1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Hammarskjöld, Hjalmar

HAMMARSKJÖLD, HJALMAR (1862-), Swedish statesman, was born in 1862, and educated at Upsala University, where he became professor of civil law. He gradually established his reputation as a jurist, and took a prominent part in national politics. In 1901 he joined von Otter's Ministry, and was Minister of Justice till it resigned in 1902. In the latter year he was elected president of the Göta High Court. In 1905 he joined Lundeberg's Government, formed after the dissolution of the union with Norway, as Minister of Education. He was one of Sweden's four representatives in the negotiations with Norway at Karlstad. After the resignation of the Lundeberg Government he became, in Nov. 1905, Swedish Minister in Copenhagen, and in 1907 governor (landshövding) of the province (län) of Upsala. He had often acted meanwhile as expert in constitutional law on behalf both of Sweden and of other countries. He was Swedish delegate at the international conference in Paris with regard to literary copyright in 1896, and at the Hague conferences in regard to private international law in 1900 and 1904. From 1904 he was Swedish member of the Hague International Board of Arbitration, and in 1907 he was Sweden's leading delegate to the Hague Peace Conference. In 1908 he was appointed member of the Board of Arbitration in regard to the question of the sea boundary between Sweden and Norway, and in the same year he acted as president of the Franco-German Board of Arbitration in regard to the Casablanca affair. He was chairman of the Swedish committee for drafting the Swedish-German treaty of commerce in 1910-1; Swedish delegate at the Spitzbergen conferences of 1910 and 1912; in 1909 juridical adviser in the Swedish-Norwegian Board of Arbitration in regard to the right of Swedish Laplanders to graze their reindeer in

Norway; and in 1913 president of the Franco-Italian Board of Arbitration for the solution of certain freight disputes. In Feb. 1914 he succeeded Staaff as prime minister, retaining this post during the World War until 1917.