Uno Erik Wilhelm Willers (20 October 1911 – 10 January 1980) was a Swedish historian and librarian. He served as National Librarian () of Sweden from 1952 to 1977.

Early life

Willers was born on 20 October 1911 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 ...

, Sweden, the son of Einar Willers, a police judge, and his wife Malin (née Dahlgren). He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...

'' in 1931 and worked at the

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...

's library from 1931 to 1936. Willers attended the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

in 1933 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1936 and studied history and

library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 1937 and 1938 and in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

from 1938 to 1939 when he earned a Licentiate degree.

Career

Willers worked at 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 ...

Library from 1941 to 1942 and the

National Library of Sweden The National Library of Sweden (, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish association published ab ...

from 1942. Willers was editor of the ("Swedish Student Calendar") from 1937 to 1944 and served as secretary of the Stockholm Federation of Student Unions in 1938. He was also a member of the Swedish Society for Personal History () from 1943. Willers was a member of the Swedish intelligence agency

C-byrån C-byrån ("C bureau") was a Swedish secret intelligence agency established in 1939, sorting under the Swedish Armed Forces. It was led by Major Carl Petersén. During World War II C-byrån organized operations in the German-occupied Norway and ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Willers earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1945 was director of the ("the Swedish Student Home in Paris") at

Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris Cité internationale universitaire de Paris () or the Cité universitaire (CIUP or ''Cité U'') is a university campus, a private park and foundation located in Paris, France. Since 1925, it has provided general and public services, including ...

from 1946 to 1947. He then served as

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

in history at

Stockholm University College Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

from 1945 to 1950 and from 1946 to 1947 Willers served as librarian at the

Sainte-Geneviève Library Sainte-Geneviève Library (, ) is a university library of the universities of Paris, administered by the Sorbonne-Nouvelle University (a public liberal arts and humanities university) located at 10, place du Panthéon, across the square from ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was director of the Nobel Library of the Swedish Academy from 1946 to 1950 and was deputy director () and head of the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

' archives from 1950 to 1952. Willers was appointed National Librarian () of Sweden and head of the National Library of Sweden in 1952. Willers became a reserve officer in 1938 and lieutenant of the

Swedish Army Quartermaster Corps The Swedish Army Quartermaster Corps () was an Corps, administrative corps for personnel within the Swedish Army created in 1880. From the corps, the Swedish Army was provided with staff for various commissary positions. The head of the corps was ...

' reserve in 1938 and captain of the same in 1946. In 1947, he was appointed secretary in the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

Nobel Committee A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates. There are six awarding committees from four institutions, one for each Nobel Prize. Five of these committees are working bodies ...

, a position he held until 1967. He was secretary in the ("Investigation concerning Stockholm University College's future position") in 1948 and in the ("Stockholm Library's Cooperation Committee") from 1949 to 1953, serving as its chairman in 1954. Willers was a substitute for the chairman of the ("Council of the Längman Culture Fund") in 1959 and board member of the ("Archive of the Swedish Labour Movement") from 1953 to 1971. He was a member of the working committee of the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO () from 1954 to 1959 and its vice chairman from 1954 to 1959. Willers was chairman of the board of the ("Graphic Institute") from 1959 to 1974 and of the

Stockholm City Theatre Stockholm City Theatre () is a live performance theatre located in Stockholm, Sweden. The theatre is situated near the Sergel fountain and the Stockholm City roundabout. Location It is located in one of Stockholm's most popular public buildi ...

from 1961 to 1970 as well the

Swedish Tourist Association The Swedish Tourist Association (, ; abbreviated STF), founded in 1885, aims at promoting outdoor life and knowledge among the Swedes about their country. The Association maintains a variety of trails, huts and hostels in different parts of Swed ...

from 1961 to 1967. He was board member of the Office of the Chancellor of the Swedish Universities () from 1964 and chairman of the board of the Research Library Council () from 1964.

Personal life

In 1939, he married Greta Bellinder (born 1917), the daughter of the Justice of the

Supreme Court of Sweden The Supreme Court of Sweden (, HD) is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom of Sweden. Before a case can be decided by the Supreme Court, leave to appeal must be obtained, and wit ...

, Sven Bellinder and Karin (née Gustafsson). He was the father of Catharina (born 1939), Erik (born 1942), Margareta (born 1944) and Ulric (born 1948).

Awards and decorations

* Commander 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 ...

GER_Bundesverdienstkreuz_5_GrVK_Stern_218px

Grand Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

ISL_Icelandic_Order_of_the_Falcon_-_Grand_Knight_BAR

Grand Knight's Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

(18 March 1953) * Commander of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

(1 July 1952) * Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

For_Zealous_and_Devoted_Service_of_the_Realm_ribbon

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 ...

Honors

*Member of the Royal Society for Publication of Manuscripts on Scandinavian History (''Kungliga Samfundet för utgivande av handskrifter rörande Skandinaviens historia'') (1952) *Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

*Member of the

Royal Skyttean Society The Royal Skyttean Society () is a scholarly and scientific academy with its seat in the northern Swedish university town of Umeå. It is one of the 18 Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 29 April 1956, taking its name from the 17th cen ...

*Honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences The Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (, KÖMS), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. The Society is an independent organization and a forum for navy and defence issues. Fellowship is limited to 120 ...

References

External links

Bibliography
at

LIBRIS LIBRIS (Library Information System) is a Swedish national union catalogue maintained by the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populo ...

Article
in ''Svensk tidskrift'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Willers, Uno 1911 births 1980 deaths Swedish librarians Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences People of the C-byrån People from Stockholm University of Marburg alumni Academic staff of Stockholm University Commanders of the Order of the Polar Star Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Illis quorum