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Olof Palme

Sven Olof Joachim Palme (/ˈpɑːlmə/; Swedish: [ˈûːlɔf ˈpâlːmɛ] (listen); 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until his assassination in 1986.

Olof Palme
Palme in 1984
Prime Minister of Sweden
In office
8 October 1982 – 28 February 1986
MonarchCarl XVI Gustaf
DeputyIngvar Carlsson
Preceded byThorbjörn Fälldin
Succeeded byIngvar Carlsson
In office
14 October 1969 – 8 October 1976
MonarchsGustaf VI Adolf
Carl XVI Gustaf
Preceded byTage Erlander
Succeeded byThorbjörn Fälldin
Leader of the Social Democratic Party
In office
14 October 1969 – 28 February 1986
Preceded byTage Erlander
Succeeded byIngvar Carlsson
President of the Nordic Council
In office
1 January 1979 – 31 December 1979
Preceded byTrygve Bratteli
Succeeded byMatthías Árni Mathiesen
Minister of Education
In office
29 September 1967 – 14 October 1969
Prime MinisterTage Erlander
Preceded byRagnar Edenman
Succeeded byIngvar Carlsson
Minister of Communications (Transport)
In office
25 November 1965 – 29 September 1967
Prime MinisterTage Erlander
Preceded byGösta Skoglund
Succeeded bySvante Lundkvist
Personal details
Born
Sven Olof Joachim Palme

(1927-01-30)30 January 1927
Stockholm, Sweden
Died28 February 1986(1986-02-28) (aged 59)
Stockholm, Sweden
Manner of deathAssassination by gunshot
Resting placeAdolf Fredrik Church
Political partySocial Democratic
Spouse(s)
Jelena Rennerova
(m. 1948; div. 1952)

(m. 1956)
Children
Alma materUniversity of Stockholm,
Kenyon College
Signature
WebsiteOlof Palme International Center
Military service
Allegiance Sweden
Branch/service Swedish Army
Years of service1945–1947 (active)
1947–1977 (reserve)
Rank Kapten
UnitSvea Artillery Regiment

A longtime protégé of Prime Minister Tage Erlander, he became Prime Minister of Sweden in 1969, heading a Privy Council Government. He left office after failing to form a government after the 1976 general election, which ended 40 years of unbroken rule by the Social Democratic Party. While Leader of the Opposition, he served as special mediator of the United Nations in the Iran–Iraq War, and was President of the Nordic Council in 1979. He faced a second defeat in 1979, but he returned as Prime Minister after electoral victories in 1982 and 1985, and served until his death.

Palme was a pivotal and polarizing[1] figure domestically as well as in international politics from the 1960s onward. He was steadfast in his non-alignment policy towards the superpowers, accompanied by support for numerous liberation movements following decolonization including, most controversially, economic and vocal support for a number of Third World governments. He was the first Western head of government to visit Cuba after its revolution, giving a speech in Santiago praising contemporary Cuban revolutionaries.

Frequently a critic of Soviet and American foreign policy, he expressed his resistance to imperialist ambitions and authoritarian regimes, including those of Francisco Franco of Spain, Augusto Pinochet of Chile, Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, António de Oliveira Salazar of Portugal, Gustáv Husák of Czechoslovakia, and most notably John Vorster and P. W. Botha of South Africa, denouncing apartheid as a "particularly gruesome system." His 1972 condemnation of American bombings in Hanoi, comparing the bombings to a number of historical crimes including the bombing of Guernica, the massacres of Oradour-sur-glane, Babi Yar, Katyn, Lidice and Sharpeville and the extermination of Jews and other groups at Treblinka, resulted in a temporary freeze in Sweden–United States relations.

Palme's assassination on a Stockholm street on 28 February 1986 was the first murder of a national leader in Sweden since Gustav III in 1792, and had a great impact across Scandinavia.[2] Local convict and addict Christer Pettersson was originally convicted of the murder in district court but was unanimously acquitted by the Svea Court of Appeal. On 10 June 2020, Swedish prosecutors held a press conference to announce that there was "reasonable evidence" that Stig Engström had killed Palme.[3] As Engström had committed suicide in 2000, the authorities announced that the investigation into Palme's death was to be closed.[3] The 2020 conclusion has faced widespread criticism from lawyers, police officers and journalists, decrying the evidence as only circumstantial, and – by the prosecutors' own admission – too weak to ensure a trial had the suspect been alive.[4]

Early life

Palme was born into an upper class, conservative Lutheran family in the Östermalm district of Stockholm. The progenitor of the Palme family was skipper Palme Lydert of Ystad of either Dutch or German ancestry. His sons adopted the surname Palme. Many of the early Palmes were vicars and judges in Scania. One branch of the family, of which Olof Palme was part, and which became more affluent, relocated to Kalmar; that branch is related to several other prominent Swedish families such as the Kreugers, von Sydows and the Wallenbergs. His father, Gunnar Palme [sv] (1886–1934), was a businessman, son of Sven Theodore Palme [sv] (1854–1934) and Swedish-speaking Finnish Baroness Hanna Maria von Born-Sarvilahti [fi] (1861–1959).[5] Through her, Olof Palme claimed ancestry from King Johan III of Sweden, his father King Gustav Vasa of Sweden and King Frederick I of Denmark and Norway. His mother, Elisabeth von Knieriem (1890–1972),[6] of the Knieriem family who originated from Quedlinburg,[7] descended from Baltic German burghers and clergy and had arrived in Sweden from Russia as a refugee in 1915. Elisabeth's great-great-great grandfather Johann Melchior von Knieriem (1758–1817) had been ennobled by the Emperor Alexander I of Russia in 1814. The von Knieriem family does not count as members of any of the Baltic knighthoods. Palme's father died when he was seven years old. Despite his background, his political orientation came to be influenced by Social Democratic attitudes. His travels in the Third World, as well as the United States, where he saw deep economic inequality and racial segregation, helped to develop these views.

A sickly child, Olof Palme received his education from private tutors. Even as a child he gained knowledge of two foreign languages — German and English. He studied at Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket, one of Sweden's few residential high schools, and passed the university entrance examination with high marks at the age of 17. He was called up into the Army in January 1945 and did his compulsory military service at Svea Artillery Regiment between 1945 and 1947, becoming in 1956 a reserve officer with the rank of Captain in the Artillery. After he was discharged from military service in March 1947, he enrolled at Stockholm University.[8][unreliable source?]

On a scholarship, he studied at Kenyon College, a small liberal arts school in central Ohio from 1947 to 1948, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree.[9] Inspired by radical debate in the student community, he wrote a critical essay on Friedrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. Palme wrote his senior honour thesis on the United Auto Workers union, led at the time by Walter Reuther. After graduation, he traveled throughout the country and eventually ended up in Detroit, where his hero Reuther agreed to an interview which lasted several hours. In later years, Palme regularly remarked during his many subsequent American visits, that the United States had made him a socialist, a remark that often has caused confusion. Within the context of his American experience, it was not that Palme was repelled by what he found in America, but rather that he was inspired by it.[10]

After hitchhiking through the U.S. and Mexico, he returned to Sweden to study law at Stockholm University. In 1949 he became a member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. During his time at university, Palme became involved in student politics, working with the Swedish National Union of Students. In 1951, he became a member of the social democratic student association in Stockholm, although it is asserted he did not attend their political meetings at the time. The following year he was elected President of the Swedish National Union of Students. As a student politician he concentrated on international affairs and travelled across Europe.[8][unreliable source?]

