Stig Nils Åke Malm (4 March 1942 – 5 March 2021) was a Swedish trade unionist (

Swedish Metalworkers' Union The Swedish Metalworkers' Union ( often shortened in text and speech to simply ''Metall'') was a trade union in Sweden. History The union was founded in Stockholm on 21 May 1888, and had 555 members by the end of the year. Although the Swedish ...

) and politician. He was chairman of the

Swedish Trade Union Confederation The Swedish Trade Union Confederation ( ; literally "The National Organisation in Sweden"), commonly referred to as LO (), is a national trade union centre, an umbrella organisation for fourteen Swedish trade unions that organise mainly "blue-c ...

(Swedish: ''Landsorganisationen i Sverige'', LO) in 1983–1993.

Biography

Stig Malm grew up in a workers' home in

Sundbyberg Sundbyberg Municipality ( or ''Sundbybergs stad'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, just north of the capital Stockholm. Sundbyberg is wholly within the Stockholm urban area and has a 100% urban population. Sundbybe ...

, and started employment at the Swedish packaging firm Arenco at the age of sixteen. He later trained as an instrument maker at a vocational school in 1958, and soon got involved in union activities; first at Arenco's workers' club and then from 1965 as an assistant at the trade union school of the Swedish Metalworkers' Union in

Åkersberga Åkersberga is a locality and the seat of Österåker Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 28,033 inhabitants in 2010. History In 1901 a railway station named ''Berga'' was opened on this rural spot some 30 km from Stockholm. Some ...

. In 1967 Malm became an ombudsman for the Swedish Metalworkers' Union, and in 1979 second vice chairman. In 1981, he was elected second vice chairman of LO, and in 1983 its chairman. Malm resigned from his position as chairman of LO in 1993, after it was revealed that he had approved a number of generous

severance package A severance package is pay and benefits that employees may be entitled to receive when they leave employment at a company unwilfully. In addition to their remaining regular pay, it may include some of the following: * Any additional payment based ...

s to managers of the trade union owned construction company BPA. In 1994, he published an autobiography, ''13 år'' ("13 Years"). Malm was a member of the

Swedish Social Democratic Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a social democratic political party in Sweden. The party is member of the Progressiv ...

. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Malm was a representative of the party's left wing, in opposition to the

Third Way The Third Way is a predominantly centrist political position that attempts to reconcile centre-right and centre-left politics by advocating a varying synthesis of Right-wing economics, right-wing economic and Left-wing politics, left-wing so ...

policies promoted by the party's right wing (see '' Kanslihushögern''). After his resignation as chairman of LO, Malm was active as a local politician in

Solna Municipality Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in central Stockholm County, Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockh ...

, north of

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 ...

. In 2004, Malm participated as a contestant in the popular TV game show ''

På spåret ''På spåret'' () is a popular Swedish TV game show series broadcast on SVT since 5 September 1987. The show, which is intended to be humorous yet educational, has remained one of the most popular TV shows in Sweden, attracting an average of 2 ...

'' together with comedian

Babben Larsson Barbro Karin Viola Westerlund Larsson (born 29October 1956), better known as Babben, is a Swedish actress and comedian. Life and career Babben was born in Dalhem on Gotland and is recognised by her pronounced Gotlandic dialect. Now living in ...

. In 2021, Malm died from complications caused by

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Danderyd Hospital Danderyd Hospital () is a teaching hospital in Danderyd Municipality in northern Greater Stockholm opened in 1922. Until 1964 it was called ''Centrallasarettet i Stocksund''. Danderyd Hospital is one of Sweden's largest emergency hospitals and pr ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden The COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden is a part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , there have been confirmed cumulative cases and deaths with confirmed COVID-19 in Sw ...

, one day after his 79th birthday. Prime Minister

Stefan Löfven Kjell Stefan Löfven (; officially Löfvén; born 21 July 1957) is a Swedish politician who has served as the President of European Socialists since October 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Sweden from October 2014 to November 20 ...

, who earlier was chairman of

IF Metall Industrifacket Metall (IF Metall) is a trade union in Sweden. It was formed in a 2006 merger between the Swedish Industrial Union (Industrifacket) and the Swedish Metalworkers' Union (Metall). Its roots in Metall trace back to 1888. IF Metall ...

, the successor organization of the Swedish Metalworkers' Union, remembered him as an "ideologically clear representative of the

Swedish labour movement The labour movement in Sweden dates back to at least the 1850s, when Swedish workers initiated the organizing of previously spontaneous food riots into strikes, hence acting as an autonomous group. History Modern types of labour unions emerge ...

" and "an outspoken LO chairman who always defended the members' interests".

References

External links

Stig Malm
Wikiquote {{DEFAULTSORT:Malm, Stig 1942 births 2021 deaths People from Sundbyberg Municipality Swedish trade unionists Swedish politicians Swedish social democrats Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden