Gunnar Lennart Vilhelm Ericsson (29 June 1919 – 24 December 2013) was a Swedish businessman, sports official and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician. He was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Career

Ericsson, who was the son of businessman Elof Ericsson, graduated from the

Stockholm School of Economics The Stockholm School of Economics (SSE; , HHS) is a private business school located in city district Vasastaden in the central part of Stockholm, Sweden. SSE offers BSc, MSc and MBA programs, along with PhD- and Executive education progr ...

in 1946. He thereafter joined AB Åtvidabergs Industrier, which at that time was led by his father Elof Ericsson and was later named Facit AB. Gunnar Ericsson was its

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

from 1957 to 1970, and chairman of the board from 1970 to 1982. In 1972, he had to hand over control over the company to

Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool Corporation, Whi ...

. Ericsson was a member of the

Parliament of Sweden The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportionally and serving, since 1994, f ...

from 1969 to 1972, until 1970 in the lower chamber. Ericsson, who through Facit AB funded the football club

Åtvidabergs FF Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening, also known simply as Åtvidabergs FF, Åtvidaberg, Åtvid or (especially locally) ÅFF, is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Åtvidaberg. The club is affiliated with Östergötlands ...

, was the chairman of the

Swedish Football Association The Swedish Football Association (, SvFF) is the governing and body of football in Sweden. It organises the football leagues – Allsvenskan for men and for women – and the men's and women's national teams. It is based in Solna and is a ...

1970–1975 and was a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) 1965–1996. From 1996 to 2013, he has been an honorary member of the IOC. Ericsson was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (, IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which promotes contact and exchange between business, ...

in 1970. He died on 24 December 2013, aged 94.

References

External links

IOC's member page for Gunnar Ericsson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ericsson, Gunnar 1919 births 2013 deaths Stockholm School of Economics alumni Swedish sports executives and administrators Swedish International Olympic Committee members Members of the Riksdag from the Liberals (Sweden) Members of the Andra kammaren Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences Businesspeople from Stockholm Politicians from Stockholm Chairmen of the Swedish Football Association Åtvidabergs FF directors and chairmen