Gunnar Hedlund (1 October 1900 – 26 November 1989) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

politician who served as

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Centre Party from 1949 to 1971. He served as

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

1951 from 1957 and was a member of the

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

(parliament) from 1942 to 1976.

Biography

Hedlund was born in Helgum,

Sollefteå Municipality Sollefteå Municipality () is a Swedish municipality in Västernorrland County. Its seat is located in Sollefteå. The former ''City of Sollefteå'' (instituted in 1917) was amalgamated with the surrounding entities in 1974 to form the present m ...

Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from the ...

, and in 1926 Hedlund became a member of the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

of Helgum and in 1930 he became its chairman. He was very active in associations connected with

silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests ...

. In 1938 he defended a dissertation at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

and became

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

. In 1942 he was elected to the lower chamber of the

(parliament), representing the Centre Party, or ''Bondeförbundet'' (The Farmers' League) as it was known until 1957. In 1948 he took over the leadership of the party temporarily (when the former leader

Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp Axel Alarik Pehrsson-Bramstorp (born Axel Alarik Pehrsson; 19 August 1883 – 19 February 1954) was a Swedish politician and was Prime Minister of Sweden for a few months during 1936. As a parliamentarian he was known as Axel Pehrsson in Bramsto ...

had suffered a stroke) and was formally elected to the post in 1949. In 1951 the Centre Party entered into a coalition government with the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

, and Hedlund became

, succeeding

Eije Mossberg Hugo Karl Eije Mossberg (21 January 1908, Vaxholm Parish, Stockholm County - 28 July 1997, Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland) was a Swedish Swedish Social Democratic Party, social democratic politician, civil servant and business manager. Career Mos ...

. In the end, the parties could not agree on a new pension system, and after a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

in 1957 on the matter the Centre Party and the Social Democrats went their separate ways. The Centre Party grew steadily from 1958 and in 1968 they had become the second largest party in Sweden. In the 1970 general election, Hedlund was initially open to the idea of forming another coalition with the Social Democrats, feeling that they might another coalition to stay in power. However, he became an opponent of Social Democratic leader and prime minister

Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 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 as ...

during this election, and the second coalition never formed. In 1971 Hedlund resigned as chairman and was succeeded by

Thorbjörn Fälldin Nils Olof Thorbjörn Fälldin (24 April 1926 – 23 July 2016) was a Swedish politician and farmer who served as the prime minister of Sweden from 1976 to 1978 and again from 1979 to 1982, heading three non-consecutive cabinets. He was the ...

. Hedlund retained a seat in the Riksdag until 1976. In retirement, he met for dinners and political talks with his former political rival,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

leader

Bertil Ohlin Bertil Gotthard Ohlin () (23 April 1899 – 3 August 1979) was a Swedish economist and politician. He was a professor of economics at the Stockholm School of Economics from 1929 to 1965. He was also leader of the People's Party, a social-liber ...

Awards and decorations

* Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

(23 November 1955) *

Illis quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') (English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It") is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gusta ...

(1984)

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedlund, Gunnar 1900 births 1989 deaths People from Sollefteå Members of the Riksdag from the Centre Party (Sweden) Leaders of political parties in Sweden Uppsala University alumni Members of the Riksdag 1970–1973 Members of the Riksdag 1974–1976 Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Recipients of the Illis quorum