Minister for Finance on 4 July 1866, Gripenstedt served as a member of the lower house of the new bicameral parliament from 1867 to 1873. He died in Stockholm on 13 July 1874 (aged sixty), following a long period of illness. He is buried at Bälinge Church in Södermanland. Family life Gripenstedt married Countess Eva Anckarswärd at Bysta, the oldest daughter of Colonel August Anckarswärd and Sofia Ulrika Anckarswärd (née Bonde), in 1842. Together with his wife he had five children. Titles and honours Gripenstedt was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () in 1858. He was ennobled by King Charles as a baron () on 4 May 1860. Legacy Gripenstedt is widely seen as one of the most decisive and influential persons in Swedish political history. As a great speaker and with a good sense of political intrigues and tactics, Gripenstedt was successful in almost everything that he took on. He is not only credited as the one who initiated and guided Sweden's transition to a capitalist economy, but also as one of the main architects of the "liberal revolution" of the 1800s. His reforms changed Sweden definitely into a new direction of liberalized economy and free trade. These new policies ultimately paved the way for the Swedish industrialization. The period from 1870 to 1970 is commonly referred to in Swedish history as the "Hundred Years of Growth". During this period Sweden developed from one of the poorest countries in Europe to one of the richest and most prosperous countries in the world. In the book Historiens 100 viktigaste svenskar ("100 Most Important Swedes in History"), written by Niklas Ekdal and Petter Karlsson, Gripenstedt was ranked as the twelfth most important Swede in history. References Citations Bibliography Books External links Johan August Gripenstedt - den svenska frihandelns fader 1813 births 1874 deaths Swedish nobility Swedish military officers Members of the Riksdag of the Estates Swedish Ministers for Finance Members of the Andra kammaren Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 19th-century Swedish politicians 19th-century Swedish businesspeople Johan August Barons of Sweden