Palme attributed his becoming a social democrat to three major influences:

Palme was an atheist.[11]

Political career

 
Palme in 1957
 
Palme in 1968
 
Palme in Mora, 1 August 1985

In 1953, Palme was recruited by social democratic prime minister Tage Erlander to work in his secretariat. From 1955 he was a board member of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League and lectured at the Youth League College Bommersvik. He also was a member of the Worker's Educational Association.[citation needed]

In 1957 he was elected as a member of parliament (Swedish: riksdagsledamot)[12] represented Jönköping County in the directly elected Second Chamber (Andra kammaren) of the Riksdag. In the early 1960s Palme became a member of the Agency for International Assistance (NIB) and was in charge of inquiries into assistance to the developing countries and educational aid.[citation needed] In 1963, he became a member of the Cabinet as minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office, and retained his duties as a close political adviser to Prime Minister Tage Erlander. In 1965, he became Minister of Communications (Transport). One issue of special interest to him was the further development of radio and television, while ensuring their independence from commercial interests.[8] In 1967 he became Minister of Education, and the following year, he was the target of strong criticism from left-wing students protesting against the government's plans for university reform. The protests culminated with the occupation of the Student Union Building in Stockholm; Palme came there and tried to comfort the students, urging them to use democratic methods for the pursuit of their cause.[13] When party leader Tage Erlander stepped down in 1969, Palme was elected as the new leader by the Social Democratic party congress and succeeded Erlander as Prime Minister.[14]

Palme was very popular among the left, but harshly detested by liberals and conservatives.[15] This was due in part to his international activities, especially those directed against the US foreign policy, and in part to his aggressive and outspoken debating style.[16][17]

Policies and views

As leader of a new generation of Swedish Social Democrats, Palme was often described as a "revolutionary reformist" and self-identified as a progressive.[18][19] Domestically, his leftist views, especially the drive to expand labour union influence over business ownership, engendered a great deal of hostility from the organized business community.[citation needed][20]

During the tenure of Palme, several major reforms in the Swedish constitution were carried out, such as orchestrating a switch from bicameralism to unicameralism in 1971 and in 1975 replacing the 1809 Instrument of Government (at the time the oldest political constitution in the world after that of the United States) with a new one officially establishing parliamentary democracy rather than de jure monarchic autocracy, abolishing the Cabinet meetings chaired by the King and stripping the monarchy of all formal political powers.[citation needed]

His reforms on labour market included establishing a law which increased job security. In the Swedish 1973 general election, the Socialist-Communist and the Liberal-Conservative blocs got 175 places each in the Riksdag. The Palme cabinet continued to govern the country but several times they had to draw lots to decide on some issues, although most important issues were decided through concessional agreement.[21][self-published source] Tax rates also rose from being fairly low even by Western European standards to the highest levels in the Western world.[22]

Under Palme's premiership tenure, matters concerned with child care centers, social security, protection of the elderly, accident safety, and housing problems received special attention. Under Palme the public health system in Sweden became efficient, with the infant mortality rate standing at 12 per 1,000 live births.[23] An ambitious redistributive programme was carried out, with special help provided to the disabled, immigrants, the low paid, single-parent families, and the old.[24] The Swedish welfare state was significantly expanded[25][page needed] from a position already one of the most far-reaching in the world during his time in office.[26][page needed] As noted by Isabela Mares, during the first half of the Seventies "the level of benefits provided by every subsystem of the welfare state improved significantly." Various policy changes increased the basic old-age pension replacement rate from 42% of the average wage in 1969 to 57%, while a health care reform carried out in 1974 integrated all health services and increased the minimum replacement rate from 64% to 90% of earnings. In 1974, supplementary unemployment assistance was established, providing benefits to those workers ineligible for existing benefits.[26][page needed] In 1971, eligibility for invalidity pensions was extended with greater opportunities for employees over the age of 60. In 1974, universal dental insurance was introduced, and former maternity benefits were replaced by a parental allowance. In 1974, housing allowances for families with children were raised and these allowances were extended to other low-income groups.[27] Childcare centres were also expanded under Palme, and separate taxation of husband and wife introduced.[28] Access to pensions for older workers in poor health was liberalised in 1970, and a disability pension was introduced for older unemployed workers in 1972.[29]

The Palme cabinet was also active in the field of education, introducing such reforms as a system of loans and benefits for students, regional universities, and preschool for all children.[28] Under a law of 1970, in the upper secondary school system "gymnasium," “fackskola" and vocational "yrkesskola" were integrated to form one school with 3 sectors (arts and social science, technical and natural sciences, economic and commercial). In 1975, a law was passed that established free admission to universities.[27] A number of reforms were also carried out to enhance workers' rights. An employment protection Act of 1974 introduced rules regarding consultation with unions, notice periods, and grounds for dismissal, together with priority rules for dismissals and re-employment in case of redundancies.[30] That same year, work-environment improvement grants were introduced and made available to modernising firms "conditional upon the presence of union-appointed 'safety stewards' to review the introduction of new technology with regard to the health and safety of workers."[31] In 1976, an Act on co-determination at work was introduced that allowed unions to be consulted at various levels within companies before major changes were enforced that would affect employees, while management had to negotiate with labour for joint rights in all matters concerning organisation of work, hiring and firing, and key decisions affecting the workplace.[32]

Palme's last government, elected during a time when Sweden's economy was in difficult shape, sought to pursue a "third way," designed to stimulate investment, production, and employment, having ruled out classical Keynesian policies as a result of the growing burden of foreign debt, together with the big balance of payments and budget deficits. This involved "equality of sacrifice," whereby wage restraint would be accompanied by increases in welfare provision and more progressive taxation. For instance, taxes on wealth, gifts, and inheritance were increased, while tax benefits to shareholders were either reduced or eliminated. In addition, various welfare cuts carried out before Olof's return to office were rescinded. The previous system of indexing pensions and other benefits was restored, the grant-in-aid scheme for municipal child care facilities was re-established, unemployment insurance was restored in full, and the so-called "no benefit days" for those drawing sickness benefits were cancelled. Increases were also made to both food subsidies and child allowances, while the employee investment funds (which represented a radical form of profit-sharing) were introduced.[24][page needed]

In 1968, Palme was a driving force behind the release of the documentary Dom kallar oss mods ("They Call Us Misfits"). The controversial film, depicting two social outcasts, was scheduled to be released in an edited form but Palme thought the material was too socially important to be cut.[33][page needed]

An outspoken supporter of gender equality, Palme sparked interest for women's rights issues by attending a World Women's Conference in Mexico. He also made a feminist speech called "The Emancipation of Man" at a meeting of the Woman's National Democratic Club on 8 June 1970; this speech was later published in 1972.[34][35]

As a forerunner in green politics, Palme was a firm believer in nuclear power as a necessary form of energy, at least for a transitional period to curb the influence of fossil fuel.[36] His intervention in Sweden's 1980 referendum on the future of nuclear power is often pinpointed by opponents of nuclear power as saving it. As of 2011, nuclear power remains one of the most important sources of energy in Sweden, much attributed to Palme's actions.[citation needed]

Soviet–Swedish bilateral relations were tested during Palme's second span of time as prime minister in the 1980s, in particular, owing to reports of incursions by Soviet submarines into Swedish territorial waters.[37][38]

 
Olof Palme marching against the Vietnam War with the North Vietnamese ambassador (Nguyễn Thọ Chân) in Stockholm, 1968

On the international scene, Palme was a widely recognised political figure because of his:

All of this ensured that Palme had many opponents as well as many friends abroad.[39]

On 21 February 1968, Palme (then Minister of Education) participated in a protest in Stockholm against U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam together with the North Vietnamese ambassador to the Soviet Union, Nguyễn Thọ Chân. The protest was organized by the Swedish Committee for Vietnam and Palme and Nguyen were both invited as speakers. As a result of this, the U.S. recalled its Ambassador from Sweden and Palme was fiercely criticised by the opposition for his participation in the protest.[40]

On 23 December 1972, Palme (then Prime Minister) made a speech on Swedish national radio where he compared the ongoing U.S. bombings of Hanoi to historical atrocities, namely the bombing of Guernica, the massacres of Oradour-sur-Glane, Babi Yar, Katyn, Lidice and Sharpeville, and the extermination of Jews and other groups at Treblinka. The US government called the comparison a "gross insult" and once again decided to freeze its diplomatic relations with Sweden (this time the freeze lasted for over a year).[40]

In response to Palme's remarks in a meeting with the US ambassador to Sweden ahead of the Socialist International Meeting in Helsingør in January 1976,[41] Henry Kissinger, then United States Secretary of State, asked the US ambassador to "convey my personal appreciation to Palme for his frank presentation".[42]

Assassination

 
Mourners at the assassination site
 
Crossing of Sveavägen and Tunnelgatan avenues where Olof Palme was assassinated.
 
