Baron Klas Hansson Bjelkenstjerna (also Claës Hansson Bjelkenstjerna or Bielkenstjerna) (24 April 1615 – 30 July 1662) was a Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 naval officer and civil servant.

HIs father, Hans Klasson Bjelkenstjerna, who also was a high ranking naval officer, died when his son was only 5 years old leaving him to be raised by relatives. Young Bjelkenstjerna soon grew up and followed in his father's footsteps, joining the Swedish navy

Swedish Navy

The Royal Swedish Navy is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet – as well as marine units, the so-called Amphibious Corps .In Swedish, vessels of the Swedish Navy are given the prefix "HMS," short for Hans/Hennes...

.

He rose in rank within the navy, being appointed skeppsmajor in 1641. He married baroness Barbro Åkesdotter Natt och Dag in 1643. He participated in the sea campaigns against the Danish and Dutch fleets, in particular Battle of Colberger Heide

Battle of Colberger Heide

The naval Battle of Colberger Heide took place on 1 July 1644 during the Danish-Swedish War , off northern Germany...

 (1644), and the escape from the Kiel Fjord

Kiel Fjord

Kiel Fjord is an approximately long fjord or firth of the Baltic Sea along the shores of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Formed by glacial movement during the last Ice Age, it lies between the Danish Wold and Wagria. It originates at the Hörn in centre-city Kiel and merges into the Bay of Kiel.The...

 where the Danish fleet tried to trap the Swedish squadrons. Due to his achievements in battle he was rewarded with a promotion to Admiral-Löjtnant.

Years of relative peace followed, with Bjelkenstjerna entering civil service. In 1650, he was appointed to överhovmästare (tutor) for the crown prince Carl Gustav. Queen Christina I

Christina of Sweden

Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...

 granted him the barony of Pyhäjoki

Pyhäjoki

Pyhäjoki is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish.Fennovoima, a Finnish...

 in the Northern Ostrobothnia

Northern Ostrobothnia

Northern Ostrobothnia is a region of Finland. It borders to the regions Lapland, Kainuu, Northern Savonia, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia.- Municipalities :Main article: Municipalities of Northern Ostrobothnia...

 region of Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. This occurred in the year 1652. The following year Bjelkenstjerna became a member of the Privy Council

Privy Council of Sweden

The High Council of Sweden or Council of the Realm consisted originally of those men of noble, common and clergical background, that the king saw fit for advisory service...

.

Trivia

• At his deathbed the Swedish king Carl X Gustav called upon his former tutor Admiral Bjelkenstjerna and supposedly bid him farewell with the words: »Farväl, min hederlige Bjelkenstjerna! Tack för hvar dag vi varit tillsammans!» which translates to English as "Farewell, my honourable Bjelkenstjerna! I'm thankful for each day that we spent together!"http://runeberg.org/sbh/bjelkech.html