Olof Palme

Sven Olof Joachim Palme{{harvnb|Vivekanandan|2016|p=14}} was born on 30 January 1927{{harvnb|Qureshi|2023|p=1}} into an upper class, conservative Lutheran family in the Östermalm district of Stockholm. The progenitor of the Palme family was skipper Palme Lydert of Ystad of either Dutch or German ancestry. His sons adopted the surname Palme. Many of the early Palmes were vicars and judges in Scania. One branch of the family, of which Olof Palme was part, and which became more affluent, relocated to Kalmar; that branch is related to several other prominent Swedish families such as the Kreugers, von Sydows and the Wallenbergs. His father, {{ill|Gunnar Palme|sv}} (1886–1934), was a businessman, son of {{ill|Sven Palme|sv|lt=Sven Theodore Palme}} (1854–1934) and Swedish-speaking Finnish Baroness {{ill|Hanna Palme|fi|lt=Hanna Maria von Born-Sarvilahti}} (1861–1959).{{cite web |url=https://seura.fi/ilmiot/historia/antisemitisti-tahtonainen-hanna-von-born-olof-palmen-suomalainen-isoaiti/ |title=Antisemitisti ja tahtonainen: Hanna von Born oli Olof Palmen suomalainen isoäiti |last=Ollikainen|first=Milla |date=29 May 2016 |website=Seura |language=fi |access-date=22 September 2021}} Through her, Olof Palme claimed ancestry from King Johan III of Sweden, his father King Gustav Vasa of Sweden and King Frederick I of Denmark and Norway. His mother, Elisabeth von Knieriem (1890–1972),Olof Ruin: Olof Palme. In: David Wilsford: Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT 1995 of the Knieriem family who originated from Quedlinburg,{{cite web |title=von Knieriem genealogy |url=https://gedbas.genealogy.net/person/ancestors/1144031280 |website=gedbas.genealogy.net/}} descended from Baltic German burghers and clergy and had arrived in Sweden from Russia as a refugee in 1915. Elisabeth's great-great-great grandfather Johann Melchior von Knieriem (1758–1817) had been ennobled by the Emperor Alexander I of Russia in 1814. The von Knieriem family does not count as members of any of the Baltic knighthoods.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} Palme's father died when he was seven years old. Despite his background, his political orientation came to be influenced by Social Democratic attitudes. His travels in the Third World, as well as the United States, where he saw deep economic inequality and racial segregation, helped to develop these views.

A sickly child, Olof Palme received his education from private tutors. Even as a child he gained knowledge of two foreign languages — German and English. He studied at Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket, one of Sweden's few residential high schools, and passed the university entrance examination with high marks at the age of 17. He was called up into the Army in January 1945 and did his compulsory military service at Svea Artillery Regiment between 1945 and 1947, becoming in 1956 a reserve officer with the rank of Captain in the Artillery. After he was discharged from military service in March 1947, he enrolled at Stockholm University.{{cite web|url=http://www.unostamps.nl/person_palme.htm|title=Olof Palme|work=Uno Stamps|access-date=3 February 2015|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020153610/http://www.unostamps.nl/person_palme.htm|url-status=dead}}{{unreliable source?|date=February 2021}}

File:Palme student 1944.jpg

On a scholarship, he studied at Kenyon College, a small liberal arts school in central Ohio from 1947 to 1948, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree;

extensive academic credit from Sweden enabled him to finish at Kenyon in such a short time.