Commemorative plaque on the place Olof Palme was assassinated

Political violence was little-known in Sweden at the time, and Olof Palme often went about without a bodyguard. Close to midnight on 28 February 1986, he was walking home from a cinema with his wife Lisbeth Palme in the central Stockholm street Sveavägen when he was shot in the back at close range. A second shot grazed Lisbeth's back. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Sabbatsberg Hospital at 00:06 CET. Lisbeth survived without serious injuries.[43]

Deputy Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson immediately assumed the duties of Prime Minister, a post he retained until 1991 (and then again in 1994–1996). He also took over the leadership of the Social Democratic Party, which he held until 1996.[44]

Two years later, Christer Pettersson (d. 2004), a murderer, small-time criminal and drug addict, was convicted of Palme's murder, but his conviction was overturned.[45] Another suspect, Victor Gunnarsson, emigrated to the United States, where he was the victim of an unrelated murder in 1993.[46] The assassination remained unsolved.[45] A third and fourth suspect popularly referred to as "The Skandia Man" and GH, after their working place at the Skandia building next to the crime scene, and police investigation number ("H" representing the eighth letter, i.e. "Suspect Profile No. 8"), committed suicide in 2000 and 2008 respectively. Both fit the suspect profile vaguely, and owned firearms.[47][48][49] GH was a long-time suspect partly because he had self-described financial motives, and owned the only registered .357 Magnum in the Stockholm vicinity not tested and ruled out by authorities, which as yet has not been recovered.

On 18 March 2020, Swedish investigators met in Pretoria with members of South African intelligence agencies to discuss the case. The South Africans handed over their file from 1986 to their Swedish colleagues. Göran Björkdahl, a Swedish diplomat, had done independent research on Palme's assassination, leading to South Africa's apartheid regime. Major General Chris Thirion, who headed the military intelligence of South Africa during the final years of apartheid rule, had told Björkdahl in 2015 that he believed South Africa was behind Palme's murder. Swedish investigators announced that they would reveal new information and close the case on 10 June 2020.[50] Earlier remarks by lead investigator Krister Petersson that "there might not be a prosecution" have led commentators to believe that the suspect is dead.[51]

On 10 June 2020, Swedish prosecutors stated publicly that they knew who had killed Palme and named Stig Engström, also known as "Skandia Man", as the assassin. Engström was one of about twenty people who had claimed to witness the assassination and was later identified as a potential suspect by Swedish writers Lars Larsson and Thomas Pettersson.[52] Given that Engström had committed suicide in 2000, the authorities also announced that the investigation into Palme's death was to be closed.[53]

Some politicians and journalists in Turkey relate the assassination of Palme to PKK since he was the first in Europe to designate PKK as terrorist organisation.[54]

See also

 
Palme's grave in Stockholm's Adolf Fredrik cemetery

Notes

  1. ^ "Sweden's chance to heal 'open wound' of former PM's murder". 4 May 2020.
  2. ^ Nordstrom, Byron (2000). Scandinavia Since 1500. University of Minnesota Press, p. 347. "The February 1986 murder of Sweden's Prime Minister Olof Palme near Sergelstorget in the middle of Stockholm's downtown shocked the nation and region. Political assassinations were virtually unheard-of in Scandinavia."
  3. ^ a b "Olof Palme murder: Sweden believes it knows who killed PM in 1986". BBC News. 10 June 2020.
  4. ^ Sallinen, Jani Pirttisalo (12 June 2020). "Bevisen hade fått svårt – på punkt efter punkt". Svenska Dagbladet.
  5. ^ Ollikainen, Milla (29 May 2016). "Antisemitisti ja tahtonainen: Hanna von Born oli Olof Palmen suomalainen isoäiti". Seura (in Finnish). Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  6. ^ Olof Ruin: Olof Palme. In: David Wilsford: Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT 1995
  7. ^ "von Knieriem genealogy". gedbas.genealogy.net/.
  8. ^ a b c "Olof Palme". Uno Stamps. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  9. ^ Bill Mayr: Remembering Olof Palme. In: Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin Vol. 34, No. 2, Winter 2012.
  10. ^ Hendrik Hertzberg, "Death of a Patriot", in: Idem: Politics. Observations and Arguments, 1966–2004 (New York: The Penguin Press, 2004) pp. 263–266, there 264
  11. ^ "He was an atheist and saw war as the greatest threat to mankind. The popularity of the Swedish model society probably peaked in the early seventies, but Olof Palme tirelessly continued his development toward a society as he saw it." Jens Moe, My America: The Culture of Giving, page 155.
  12. ^ "Olof Palmes Minnesfond". Palme Fonden. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  13. ^ Olof Palme – En levande vilja: Tal och intervjuer
  14. ^ Olof Palme
  15. ^ Einhorn, Eric and John Logue (1989). Modern Welfare States: Politics and Policies in Social Democratic Scandinavia. Praeger Publishers, pg 60. ISBN 0-275-93188-9 "Olof Palme was perhaps the most 'presidential' Scandinavian leader in recent decades, a fact that may have made him vulnerable to political violence."
  16. ^ "Han gödslade jorden så att Palmehatet kunde växa", Dagens Nyheter, 25 February 2006
  17. ^ Olof Palme: the controversy lives on 6 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, The Local, 27 February 2006
  18. ^ Dagens Nyheter 23 January 2007
  19. ^ "Detta borde vara vårt arv 10 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine" Åsa Linderborg, Aftonbladet 28 February 2006
  20. ^ Tawat, Mahama (1 June 2019). "The Birth of Sweden's multicultural policy. The impact of Olof Palme and his ideas". International Journal of Cultural Policy: 478–481.
  21. ^ Kari Sable. "Olof Palme Unsolved Case". Kari Sable website. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  22. ^ . Comhem. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  23. ^ Castro 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ a b Socialists in the Recession: The Search for Solidarity by Giles Radice and Lisanne Radice OCLC 468658478
  25. ^ Sprague, Martina (2005). Sweden. ISBN 9780781811149. Retrieved 3 February 2015.[page needed]
  26. ^ a b Taxation, Wage Bargaining and Unemployment by Isabela Mares OCLC 783321650[page needed]
  27. ^ a b Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II Volume 4 edited by Peter Flora OCLC 1101348657[page needed]
  28. ^ a b "Palme's political legacy 'put Sweden on the map'". The Local. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  29. ^ Timo Weishaupt, J. (2011). From the Manpower Revolution to the Activation Paradigm. ISBN 9789089642523. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  30. ^ Bonoli, Giuliano (28 March 2013). The Origins of Active Social Policy. ISBN 9780199669769. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  31. ^ Google Books
  32. ^ Agius, Christine (30 July 2006). The social construction of Swedish neutrality: Challenges to Swedish ... ISBN 9781847791993. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  33. ^ Daniel Ekeroth: Swedish Sensations Films: A Clandestine History of Sex, Thrillers, and Kicker Cinema, (Bazillion Points, 2011) ISBN 978-0-9796163-6-5.[page needed]
  34. ^ "Olof Palme on the Emancipation of Man". 22 February 2016.
  35. ^ Palme, Olof (1972). "The Emancipation of Man". Journal of Social Issues. 28 (2): 237–246. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1972.tb00027.x.
  36. ^ Olof Palme till Shirley Maclaine om vikten av kärnkraft on YouTube
  37. ^ Feder, Barnaby J. (31 March 1984). "Swedes' Seabed Spy Hunt: No Stone is Unturned". The New York Times. Vol. 133, no. 46000.
  38. ^ "Palme Meets Russian As Sub Hunt Continues". The New York Times. Vol. 132, no. 45670. 6 May 1983.
  39. ^ Holst, Karen. "Palme's political legacy 'put Sweden on the map'". The Local. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  40. ^ a b Andersson, Stellan. "Olof Palme och Vietnamfrågan 1965–1983" (in Swedish). OlofPalme.org. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
  41. ^ "Discussion with Prime Minister Palme of Socialist Meeting in Denmark – January 18–19". United States Department of State. 15 January 1976. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  42. ^ Kissinger, Henry, Grafeld, Margaret (ed.), 1976STATE011557_b, Department of State EO
  43. ^ The investigation committee report (1999:88), p. 159 2 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine (PDF) (in Swedish)
  44. ^ "Ingvar Carlsson". Nationalencyklopedin (in Swedish). Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  45. ^ a b Jenkins, Philip (1989). "The Assassination of Olaf Palme: Evidence and Ideology". Contemporary Crises. 13 (1): 15–33. doi:10.1007/bf00728874. S2CID 143889005.
  46. ^ Dagens Nyheter, 2 February 1994.
  47. ^ "Skandiamannen talade om Palmemordet under sitt sista samtal". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  48. ^ "PALMEMORDSPODDEN [gamla feeden] (PMP-31-tv-sp-ren-hasse-aro )".
  49. ^ "Var han Palmes mördare?".
  50. ^ Borger, Julian (9 June 2020). "Sweden to present findings on Olof Palme assassination". The Guardian. Washington D.C. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  51. ^ Johnson, Simon (9 June 2020). "Who killed Swedish PM Olof Palme in 1986? Swedes hope to find out". Reuters. Stockholm. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  52. ^ Larsson, Lars (2016). Nationens fiende: om mordet på Olof Palme (in Swedish). OCLC 943384360.
  53. ^ "Olof Palme murder: Sweden identifies man who killed PM in 1986". BBC. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  54. ^ "Palme'nin katili PKK'ya âşık İsveç'in Stockholm Sendromu (2)".

