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Count Per Brahe the Younger of Visingsborg was one of the most powerful men in 17th-century Sweden — the realm's largest landowner, Lord High Steward, and a faithful servant of Queen Christina. Twice Governor-General of Finland, he governed it from Turku Castle.
And he used his power well. Brahe reformed Finland's administration, introduced a postal system, advanced commerce and farming — and in 1640 he persuaded Queen Christina to charter the Åbo Academy, Finland's first university, raised from the old cathedral school. He founded Raahe and eleven other towns besides.
His rule was such a flourishing that the phrase "i grevens tid" — in the count's time — is said to have been born from him. When he died in 1680, no governor who followed would leave a comparable mark on the country.