Gustaf Douglas

Count Gustaf Archibald Siegwart Douglas (born 3 March 1938) is a Swedish aristocrat, billionaire businessman, and politician. He has been a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences since 2007.[2]

For the Swedish mercenary, see Gustaf Otto Douglas.

Gustaf Douglas
Born	Gustaf Archibald Siegwart Douglas (1938-03-03) 3 March 1938 Stockholm, Sweden
Nationality	Swedish
Net worth	US$4.1 billion (January 2015)[1]
Spouse(s)	Elisabeth von Essen ( m. 1963)
Children	Eric Douglas (b. 1965) Carl Douglas (b. 1968)
Parents	Carl Ludvig Douglas (1908-1961) (father) Ottora Maria Haas-Heye (1910-2001) (mother)

Biography

Early life

Gustaf Archibald Siegwart Douglas (born 3 March 1938) is the oldest son of Count Carl Ludvig Douglas (26 July 1908 Stjärnorp - 21 January 1961 Rio de Janeiro), a Swedish nobleman and diplomat who was Royal Swedish Ambassador to Brazil, and his Prussian wife Ottora Maria Haas-Heye (13 February 1910 Partenkirchen - 17 July 2001).

Career

After an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1964, he worked in Sweden and was CEO of the newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Expressen between 1973 and 1980. After that he founded his company Investment AB Latour in 1984, through which he now controls security firm Securitas AB, the world-leading lock producer Assa Abloy and more. He formed a partnership with fellow businessman Melker Schörling, who also controls a significant amount of Securitas shares and serves as the company's chairman. He is the eleventh wealthiest person in Sweden, according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated net worth of around US$3.2 billion as of March 2013.

In 2001 Douglas was elected to the board of the Moderate Party. He has a long history of political involvement, having campaigned in his teens for what was the predecessor of the Moderates. Douglas was, however, for a time active within the Liberal People's Party. Now he is known as a rather Conservative Moderate with a big interest in education policy.

Personal life, family

His patriline is Scottish, of the Swedish-German branch, descended via two obscure generations,[3] from the youngest son of James Douglas, 1st Lord Dalkeith, ancestor of the 15th century Earls of Morton. All these Douglases were of the Morton branch of the ancient Douglas family.

The Douglas family was introduced in the 17th century at Riddarhuset under number 19 among families of comital status. Gustaf Douglas has later served on the board of Riddarhuset.

His maternal great-grandfather was Philip, Prince of Eulenburg and Hertefeld (1847–1921), a friend of Wilhelm II, whose youngest child Viktoria Ada Astrid Agnes Gräfin zu Eulenburg (1886–1967) married 1909 (div. 1921) professor Otto Ludwig Haas-Heye (1879–1959), and had issue, including two daughters. Gustaf descends through both his mother and father from medieval Scandinavian nobility and rulers.

In 1963, he married Elisabeth von Essen, the daughter of Baron Eric von Essen and Louise (née Tamm).[4] Gustaf and Elisabeth Douglas have two children, Carl and Eric. Both serve at different positions within the family group of companies. The Douglas family live at Rydboholm Castle outside Åkersberga. One of his younger sisters is Rosita Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough third (and former) wife of John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough. Gustaf’s other sister, Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria is married to Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria.

Philately

The Treskilling Yellow stamp

In May 2013, Douglas acquired the only known example of the 1855 Treskilling Yellow postage stamp, one of the rarest in the world, in a private sale.[5]

He is a fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London (FRPSL) and in 2018 was appointed to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists.[6][7]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Gustaf Douglas

16. Count Carl Israel Douglas 8. Count Ludwig Wilhelm Douglas 17. Countess Louise of Langenstein and Gondelsheim 4. Count Wilhelm Archibald Douglas 18. Count Albert Carl Ehrensvärd 9. Countess Anna Louise Ehrensvärd 19. Ingeborg Hedwig Vogt 2. Count Carl Ludwig Douglas 20. Lars Wilhelm Henschen 10. Prof. Dr. Salomon Eberhard Henschen 21. Augusta Munck af Rosenschöld 5. Astri Henschen 22. Anders Sandell 11. Gerda Maria Sandell 23. Charlotte Aurora Sjögren 1. Count Gustaf Douglas 24. Ludwig David Haas 12. Dr. Hermann Julius Haas 25. Bertha Dreifuss 6. Prof. Otto Ludwig Haas-Heye 26. Gottlieb Heye 13. Hermanna Heye 27. Elisabeth Schimmelbusch 3. Ottora Maria Haas-Heye 28. Count Philipp of Eulenburg 14. Philip, Prince of Eulenburg and Hertefeld 29. Countess Alexandrine of Rothkirch and Panthen 7. Countess Viktoria Ada of Eulenburg and Hertefeld 30. Count Samuel August Sandels 15. Augusta Sandels 31. Hedvig Henrietta Tersmeden

References

1. "Gustaf Douglas - Forbes". Forbes. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
2. Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences: Douglas, Gustaf, Retrieved 25 September 2010
3. The descent is unquestionably legitimate from one Patrick Douglas, of Standingstone, who married Cairistiona Leslie, and whose son Robert Douglas (1611-1662) emigrated to Sweden and became the first Swedish count Douglas
4. Salander Mortensen, Jill, ed. (1996). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1997 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1997] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 244. ISBN 91-1-960852-7. SELIBR 3681533.
5. Lee, Julia (2013-11-01). "Treskilling Yellow is back in the hands of a philatelist". Stamp Magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-11-06. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
6. "The New RDPs signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in Newcastle upon Tyne", The London Philatelist, Vol. 127, No. 1458 (September 2018), pp. 352-353.
7. Ganz, Abensur, Douglas, Lewis to sign roll in July. Linn's Stamp News, 3 April 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.

External links

• Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences: Douglas, Gustaf