Further reading

  • Bondeson, Jan. Blood on the snow: The killing of Olof Palme (Cornell University Press, 2005). OCLC 979575815
  • Derfler, Leslie. The Fall and Rise of Political Leaders: Olof Palme, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Indira Gandhi (Springer, 2011).
  • Ekengren, Ann-Marie. (2011). "How Ideas Influence Decision-Making: Olof Palme and Swedish Foreign Policy, 1965–1975." Scandinavian Journal of History 36 (2): pp. 117–134. doi:10.1080/03468755.2011.561189
  • Esaiasson, Peter, and Donald Granberg. (1996). "Attitudes towards a fallen leader: Evaluations of Olof Palme before and after the assassination." British Journal of Political Science. 26#3 pp. 429–439. doi:10.1017/s0007123400007535
  • Marklund, Carl. "From ‘False’ Neutrality to ‘True’ Socialism: Unofficial US ‘Sweden-bashing’ During the Later Palme Years, 1973–1986." Journal of Transnational American Studies 7.1 (2016): 1-18. online
  • Marklund, Carl. "American Mirrors and Swedish Self-Portraits: American Images of Sweden and Swedish Public Diplomacy in the USA from Olof Palme to Ingvar Carlsson,” in Histories of Public Diplomacy and Nation Branding in the Nordic and Baltic Countries, ed. Louis Clerc, Nikolas Glover and Paul Jordan (Leiden: Brill, 2015), 172–94.
  • Ruin, Olof. (1991). "Three Swedish Prime Ministers: Tage Erlander, Olof Palme and Ingvar Carlsson." West European Politics 14 (3): pp. 58–82. doi:10.1080/01402389108424859
  • Tawat, Mahama. "The birth of Sweden’s multicultural policy. The impact of Olof Palme and his ideas." International Journal of Cultural Policy 25.4 (2019): 471-485.
  • Vivekanandan, Bhagavathi. Global Visions of Olof Palme, Bruno Kreisky and Willy Brandt: International Peace and Security, Co-operation, and Development (Springer, 2016).
  • Walters, Peter. "The Legacy of Olof Palme: The Condition of the Swedish Model." Government and Opposition 22.1 (1987): 64-77.
  • Wilsford, David, ed. Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary (Greenwood, 1995) pp. 352–61. OCLC 905779113
In Swedish
  • Antman, Peter; Schori, Pierre (1996), Olof Palme : den gränslöse reformisten, Stockholm: Tiden, ISBN 978-91-518-2948-7
  • Arvidsson, Claes (2007), Olof Palme : med verkligheten som fiende, Stockholm: Timbro, ISBN 978-91-7566-539-9
  • Åsard, Erik (2002), Politikern Olof Palme, Stockholm: Hjalmarson & Högberg, ISBN 978-91-89080-88-1
  • Berggren, Henrik (2010), Underbara dagar framför oss – En biografi över Olof Palme, Stockholm: Norsteds, ISBN 978-91-1-301708-2
  • Björk, Gunnela (2006), Olof Palme och medierna, Umeå: Boréa, ISBN 978-91-89140-45-5
  • Ekengren, Ann-Marie (2005), Olof Palme och utrikespolitiken : Europa och Tredje världen, Umeå: Boréa, ISBN 978-91-89140-41-7
  • Elmbrant, Björn (1996), Palme (2nd ed.), Stockholm: Fischer, ISBN 978-91-7054-797-3
  • Fredriksson, Gunnar (1986), Olof Palme, Stockholm: Norstedt, ISBN 978-91-1-863472-7
  • Gummesson, Jonas (2001), Olof Palmes ungdomsår : bland nazister och spioner, Stockholm: Ekerlid, ISBN 978-91-88595-95-9
  • Haste, Hans; Olsson, Lars Erik; Strandberg, Lars; Adler, Arne (1986), Boken om Olof Palme : hans liv, hans gärning, hans död, Stockholm: Tiden, ISBN 978-91-550-3218-0
  • Hermansson, Håkan; Wenander, Lars (1987), Uppdrag: Olof Palme : hatet, jakten, kampanjerna, Stockholm: Tiden, ISBN 978-91-550-3340-8
  • Isaksson, Christer (1995), Palme privat : i skuggan av Erlander, Stockholm: Ekerlid, ISBN 978-91-88594-36-5
  • Kullenberg, Annette (1996), Palme och kvinnorna, Stockholm: Brevskolan, ISBN 978-91-574-4512-4
  • Larsson, Ulf (2003), Olof Palme och utbildningspolitiken, Stockholm: Hjalmarson & Högberg, ISBN 978-91-89660-24-3
  • Malm-Andersson, Ingrid (2001), Olof Palme : en bibliografi, Hedemora: Arbetarrörelsens arkiv och bibliotek, ISBN 978-91-7844-349-9
  • Östberg, Kjell (2008), I takt med tiden : Olof Palme 1927–1969, Stockholm: Leopard, ISBN 978-91-7343-208-5
  • Östergren, Bertil (1984), Vem är Olof Palme? : ett politiskt porträtt, Stockholm: Timbro, ISBN 978-91-7566-037-0
  • Palme, Claës (1986), Olof Palme, Helsinki: Kirjayhtymä, ISBN 978-951-26-2963-3
  • Palme, Olof (1984), Sveriges utrikespolitik : anföranden, Stockholm: Tiden, ISBN 978-91-550-2948-7
  • Palme, Olof (1986), Politik är att vilja (3rd ed.), Stockholm: Prisma, ISBN 978-91-518-2045-3
  • Palme, Olof (1986), Att vilja gå vidare (2nd ed.), Stockholm: Tiden, ISBN 978-91-550-3224-1
  • Palme, Olof; Richard, Serge; Åkerman, Nordal (1977), Med egna ord : samtal med Serge Richard och Nordal Åkerman, Uppsala: Bromberg, ISBN 978-91-85342-32-7
  • Palme, Olof; Dahlgren, Hans (1987), En levande vilja, Stockholm: Tiden, ISBN 978-91-550-3225-8
  • Palme, Olof; Hansson, Sven Ove; Dahlgren, Hans (1996), Palme själv : texter i urval, Stockholm: Tiden, ISBN 978-91-518-2947-0
  • Palme, Olof (2006), Solidaritet utan gränser : tal och texter i urval, Stockholm: Atlas, ISBN 978-9173892193
  • Peterson, Thage G. (2002), Olof Palme som jag minns honom, Stockholm: Bonnier, ISBN 978-91-0-058042-1
  • Strand, Dieter (1977), Palme mot Fälldin : rapporter från vägen till nederlaget, Stockholm: Rabén & Sjögren, ISBN 978-91-29-50309-8
  • Strand, Dieter (1980), Palme igen? : scener ur en partiledares liv, Stockholm: Norstedt, ISBN 978-91-1-801351-5
  • Strand, Dieter (1986), Med Palme : scener ur en partiledares och statsministers liv, Stockholm: Norstedt, ISBN 978-91-1-861431-6
  • Svedgård, Lars B. (1970), Palme : en presentation, Stockholm: Rabén & Sjögren
  • Zachrisson, Birgitta; Alandh, Tom; Henriksson, Björn (1996), Berättelser om Palme, Stockholm: Norstedt, ISBN 978-91-1-960002-8

