Gustaf V of Sweden: Biography, Facts and Career

Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Reigning from the death of his father Oscar II in 1907 to his own death nearly 43 years later, he holds the record of being the oldest monarch of Sweden, dying at the age of 92. Gustaf also had the third-longest reign of a Swedish monarch after Magnus IV (1319–1364) and his own great-grandson, Carl XVI Gustaf (1973–present). He was also the last Swedish monarch to exercise his royal prerogatives, which largely died with him, although abolished only with the remaking of the Swedish constitution in 1974. He was the first Swedish king since the High Middle Ages not to have a coronation and so never wore the king's crown, a practice that has continued since. Gustaf's early reign saw the rise of parliamentary rule in Sweden although the leadup to World War I induced his dismissal of Liberal Prime Minister Karl Staaff in 1914, replacing him with his own figurehead, Hjalmar Hammarskjöld, the father of Dag Hammarskjöld, for most of the war. However, after the Liberals and Social Democrats secured a parliamentary majority under Staaff's successor, Nils Edén, he allowed Edén to form a new government which de facto stripped the monarchy of virtually all powers and enacted universal and equal suffrage, including for women, by 1919. Bowing to the principles of parliamentary democracy, he remained a popular figurehead for the remaining 31 years of his rule, although not completely without influence. Gustaf V had pro-German and anti-Communist stances which were outwardly expressed during World War I and the Russian Civil War. During World War II, he allegedly urged Per Albin Hansson's coalition government to accept requests from Nazi Germany for logistics support, arguing that refusing might provoke an invasion, an intervention which remains controversial. While sympathetic to military action against the Soviet Union, he personally pressured Miklos Horthy to halt deportations of Jews in the summer of 1944 and aided Raoul Wallenberg's efforts.
An avid hunter and sportsman, Gustaf presided over the 1912 Olympic Games and chaired the Swedish Association of Sports from 1897 to 1907. Most notably, he represented Sweden (under the alias of Mr G.) as a competitive tennis player, keeping up competitive tennis until his eighties, when his eyesight deteriorated rapidly. He was succeeded by his son, Gustaf VI Adolf.

Quick facts about Gustaf V of Sweden

• Full name: Gustaf V of Sweden
• Born: 1858-06-16
• Nationality: Sweden
• Known as: Royal
• Wikidata ID: Q52890

Profile compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.