Bill Mayr: [http://bulletin-archive.kenyon.edu/x3901.html Remembering Olof Palme.] In: Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin Vol. 34, No. 2, Winter 2012. Inspired by radical debate in the student community, he wrote a critical essay on Friedrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. Palme wrote his senior honour thesis on the United Auto Workers union, led at the time by Walter Reuther. After graduation, he traveled throughout the country and eventually ended up in Detroit, where his hero Reuther agreed to an interview which lasted several hours. In later years, Palme regularly remarked during his many subsequent American visits, that the United States had made him a socialist, a remark that often has caused confusion. Within the context of his American experience, it was not that Palme was repelled by what he found in America, but rather that he was inspired by it.Hendrik Hertzberg, "Death of a Patriot", in: Idem: Politics. Observations and Arguments, 1966–2004 (New York: The Penguin Press, 2004) pp. 263–266, there 264

After hitchhiking through the U.S. and Mexico, he returned to Sweden to study law at Stockholm University. In 1949 he became a member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. During his time at university, Palme became involved in student politics, working with the Swedish National Union of Students. In 1951, he became a member of the social democratic student association in Stockholm, although it is asserted he did not attend their political meetings at the time. The following year he was elected President of the Swedish National Union of Students. As a student politician, he concentrated on international affairs and travelled across Europe.{{unreliable source?|date=February 2021}}

File:Olof och Lisbet Palme 1960-tal.jpg on their honeymoon in 1956]]

Palme attributed his becoming a social democrat to three major influences:

• In 1947, he attended a debate on taxes between the Social Democrat Ernst Wigforss, the conservative Jarl Hjalmarson and the liberal Elon Andersson.
• The time he spent in the United States in the 1940s made him realise how wide the class divide was in America, and the extent of racism against black people.
• A trip to Asia, specifically India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Japan in 1953 had opened his eyes to the consequences of colonialism and imperialism.

In 1956, Palme married children's psychologist Lisbeth Beck-Friis, and together they had three sons: Joakim, Mårten, and Mattias Palme.{{Cite web|title=Lisbeth Palme, Witness to an Assassination, Dies at 87|date=19 October 2018|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/19/obituaries/lisbeth-palme-dead.html|accessdate=27 August 2023}}

Palme was an atheist."He was an atheist and saw war as the greatest threat to mankind. The popularity of the Swedish model society probably peaked in the early seventies, but Olof Palme tirelessly continued his development toward a society as he saw it." Jens Moe, My America: The Culture of Giving, page 155.

{{Social democracy sidebar |expanded=people}}

File:Olof Palme 1957.jpg

In 1953, Palme was recruited by social democratic prime minister Tage Erlander to work as his personal secretary,{{harvnb|Ruin|1989|p=53}} becoming the first of Erlander's large personal staff, a group of young aides such as Ingvar Carlsson and Bengt K. Å. Johansson,{{harvnb|Ruin|1989|p=131}} a group that became known as "the boys".{{harvnb|Ruin|1989|p=134}} From 1955 he was a board member of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League and lectured at the Youth League College Bommersvik. He also was a member of the Worker's Educational Association.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

In 1957 he was elected as a member of parliament (Swedish: riksdagsledamot){{cite web|url=http://www.palmefonden.se/index.php?page=5|title=Olof Palmes Minnesfond|work=Palme Fonden|access-date=3 February 2015}} represented Jönköping County in the directly elected Second Chamber (Andra kammaren) of the Riksdag. In the early 1960s Palme became a member of the Agency for International Assistance (NIB) and was in charge of inquiries into assistance to the developing countries and educational aid.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} In 1963, he became a member of the Cabinet as minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office,{{harvnb|Ruin|1989|p=133}} and retained his duties as a close political adviser to Prime Minister Tage Erlander. In 1965, he became Minister of Communications.{{Cite web|title=Olof Palme, Aristocrat Turned Socialist, Dominated The Politics Of Sweden|work=The New York Times|date=1 March 1986|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/01/obituaries/olof-palme-aristocrat-turned-socialist-dominated-the-politics-of-sweden.html|accessdate=26 August 2023}} One issue of special interest to him was the further development of radio and television, while ensuring their independence from commercial interests. In 1967 he became Minister of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs, and the following year, he became Minister for Education and was the target of strong criticism from left-wing students protesting against the government's plans for university reform. The protests culminated with the occupation of the Student Union Building in Stockholm; Palme came there and tried to comfort the students, urging them to use democratic methods for the pursuit of their cause.Olof Palme – En levande vilja: Tal och intervjuer On 21 February 1968, Palme participated in a protest in Stockholm against U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam together with the North Vietnamese ambassador to the Soviet Union, Nguyễn Thọ Chân. The protest was organized by the Swedish Committee for Vietnam and Palme and Nguyen were both invited as speakers. As a result of this, the U.S. recalled its Ambassador from Sweden and Palme was fiercely criticised by the opposition for his participation in the protest.{{cite web |url=http://www.olofpalme.org/ingangar/tema/vietnam/|title=Olof Palme och Vietnamfrågan 1965–1983|access-date=27 February 2008|last=Andersson|first=Stellan|publisher=OlofPalme.org|language=sv}}{{harvnb|Vivekanandan|2016|p=83}}

