Axel Oxenstierna, Swedish politician, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden (d. 1654)
Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre (Swedish: [ˈǎksɛl ˈʊ̂ksɛnˌɧæːɳa] (listen); 1583–1654), Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of King Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina, of whom he was at first regent.
Oxenstierna is widely considered one of the most influential people in Swedish history. He played an important role during the Thirty Years' War and was appointed Governor-General of occupied Prussia; he is also credited for having laid the foundations of the modern central administrative structure of the State, including the creation of counties (Swedish: län).