. On 20 April 1894 he was appointed acting first secretary, and on 16 June he became first secretary. He was appointed chamberlain on 1 December and Vice Master of Ceremonies on the same date. On 12 November he became legation secretary at the Swedish legation in Berlin.
On 29 June 1900, Trolle was appointed legation counsellor. On 8 May 1903, he became state secretary for foreign affairs. During his tenure, the union between Norway and Sweden was dissolved in 1905. On 30 June 1905 he was appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at the Danish court, and on 7 November that year he became minister for foreign affairs. Trolle served as minister for foreign affairs in Karl Staaff's first government. He and Lars Tingsten subsequently remained in office when Arvid Lindman's government was formed in 1906. In 1909, however, Trolle resigned from the government together with Alfred Petersson and Gustaf Roos, following disagreements with the parliamentary opposition concerning Article 46 of the Riksdag Act. As minister for foreign affairs, Trolle represented Sweden, among other things, in the diplomatic negotiations that led to the conclusion of the so-called Baltic Agreement in 1908.
Trolle was relieved of his duties as minister for foreign affairs on 17 March 1909. On 30 April that year, he was appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the German, Bavarian, Saxon, and Baden courts. He had also been appointed Governor of Östergötland County and Governor of Linköping Castle on 1 April. From 1912 to 1930, Trolle served as chairman of the Östergötland County Agricultural Society (Östergötlands läns hushållningssällskap), and from 1912 as chairman of the board of the Göta Canal Company. In 1915 he was a delegate to the trade negotiations with England and chairman of the War Insurance and Trade Commissions. On 8 October 1918 he became Vice Chancellor of the Royal Orders of Chivalry (Kungl. Maj:ts Orden, KMO).
Trolle served as chairman of the board of the Northern Östergötland Railways from 1920 to 1933. On 26 September 1921 he represented Sweden in the negotiations concerning the neutralization of the Åland Islands. On 31 May 1924 he became Chancellor of the (Kungl. Maj:ts Orden, KMO). On 21 November of the same year, he was relieved of his duties as a member and chairman of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' admissions commission. On 15 March 1930, Trolle was appointed Acting Marshal of the Realm, and on 12 April he was formally appointed to the position. That same year he became chairman of the supervisory board of King Oscar II's Jubilee Fund, retired from his post as Governor of Östergötland County on 26 September, and joined the board of Stockholms Enskilda Bank.
Personal life
Trolle married Countess Alice Gyldenstolpe (1872–1953) on 15 November 1893 in the Royal Chapel in Stockholm. She was the daughter of Master of the Horse Count Gustaf Gyldenstolpe (1839–1919) and Lady of the State Alice Gyldenstolpe (1850–1927).
The couple had two children: Catharina Ebba Alice Fredrika (1894–1983) and Chamberlain Erik Trolle (1901–1981).
Death
Trolle died of pneumonia at around 9 a.m. on 21 April 1934 at Mösseberg Sanatorium in Falköping Municipality. At the time of his death, he was registered in the Royal Court Parish in the City of Stockholm.
His funeral service was held on 26 April 1934 in the Royal Chapel in Stockholm. He was buried on 30 April 1934 at Fulltofta Cemetery in Hörby Municipality.
Awards and decorations
Swedish
Knight and Commander of the Orders of His Majesty the King's Orden (Order of the Seraphim) (16 June 1908)
King Oscar II and Queen Sofia's Golden Wedding Medal (6 June 1907)
King Oscar II's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (18 September 1897)
King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (16 June 1928)
Knight of the Order of Charles XIII (28 January 1919)
Commander Grand Cross of the Order of Vasa (23 September 1922)
Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star (1 December 1906)
Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Polar Star (1 December 1905)
Knight of the Order of the Polar Star (18 September 1897)
Knight of the Order of Saint John in Sweden (1930)
King Gustaf V's Olympic Commemorative Medal (Konung Gustaf V:s olympiska minnesmedalj) (1912)
Foreign
Knight of the House Order of Fidelity (1912)
Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog (3 June 1908)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (11 September 1906)
Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog (3 February 1897)
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (July 1908)
1st Class of the Order of the Double Dragon (1909)
Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange (1930)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (between 1901 and 1903)
Knight of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (1897)
Knight 1st Class with crown of the Order of the Red Eagle (August 1908)
Knight of the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky (16/29 April 1908 O.S./N.S.)
Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle (1909)
Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (1904)
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (April 1908)
1st Class of the Order of Osmanieh (June 1906)
2nd Class of the Order of Osmanieh (1901)
Honours
Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry (1915)