External links

  • Olof Palme Archives
  • Olof Palme Memorial Fund
Transnational offices
Preceded by President of the Nordic Council
1979
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Communications (Transport)
1965–1967
Succeeded by
Svante Lundkvist
Preceded by
Ragnar Edenman
Minister for Education
1967–1969
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Sweden
1969–1976
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Sweden
1982–1986
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Social Democratic Party
1969–1986
Succeeded by

olof, palme, sven, olof, joachim, palme, ɑː, swedish, ˈûːlɔf, ˈpâlːmɛ, listen, january, 1927, february, 1986, swedish, politician, statesman, served, prime, minister, sweden, from, 1969, 1976, 1982, 1986, palme, swedish, social, democratic, party, from, 1969, . Sven Olof Joachim Palme ˈ p ɑː l m e Swedish ˈuːlɔf ˈpalːmɛ listen 30 January 1927 28 February 1986 was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986 Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until his assassination in 1986 Olof PalmePalme in 1984Prime Minister of SwedenIn office 8 October 1982 28 February 1986MonarchCarl XVI GustafDeputyIngvar CarlssonPreceded byThorbjorn FalldinSucceeded byIngvar CarlssonIn office 14 October 1969 8 October 1976MonarchsGustaf VI Adolf Carl XVI GustafPreceded byTage ErlanderSucceeded byThorbjorn FalldinLeader of the Social Democratic PartyIn office 14 October 1969 28 February 1986Preceded byTage ErlanderSucceeded byIngvar CarlssonPresident of the Nordic CouncilIn office 1 January 1979 31 December 1979Preceded byTrygve BratteliSucceeded byMatthias Arni MathiesenMinister of EducationIn office 29 September 1967 14 October 1969Prime MinisterTage ErlanderPreceded byRagnar EdenmanSucceeded byIngvar CarlssonMinister of Communications Transport In office 25 November 1965 29 September 1967Prime MinisterTage ErlanderPreceded byGosta SkoglundSucceeded bySvante LundkvistPersonal detailsBornSven Olof Joachim Palme 1927 01 30 30 January 1927Stockholm SwedenDied28 February 1986 1986 02 28 aged 59 Stockholm SwedenManner of deathAssassination by gunshotResting placeAdolf Fredrik ChurchPolitical partySocial DemocraticSpouse s Jelena Rennerova m 1948 div 1952 wbr Lisbeth Beck Friis m 1956 wbr ChildrenJoakimMartenMattiasAlma materUniversity of Stockholm Kenyon CollegeSignatureWebsiteOlof Palme International CenterMilitary serviceAllegianceSwedenBranch serviceSwedish ArmyYears of service1945 1947 active 1947 1977 reserve RankKaptenUnitSvea Artillery RegimentA longtime protege of Prime Minister Tage Erlander he became Prime Minister of Sweden in 1969 heading a Privy Council Government He left office after failing to form a government after the 1976 general election which ended 40 years of unbroken rule by the Social Democratic Party While Leader of the Opposition he served as special mediator of the United Nations in the Iran Iraq War and was President of the Nordic Council in 1979 He faced a second defeat in 1979 but he returned as Prime Minister after electoral victories in 1982 and 1985 and served until his death Palme was a pivotal and polarizing 1 figure domestically as well as in international politics from the 1960s onward He was steadfast in his non alignment policy towards the superpowers accompanied by support for numerous liberation movements following decolonization including most controversially economic and vocal support for a number of Third World governments He was the first Western head of government to visit Cuba after its revolution giving a speech in Santiago praising contemporary Cuban revolutionaries Frequently a critic of Soviet and American foreign policy he expressed his resistance to imperialist ambitions and authoritarian regimes including those of Francisco Franco of Spain Augusto Pinochet of Chile Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union Antonio de Oliveira Salazar of Portugal Gustav Husak of Czechoslovakia and most notably John Vorster and P W Botha of South Africa denouncing apartheid as a particularly gruesome system His 1972 condemnation of American bombings in Hanoi comparing the bombings to a number of historical crimes including the bombing of Guernica the massacres of Oradour sur glane Babi Yar Katyn Lidice and Sharpeville and the extermination of Jews and other groups at Treblinka resulted in a temporary freeze in Sweden United States relations Palme s assassination on a Stockholm street on 28 February 1986 was the first murder of a national leader in Sweden since Gustav III in 1792 and had a great impact across Scandinavia 2 Local convict and addict Christer Pettersson was originally convicted of the murder in district court but was unanimously acquitted by the Svea Court of Appeal On 10 June 2020 Swedish prosecutors held a press conference to announce that there was reasonable evidence that Stig Engstrom had killed Palme 3 As Engstrom had committed suicide in 2000 the authorities announced that the investigation into Palme s death was to be closed 3 The 2020 conclusion has faced widespread criticism from lawyers police officers and journalists decrying the evidence as only circumstantial and by the prosecutors own admission too weak to ensure a trial had the suspect been alive 4 Contents 1 Early life 2 Political career 3 Policies and views 4 Assassination 5 See also 6 Notes 7 Further reading 8 External linksEarly life EditPalme was born into an upper class conservative Lutheran family in the Ostermalm district of Stockholm The progenitor of the Palme family was skipper Palme Lydert of Ystad of either Dutch or German ancestry His sons adopted the surname Palme Many of the early Palmes were vicars and judges in Scania One branch of the family of which Olof Palme was part and which became more affluent relocated to Kalmar that branch is related to several other prominent Swedish families such as the Kreugers von Sydows and the Wallenbergs His father Gunnar Palme sv 1886 1934 was a businessman son of Sven Theodore Palme sv 1854 1934 and Swedish speaking Finnish Baroness Hanna Maria von Born Sarvilahti fi 1861 1959 5 Through her Olof Palme claimed ancestry from King Johan III of Sweden his father King Gustav Vasa of Sweden and King Frederick I of Denmark and Norway His mother Elisabeth von Knieriem 1890 1972 6 of the Knieriem family who originated from Quedlinburg 7 descended from Baltic German burghers and clergy and had arrived in Sweden from Russia as a refugee in 1915 Elisabeth s great great great grandfather Johann Melchior von Knieriem 1758 1817 had been ennobled by the Emperor Alexander I of Russia in 1814 The von Knieriem family does not count as members of any of the Baltic knighthoods Palme s father died when he was seven years old Despite his background his political orientation came to be influenced by Social Democratic attitudes His travels in the Third World as well as the United States where he saw deep economic inequality and racial segregation helped to develop these views A sickly child Olof Palme received his education from private tutors Even as a child he gained knowledge of two foreign languages German and English He studied at Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Laroverket one of Sweden s few residential high schools and passed the university entrance examination with high marks at the age of 17 He was called up into the Army in January 1945 and did his compulsory military service at Svea Artillery Regiment between 1945 and 1947 becoming in 1956 a reserve officer with the rank of Captain in the Artillery After he was discharged from military service in March 1947 he enrolled at Stockholm University 8 unreliable source On a scholarship he studied at Kenyon College a small liberal arts school in central Ohio from 1947 to 1948 graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree 9 Inspired by radical debate in the student community he wrote a critical essay on Friedrich Hayek s The Road to Serfdom Palme wrote his senior honour thesis on the United Auto Workers union led at the time by Walter Reuther After graduation he traveled throughout the country and eventually ended up in Detroit where his hero Reuther agreed to an interview which lasted several hours In later years Palme regularly remarked during his many subsequent American visits that the United States had made him a socialist a remark that often has caused confusion Within the context of his American experience it was not that Palme was repelled by what he found in America but rather that he was inspired by it 10 After hitchhiking through the U S and Mexico he returned to Sweden to study law at Stockholm University In 1949 he became a member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party During his time at university Palme became involved in student politics working with the Swedish National Union of Students In 1951 he became a member of the social democratic student association in Stockholm although it is asserted he did not attend their political meetings at the time The following year he was elected President of the Swedish National Union of Students As a student politician he concentrated on international affairs and travelled across Europe 8 unreliable source Palme attributed his becoming a social democrat to three major influences In 1947 he