J.M. Sprengtporten

J.M. Sprengtporten (born 1727, Porvoo, Fin.—died April 2, 1786, Stockholm, Swed.) was a soldier and political conspirator who planned and led the August 1772 coup d’etat that enabled the absolutist King Gustav III to seize full power in Sweden.

Prompted by royalist sentiment and by concern that Finland would be taken over by Russia, Sprengtporten and other officers planned a quick coup in collaboration with Gustav III. The coup succeeded essentially as planned on Aug. 19, 1772. Sprengtporten was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and was made director of fortification construction in Finland. He retired in 1774, however, under suspicion concerning his judgment during the coup; he was also dissatisfied with Gustav’s lack of concern over Finnish defenses. He was made a baron in 1776.