BRAHE, PER, COUNT (1602-168o), Swedish soldier and statesman, was born on the island of Rydboholm, near Stockholm, on Feb. 18 1602. He was the grandson of Per Brahe (152o-9o), nephew of Gustavus I., created count of Visingsborg by Eric XIV., known as the continuator of Peder Svart's chronicle of Gustavus I., and author of Oeconomia (1585), a manual for young noblemen. Per Brahe the younger became, in 1626, cham berlain to Gustavus Adolphus. He fought in Prussia during the last three years of the Polish War (1626-29) and also, as colonel of a regiment of horse, in 1630 in Germany. After the death of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632 he abandoned his military career for politics. He had been elected president (Landsmarskalk) of the diet of 1629, and in the following year was created a senator (Riksrdd). In 1635 he conducted the negotiations for an armi stice with Poland. In 1637-40 and again in 1648-54 he was gov ernor-general in Finland, to which country he rendered inestimable services by his wise and provident rule. He reformed the whole administration, introduced a postal system, built ten new towns, improved and developed commerce and agriculture, and very greatly promoted education. In 1640 he opened the university of Abo, of which he was the founder and first chancellor. After the death of Charles X. in 1660, Brahe, as rikskansler or chancellor of Sweden, was one of the regents of Sweden for the second time (he had held a similar office during the minority of Christina, and during the difficult year 166o he had entire con trol of both foreign and domestic affairs. He died on Sept. 2 1680, at his castle at Visingsborg.
His brother, NILS BRAHIE also served with distinc tion under Gustavus Adolphus. In 1631 he was appointed colonel of "the yellow regiment," the king's world-renowned life-guards, at the head of which he captured the castle of Wiirzburg (Oct. 8 1631). He commanded the left wing at Liitzen (Nov. 6 1632), where he was the only Swedish general officer present. At the very beginning of the fight he was mortally wounded. The king regarded Brahe as the best general in the Swedish army after Lennart Torstensen.
See Martin Veibull, Sveriges Storhetstid, vol. iv. (188i) ; Letters to Axel Oxenstjerna (Saved.), 1832-1851 (189o) ; Petrus Nordmann, Per Brahe (Helsingfors, 1904).