Sven Wedén (23 July 1913 – 31 March 1976) was a Swedish

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was the leader of the Swedish People's Party from 1967 to 1969. Wedén survived severe

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

and became a businessman in the family company, a metal manufacturing firm. Wedén had no higher education but became a self-learned intellectual, starting with extensive reading during long sejours at tuberculosis hospitals. He was strongly pro-British and influenced by reading about British parliamentary life. Wedén also was passionately anti- Nazi and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he joined the liberal party of Sweden, the People's Party, where he became city councillor, chairman of the youth organization and member of parliament. In parliament Wedén for many years worked with housing and defence policy, but over the years he became part of the small circle of leading liberals around Bertil Ohlin, and finally Ohlin's successor as chairman and parliamentary leader. However Wedén's health was now broken and after his only election campaign as party leader, which ended with a setback, he resigned as party chairman in 1969 and later retired from parliament. In 1968 a Stockholm-based satirical magazine '' Puss'' published a photo collage by Lars Hillersberg ‎depicting Wedén naked which led to the confiscation of the issue.

References

1913 births 1976 deaths People from Eskilstuna Liberals (Sweden) politicians Members of the Riksdag 1970–1973 {{Sweden-LiberalPeople-politician-stub