attended a debate on taxes between the Social Democrat Ernst Wigforss the conservative Jarl Hjalmarson and the liberal Elon Andersson The time he spent in the United States in the 1940s made him realise how wide the class divide was in America and the extent of racism against black people A trip to Asia specifically India Sri Lanka Burma Thailand Singapore Indonesia and Japan in 1953 had opened his eyes to the consequences of colonialism and imperialism Palme was an atheist 11 Political career Edit Palme in 1957 Palme in 1968 Palme in Mora 1 August 1985 In 1953 Palme was recruited by social democratic prime minister Tage Erlander to work in his secretariat From 1955 he was a board member of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League and lectured at the Youth League College Bommersvik He also was a member of the Worker s Educational Association citation needed In 1957 he was elected as a member of parliament Swedish riksdagsledamot 12 represented Jonkoping County in the directly elected Second Chamber Andra kammaren of the Riksdag In the early 1960s Palme became a member of the Agency for International Assistance NIB and was in charge of inquiries into assistance to the developing countries and educational aid citation needed In 1963 he became a member of the Cabinet as minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office and retained his duties as a close political adviser to Prime Minister Tage Erlander In 1965 he became Minister of Communications Transport One issue of special interest to him was the further development of radio and television while ensuring their independence from commercial interests 8 In 1967 he became Minister of Education and the following year he was the target of strong criticism from left wing students protesting against the government s plans for university reform The protests culminated with the occupation of the Student Union Building in Stockholm Palme came there and tried to comfort the students urging them to use democratic methods for the pursuit of their cause 13 When party leader Tage Erlander stepped down in 1969 Palme was elected as the new leader by the Social Democratic party congress and succeeded Erlander as Prime Minister 14 Palme was very popular among the left but harshly detested by liberals and conservatives 15 This was due in part to his international activities especially those directed against the US foreign policy and in part to his aggressive and outspoken debating style 16 17 Policies and views EditAs leader of a new generation of Swedish Social Democrats Palme was often described as a revolutionary reformist and self identified as a progressive 18 19 Domestically his leftist views especially the drive to expand labour union influence over business ownership engendered a great deal of hostility from the organized business community citation needed 20 During the tenure of Palme several major reforms in the Swedish constitution were carried out such as orchestrating a switch from bicameralism to unicameralism in 1971 and in 1975 replacing the 1809 Instrument of Government at the time the oldest political constitution in the world after that of the United States with a new one officially establishing parliamentary democracy rather than de jure monarchic autocracy abolishing the Cabinet meetings chaired by the King and stripping the monarchy of all formal political powers citation needed His reforms on labour market included establishing a law which increased job security In the Swedish 1973 general election the Socialist Communist and the Liberal Conservative blocs got 175 places each in the Riksdag The Palme cabinet continued to govern the country but several times they had to draw lots to decide on some issues although most important issues were decided through concessional agreement 21 self published source Tax rates also rose from being fairly low even by Western European standards to the highest levels in the Western world 22 Under Palme s premiership tenure matters concerned with child care centers social security protection of the elderly accident safety and housing problems received special attention Under Palme the public health system in Sweden became efficient with the infant mortality rate standing at 12 per 1 000 live births 23 An ambitious redistributive programme was carried out with special help provided to the disabled immigrants the low paid single parent families and the old 24 The Swedish welfare state was significantly expanded 25 page needed from a position already one of the most far reaching in the world during his time in office 26 page needed As noted by Isabela Mares during the first half of the Seventies the level of benefits provided by every subsystem of the welfare state improved significantly Various policy changes increased the basic old age pension replacement rate from 42 of the average wage in 1969 to 57 while a health care reform carried out in 1974 integrated all health services and increased the minimum replacement rate from 64 to 90 of earnings In 1974 supplementary unemployment assistance was established providing benefits to those workers ineligible for existing benefits 26 page needed In 1971 eligibility for invalidity pensions was extended with greater opportunities for employees over the age of 60 In 1974 universal dental insurance was introduced and former maternity benefits were replaced by a parental allowance In 1974 housing allowances for families with children were raised and these allowances were extended to other low income groups 27 Childcare centres were also expanded under Palme and separate taxation of husband and wife introduced 28 Access to pensions for older workers in poor health was liberalised in 1970 and a disability pension was introduced for older unemployed workers in 1972 29 The Palme cabinet was also active in the field of education introducing such reforms as a system of loans and benefits for students regional universities and preschool for all children 28 Under a law of 1970 in the upper secondary school system gymnasium fackskola and vocational yrkesskola were integrated to form one school with 3 sectors arts and social science technical and natural sciences economic and commercial In 1975 a law was passed that established free admission to universities 27 A number of reforms were also carried out to enhance workers rights An employment protection Act of 1974 introduced rules regarding consultation with unions notice periods and grounds for dismissal together with priority rules for dismissals and re employment in case of redundancies 30 That same year work environment improvement grants were introduced and made available to modernising firms conditional upon the presence of union appointed safety stewards to review the introduction of new technology with regard to the health and safety of workers 31 In 1976 an Act on co determination at work was introduced that allowed unions to be consulted at various levels within companies before major changes were enforced that would affect employees while management had to negotiate with labour for joint rights in all matters concerning organisation of work hiring and firing and key decisions affecting the workplace 32 Palme s last government elected during a time when Sweden s economy was in difficult shape sought to pursue a third way designed to stimulate investment production and employment having ruled out classical Keynesian policies as a result of the growing burden of foreign debt together with the big balance of payments and budget deficits This involved equality of sacrifice whereby wage restraint would be accompanied by increases in welfare provision and more progressive taxation For instance taxes on wealth gifts and inheritance were increased while tax benefits to shareholders were either reduced or eliminated In addition various welfare cuts carried out before Olof s return to office were rescinded The previous system of indexing pensions and other benefits was restored the grant in aid scheme for municipal child care facilities was re established unemployment insurance was restored in full and the so called no benefit days for those drawing sickness benefits were cancelled Increases were also made to both food subsidies and child allowances while the employee investment funds which represented a radical form of profit sharing were introduced 24 page needed In 1968 Palme was a driving force behind the release of the documentary Dom kallar oss mods They Call Us Misfits The controversial film depicting two social outcasts was scheduled to be released in an edited form but Palme thought the material was too socially important to be cut 33 page needed An outspoken supporter of gender equality Palme sparked interest for women s rights issues by attending a World Women s Conference in Mexico He also made a feminist speech called The Emancipation of Man at a meeting of the Woman s National Democratic Club on 8 June 1970 this speech was later published in 1972 34 35 As a forerunner in green politics Palme was a firm believer in nuclear power as a necessary form of energy at least for a transitional period to curb the influence of fossil fuel 36 His intervention in Sweden s 1980 referendum on the future of nuclear power is often pinpointed by opponents of nuclear power as saving it As of 2011 nuclear power remains one of the most important sources of energy in Sweden much attributed to Palme s actions citation needed Soviet Swedish bilateral relations were tested during Palme s second span of time as prime minister in the 1980s in particular owing to reports of incursions by Soviet submarines into Swedish territorial waters 37 38 Olof Palme marching against the Vietnam War with the North Vietnamese ambassador Nguyễn Thọ Chan in Stockholm 1968 On the international scene Palme was a widely recognised political figure because of his harsh and emotional criticism of the United States over the Vietnam War vocal opposition to the crushing of the Prague Spring by the Soviet Union criticism of European Communist regimes including labeling the Husak regime as The Cattle of Dictatorship Swedish Diktaturens kreatur in 1975 campaigning against nuclear weapons proliferation criticism of the Franco Regime in Spain calling the regime goddamn murderers Swedish satans mordare see Swedish profanity after its execution of ETA and FRAP militants in September 1975 opposition to apartheid branding it as a particularly gruesome system and support for economic sanctions against South Africa support both political and financial for the African National Congress ANC the Palestine Liberation Organization PLO and the POLISARIO Front visiting Fidel Castro s Cuba in 1975 during which he denounced Fulgencio Batista s government and praised contemporary Cuban revolutionaries strong criticism of the Pinochet regime in Chile support both political and financial for the FMLN FDR in El Salvador and the FSLN in Nicaragua and role as a mediator in the Iran Iraq War All of this ensured that Palme had many opponents as well as many friends abroad 39 On 21 February 1968 Palme then Minister of Education participated in a protest in Stockholm against U S involvement in the war in Vietnam together with the North Vietnamese ambassador to the Soviet Union Nguyễn Thọ Chan The protest was organized by the Swedish Committee for Vietnam and Palme and Nguyen were both invited as speakers As a result of this the U S recalled its Ambassador from Sweden and Palme was fiercely criticised by the opposition for his participation in the protest 40 On 23 December 1972 Palme then Prime Minister made a speech on Swedish national radio where he compared the ongoing U S bombings of Hanoi to historical atrocities namely the bombing of Guernica the massacres of Oradour sur Glane Babi Yar Katyn Lidice and Sharpeville and the extermination of Jews and other groups at Treblinka The US government called the comparison a gross insult and once again decided to freeze its diplomatic relations with Sweden this time the freeze lasted for over a year 40 In response to Palme s remarks in a meeting with the US ambassador to Sweden ahead of the Socialist International Meeting in Helsingor in January 1976 41 Henry Kissinger then United States Secretary of State asked the US ambassador to convey my personal appreciation to Palme for his frank presentation 42 Assassination Edit Mourners at the assassination site Crossing of Sveavagen and Tunnelgatan avenues where Olof Palme was assassinated Main article Assassination of Olof Palme Commemorative plaque on the place Olof Palme was assassinated Political violence was little known in Sweden at the time and Olof Palme often went about without a bodyguard Close to midnight on 28 February 1986 he was walking home from a cinema with his wife Lisbeth Palme in the central Stockholm street Sveavagen when he was shot in the back at close range A second shot grazed Lisbeth s back He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Sabbatsberg Hospital at 00 06 CET Lisbeth survived without serious injuries 43 Deputy Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson immediately assumed the duties of Prime Minister a post he retained until 1991 and then again in 1994 1996 He also took over the leadership of the Social Democratic Party which he held until 1996 44 Two years later Christer Pettersson d 2004 a murderer small time criminal and drug addict was convicted of Palme s murder but his conviction was overturned 45 Another suspect Victor Gunnarsson emigrated to the United States where he was the victim of an unrelated murder in 1993 46 The assassination remained unsolved 45 A third and fourth suspect popularly referred to as The Skandia Man and GH after their working place at the Skandia building next to the crime scene and police investigation number H representing the eighth letter i e Suspect Profile No 8 committed suicide in 2000 and 2008 respectively Both fit the suspect profile vaguely and owned firearms 47 48 49 GH was a long time suspect partly because he had self described financial motives and owned the only registered 357 Magnum in the Stockholm vicinity not tested and ruled out by authorities which as yet has not been recovered On 18 March 2020 Swedish investigators met in Pretoria with members of South African intelligence agencies to discuss the case The South Africans handed over their file from 1986 to their Swedish colleagues Goran Bjorkdahl a Swedish diplomat had done independent research on Palme s assassination leading to South Africa s apartheid regime Major General Chris Thirion who headed the military intelligence of South Africa during the final years of apartheid rule had told Bjorkdahl in 2015 that he believed South Africa was behind Palme s murder Swedish investigators announced that they would reveal new information and close the case on 10 June 2020 50 Earlier remarks by lead investigator Krister Petersson that there might not be a prosecution have led commentators to believe that the suspect is dead 51 On 10 June 2020 Swedish prosecutors stated publicly that they knew who had killed Palme and named Stig Engstrom also known as Skandia Man as the assassin Engstrom was one of about twenty people who had claimed to witness the assassination and was later identified as a potential suspect by Swedish writers Lars Larsson and Thomas Pettersson 52 Given that Engstrom had committed suicide in 2000 the authorities also announced that the investigation into Palme s death was to be closed 53 Some politicians and journalists in Turkey relate the assassination of Palme to PKK since he was the first in Europe to designate PKK as terrorist organisation 54 See also Edit Palme s grave in Stockholm s Adolf Fredrik cemetery List of Olof Palme memorials for a list of memorials and places named after Olof Palme List of streets named after Olof Palme Olof Palme International Center Olof Palme Prize List of peace activists Sweden bashing Anna Lindh Bernt Carlsson Folke Bernadotte Caleb J Anderson IB affair a political scandal involving Palme Ebbe Carlsson affair a political scandal concerning non official inquiries into the murder Notes Edit Sweden s chance to heal open wound of former PM s murder 4 May 2020 Nordstrom Byron 2000 Scandinavia Since 1500 University of Minnesota Press p 347 The February 1986 murder of Sweden s Prime Minister Olof Palme near Sergelstorget in the middle of Stockholm s downtown shocked the nation and region Political assassinations were virtually unheard of in Scandinavia a b Olof Palme murder Sweden believes it knows who killed PM in 1986 BBC News 10 June 2020 Sallinen Jani Pirttisalo 12 June 2020 Bevisen hade fatt svart pa punkt efter punkt Svenska Dagbladet Ollikainen Milla 29 May 2016 Antisemitisti ja tahtonainen Hanna von Born oli Olof Palmen suomalainen isoaiti Seura in Finnish Retrieved 22 September 2021 Olof Ruin Olof Palme In David Wilsford Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe A Biographical Dictionary Greenwood Press Westport CT 1995 von Knieriem genealogy gedbas genealogy net a b c Olof Palme Uno Stamps Retrieved 3 February 2015 Bill Mayr Remembering Olof Palme In Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin Vol 34 No 2 Winter 2012 Hendrik Hertzberg Death of a Patriot in Idem Politics Observations and Arguments 1966 2004 New York The Penguin Press 2004 pp 263 266 there 264 He was an atheist and saw war as the greatest threat to mankind The popularity of the Swedish model society probably peaked in the early seventies but Olof Palme tirelessly continued his development toward a society as he saw it Jens Moe My America The Culture of Giving page 155 Olof Palmes Minnesfond Palme Fonden Retrieved 3 February 2015 Olof Palme En levande vilja Tal och intervjuer Olof Palme Einhorn Eric and John Logue 1989 Modern Welfare States Politics and Policies in Social Democratic Scandinavia Praeger Publishers pg 60 ISBN 0 275 93188 9 Olof Palme was perhaps the most presidential Scandinavian leader in recent decades a fact that may have made him vulnerable to political violence Han godslade jorden sa att Palmehatet kunde vaxa Dagens Nyheter 25 February 2006 Olof Palme the controversy lives on Archived 6 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine The Local 27 February 2006 Dagens Nyheter 23 January 2007 Detta borde vara vart arv Archived 10 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine Asa Linderborg Aftonbladet 28 February 2006 Tawat Mahama 1 June 2019 The Birth of Sweden s multicultural policy The impact of Olof Palme and his ideas International Journal of Cultural