Baron Didrik Anders Gillis Bildt (16 October 1820 – 22 October 1894) was a Swedish parliamentarian, military officer, and baron who served as the prime minister of Sweden from 1888 to 1889. A member of the Bildt family, he was the great-great grandfather of Carl Bildt, prime minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994.
Family
Gillis Bildt was born on 16 October 1820 in Gothenburg, Sweden, a son of Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Fredrik Bildt and his wife Christina Elisabeth Fröding. His father died seven years later, in 1827. His mother lived until 1858.
In 1848 Gillis married Lucile Rosalie Dufva. They had three children: Adéle Elisabeth Bildt (1849–1914), Carl Nils Daniel Bildt (1850–1931), and Knut Gillis Bildt (1854–1927).
Bildt's great-great-grandson Carl Bildt (born 1949) became Prime Minister of Sweden (1991–1994) and was also High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995–1997). Carl Bildt is a great-grandson of Knut Gillis Bildt.
Career
Military officer
Gillis Bildt made a career in the military as an artillery officer, rising eventually to lieutenant general.
He passed out from the Royal War Academy in Stockholm in 1837 and was assigned to Göta Artillery Regiment. He completed his higher education in 1842 in Marieberg, where he had come to the attention of Crown Prince Oscar (later King Oscar I) for his diligence and competence. After graduation he worked as a mathematics tutor for several years, as well as continuing his military career and entering the Riksdag in 1847.
"Bildt was not a member of the wealthy or the upper nobility”, chronicles the writer Harald Wieselgren. "His personality alone gave him a lever up in the world. The competent artillery officer, the charming cavalier, the exemplary young man were combined in the persona of Bildt".
While a lieutenant he was appointed as an aide-de-camp to King Oscar I in 1851. He advanced to major (1854), lieutenant colonel (1856), colonel (1858). In 1859 he became major general and was chosen by King Karl XV to be his first aide-de-camp. Finally in 1875 he was promoted to lieutenant general.
Governor
Bildt's early political titles included Governor of Gotland 1858–1862 and Governor of Stockholm 1862–1874.
A major issue for Bildt was campaigning in defence of the railways, particularly routes he considered of military and commercial value to Stockholm. He garnered support throughout the city – in the Riksdag, City Council, stock exchange and among the citizens. He was also a shareholder and board member in the company seeking to operate a railway between Stockholm and the Vestmanland mines.
Agriculture was another subject close to his heart. In 1850 he had called it "our country's mightiest interest". More diplomatic was his statement in 1869: "I believe that much can be done to benefit our agriculture, but not by means of more or less public money. For who should give up their allocation, if not the non-farm sector; alas they are not in a position to do without".
In 1864 Bildt was made a (baron).
Parliamentarian
Bildt was a Member of the Riksdag of the Estates and Riksdag (Sweden's legislature) from 1847 to 1874 and 1887 to 1894. From 1867, when the Riksdag became bicameral, Bildt sat in the Upper House (Första kammaren).
As a representative in the House of Nobility, which was the most august Riksdag Estate until 1866, Bildt was aligned with the Junker Party. The Junker Party was a group of conservative free-market nobles (related term: Prussian Junkers).
Bildt spoke out on social policy issues. One was the development of health care services. Another concerned the inadequate schooling for women. "It is an established fact", he declared in a speech in 1859, "that the development of our nation depends on the education of women".