Policy 478 481 Kari Sable Olof Palme Unsolved Case Kari Sable website Retrieved 3 February 2015 Swedish Prime Ministers in history Comhem Archived from the original on 2 November 2014 Retrieved 3 February 2015 Castro Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine a b Socialists in the Recession The Search for Solidarity by Giles Radice and Lisanne Radice OCLC 468658478 Sprague Martina 2005 Sweden ISBN 9780781811149 Retrieved 3 February 2015 page needed a b Taxation Wage Bargaining and Unemployment by Isabela Mares OCLC 783321650 page needed a b Growth to Limits The Western European Welfare States Since World War II Volume 4 edited by Peter Flora OCLC 1101348657 page needed a b Palme s political legacy put Sweden on the map The Local Retrieved 3 February 2015 Timo Weishaupt J 2011 From the Manpower Revolution to the Activation Paradigm ISBN 9789089642523 Retrieved 3 February 2015 Bonoli Giuliano 28 March 2013 The Origins of Active Social Policy ISBN 9780199669769 Retrieved 3 February 2015 Google Books Agius Christine 30 July 2006 The social construction of Swedish neutrality Challenges to Swedish ISBN 9781847791993 Retrieved 3 February 2015 Daniel Ekeroth Swedish Sensations Films A Clandestine History of Sex Thrillers and Kicker Cinema Bazillion Points 2011 ISBN 978 0 9796163 6 5 page needed Olof Palme on the Emancipation of Man 22 February 2016 Palme Olof 1972 The Emancipation of Man Journal of Social Issues 28 2 237 246 doi 10 1111 j 1540 4560 1972 tb00027 x Olof Palme till Shirley Maclaine om vikten av karnkraft on YouTube Feder Barnaby J 31 March 1984 Swedes Seabed Spy Hunt No Stone is Unturned The New York Times Vol 133 no 46000 Palme Meets Russian As Sub Hunt Continues The New York Times Vol 132 no 45670 6 May 1983 Holst Karen Palme s political legacy put Sweden on the map The Local Retrieved 23 March 2011 a b Andersson Stellan Olof Palme och Vietnamfragan 1965 1983 in Swedish OlofPalme org Retrieved 27 February 2008 Discussion with Prime Minister Palme of Socialist Meeting in Denmark January 18 19 United States Department of State 15 January 1976 Retrieved 28 November 2010 Kissinger Henry Grafeld Margaret ed 1976STATE011557 b Department of State EO The investigation committee report 1999 88 p 159 Archived 2 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine PDF in Swedish Ingvar Carlsson Nationalencyklopedin in Swedish Retrieved 28 January 2010 a b Jenkins Philip 1989 The Assassination of Olaf Palme Evidence and Ideology Contemporary Crises 13 1 15 33 doi 10 1007 bf00728874 S2CID 143889005 Dagens Nyheter 2 February 1994 Skandiamannen talade om Palmemordet under sitt sista samtal Expressen in Swedish Retrieved 8 June 2020 PALMEMORDSPODDEN gamla feeden PMP 31 tv sp ren hasse aro Var han Palmes mordare Borger Julian 9 June 2020 Sweden to present findings on Olof Palme assassination The Guardian Washington D C Retrieved 9 June 2020 Johnson Simon 9 June 2020 Who killed Swedish PM Olof Palme in 1986 Swedes hope to find out Reuters Stockholm Retrieved 9 June 2020 Larsson Lars 2016 Nationens fiende om mordet pa Olof Palme in Swedish OCLC 943384360 Olof Palme murder Sweden identifies man who killed PM in 1986 BBC 10 June 2020 Retrieved 10 June 2020 Palme nin katili PKK ya asik Isvec in Stockholm Sendromu 2 Further reading EditBondeson Jan Blood on the snow The killing of Olof Palme Cornell University Press 2005 OCLC 979575815 Derfler Leslie The Fall and Rise of Political Leaders Olof Palme Olusegun Obasanjo and Indira Gandhi Springer 2011 Ekengren Ann Marie 2011 How Ideas Influence Decision Making Olof Palme and Swedish Foreign Policy 1965 1975 Scandinavian Journal of History 36 2 pp 117 134 doi 10 1080 03468755 2011 561189 Esaiasson Peter and Donald Granberg 1996 Attitudes towards a fallen leader Evaluations of Olof Palme before and after the assassination British Journal of Political Science 26 3 pp 429 439 doi 10 1017 s0007123400007535 Marklund Carl From False Neutrality to True Socialism Unofficial US Sweden bashing During the Later Palme Years 1973 1986 Journal of Transnational American Studies 7 1 2016 1 18 online Marklund Carl American Mirrors and Swedish Self Portraits American Images of Sweden and Swedish Public Diplomacy in the USA from Olof Palme to Ingvar Carlsson in Histories of Public Diplomacy and Nation Branding in the Nordic and Baltic Countries ed Louis Clerc Nikolas Glover and Paul Jordan Leiden Brill 2015 172 94 Ruin Olof 1991 Three Swedish Prime Ministers Tage Erlander Olof Palme and Ingvar Carlsson West European Politics 14 3 pp 58 82 doi 10 1080 01402389108424859 Tawat Mahama The birth of Sweden s multicultural policy The impact of Olof Palme and his ideas International Journal of Cultural Policy 25 4 2019 471 485 Vivekanandan Bhagavathi Global Visions of Olof Palme Bruno Kreisky and Willy Brandt International Peace and Security Co operation and Development Springer 2016 Walters Peter The Legacy of Olof Palme The Condition of the Swedish Model Government and Opposition 22 1 1987 64 77 Wilsford David ed Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe a biographical dictionary Greenwood 1995 pp 352 61 OCLC 905779113In SwedishAntman Peter Schori Pierre 1996 Olof Palme den granslose reformisten Stockholm Tiden ISBN 978 91 518 2948 7 Arvidsson Claes 2007 Olof Palme med verkligheten som fiende Stockholm Timbro ISBN 978 91 7566 539 9 Asard Erik 2002 Politikern Olof Palme Stockholm Hjalmarson amp Hogberg ISBN 978 91 89080 88 1 Berggren Henrik 2010 Underbara dagar framfor oss En biografi over Olof Palme Stockholm Norsteds ISBN 978 91 1 301708 2 Bjork Gunnela 2006 Olof Palme och medierna Umea Borea ISBN 978 91 89140 45 5 Ekengren Ann Marie 2005 Olof Palme och utrikespolitiken Europa och Tredje varlden Umea Borea ISBN 978 91 89140 41 7 Elmbrant Bjorn 1996 Palme 2nd ed Stockholm Fischer ISBN 978 91 7054 797 3 Fredriksson Gunnar 1986 Olof Palme Stockholm Norstedt ISBN 978 91 1 863472 7 Gummesson Jonas 2001 Olof Palmes ungdomsar bland nazister och spioner Stockholm Ekerlid ISBN 978 91 88595 95 9 Haste Hans Olsson Lars Erik Strandberg Lars Adler Arne 1986 Boken om Olof Palme hans liv hans garning hans dod Stockholm Tiden ISBN 978 91 550 3218 0 Hermansson Hakan Wenander Lars 1987 Uppdrag Olof Palme hatet jakten kampanjerna Stockholm Tiden ISBN 978 91 550 3340 8 Isaksson Christer 1995 Palme privat i skuggan av Erlander Stockholm Ekerlid ISBN 978 91 88594 36 5 Kullenberg Annette 1996 Palme och kvinnorna Stockholm Brevskolan ISBN 978 91 574 4512 4 Larsson Ulf 2003 Olof Palme och utbildningspolitiken Stockholm Hjalmarson amp Hogberg ISBN 978 91 89660 24 3 Malm Andersson Ingrid 2001 Olof Palme en bibliografi Hedemora Arbetarrorelsens arkiv och bibliotek ISBN 978 91 7844 349 9 Ostberg Kjell 2008 I takt med tiden Olof Palme 1927 1969 Stockholm Leopard ISBN 978 91 7343 208 5 Ostergren Bertil 1984 Vem ar Olof Palme ett politiskt portratt Stockholm Timbro ISBN 978 91 7566 037 0 Palme Claes 1986 Olof Palme Helsinki Kirjayhtyma ISBN 978 951 26 2963 3 Palme Olof 1984 Sveriges utrikespolitik anforanden Stockholm Tiden ISBN 978 91 550 2948 7 Palme Olof 1986 Politik ar att vilja 3rd ed Stockholm Prisma ISBN 978 91 518 2045 3 Palme Olof 1986 Att vilja ga vidare 2nd ed Stockholm Tiden ISBN 978 91 550 3224 1 Palme Olof Richard Serge Akerman Nordal 1977 Med egna ord samtal med Serge Richard och Nordal Akerman Uppsala Bromberg ISBN 978 91 85342 32 7 Palme Olof Dahlgren Hans 1987 En levande vilja Stockholm Tiden ISBN 978 91 550 3225 8 Palme Olof Hansson Sven Ove Dahlgren Hans 1996 Palme sjalv texter i urval Stockholm Tiden ISBN 978 91 518 2947 0 Palme Olof 2006 Solidaritet utan granser tal och texter i urval Stockholm Atlas ISBN 978 9173892193 Peterson Thage G 2002 Olof Palme som jag minns honom Stockholm Bonnier ISBN 978 91 0 058042 1 Strand Dieter 1977 Palme mot Falldin rapporter fran vagen till nederlaget Stockholm Raben amp Sjogren ISBN 978 91 29 50309 8 Strand Dieter 1980 Palme igen scener ur en partiledares liv Stockholm Norstedt ISBN 978 91 1 801351 5 Strand Dieter 1986 Med Palme scener ur en partiledares och statsministers liv Stockholm Norstedt ISBN 978 91 1 861431 6 Svedgard Lars B 1970 Palme en presentation Stockholm Raben amp Sjogren Zachrisson Birgitta Alandh Tom Henriksson Bjorn 1996 Berattelser om Palme Stockholm Norstedt ISBN 978 91 1 960002 8External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Olof Palme Wikiquote has quotations related to Olof Palme Olof Palme Archives Olof Palme Memorial Fund Olof Palme International CenterTransnational officesPreceded byTrygve Bratteli President of the Nordic Council1979 Succeeded byMatthias Arni MathiesenPolitical officesPreceded byGosta Skoglund Minister of Communications Transport 1965 1967 Succeeded bySvante LundkvistPreceded byRagnar Edenman Minister for Education1967 1969 Succeeded byIngvar CarlssonPreceded byTage Erlander Prime Minister of Sweden1969 1976 Succeeded byThorbjorn FalldinPreceded byThorbjorn Falldin Prime Minister of Sweden1982 1986 Succeeded byIngvar CarlssonParty political officesPreceded byTage Erlander Leader of the Social Democratic Party1969 1986 Succeeded byIngvar Carlsson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Olof Palme amp oldid 1131812486, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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