File:Olof Palme 1968.JPG

When party leader Tage Erlander stepped down in 1969, Palme was elected as the new leader by the Social Democratic party congress and asked by king Gustaf VI Adolf to form a government and succeed Erlander as Prime Minister.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olof-Palme|title=Olof Palme | Biography, Assassination, & Facts | Britannica|date=29 January 2025|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}} Prior to the selection of Palme, President of Finland Urho Kekkonen asked Erlander who his successor would be, and Erlander gave evasive answers. Kekkonen then asked if it would be Palme, to which Erlander responded, "Never, he is far too intelligent for a Prime Minister".{{harvnb|Vivekanandan|2016|pp=91–92}} Palme was later asked when Erlander first hinted to him that he wanted him to succeed him. Palme stated, "It never happened."{{harvnb|Ruin|1989|p=61}}

Palme was very popular among the left, but harshly detested by liberals and conservatives.Einhorn, Eric and John Logue (1989). Modern Welfare States: Politics and Policies in Social Democratic Scandinavia. Praeger Publishers, pg 60. {{ISBN|0-275-93188-9}} "Olof Palme was perhaps the most 'presidential' Scandinavian leader in recent decades, a fact that may have made him vulnerable to political violence." This was due in part to his international activities, especially those directed against the US foreign policy, and in part to his aggressive and outspoken debating style.[https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/han-godslade-jorden-sa-att-palmehatet-kunde-vaxa/ "Han gödslade jorden så att Palmehatet kunde växa"], Dagens Nyheter, 25 February 2006[http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=3154&date=20060227 Olof Palme: the controversy lives on] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206013818/http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=3154&date=20060227 |date=6 December 2007 }}, The Local, 27 February 2006

As leader of a new generation of Swedish Social Democrats, Palme was often described as a "revolutionary reformist" and self-identified as a progressive.Dagens Nyheter 23 January 2007"[http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/kultur/story/0,2789,785030,00.html Detta borde vara vårt arv] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060310174240/http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/kultur/story/0,2789,785030,00.html |date=10 March 2006 }}" Åsa Linderborg, Aftonbladet 28 February 2006 Domestically, his leftist views, especially the drive to expand labour union influence over business ownership, engendered a great deal of hostility from the organized business community.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}{{Cite journal |last=Tawat |first=Mahama |date=1 June 2019 |title=The Birth of Sweden's multicultural policy. The impact of Olof Palme and his ideas |journal=International Journal of Cultural Policy |pages=478–481}}

During the tenure of Palme, several major reforms in the Swedish constitution were carried out, such as orchestrating a switch from bicameralism to unicameralism in 1971 and in 1975 replacing the 1809 Instrument of Government (at the time the oldest political constitution in the world after that of the United States) with a new one officially establishing parliamentary democracy rather than de jure monarchic autocracy, abolishing the Cabinet meetings chaired by the King and stripping the monarchy of all formal political powers.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

His reforms on the labour market included establishing a law which increased job security. In the Swedish 1973 general election, the Socialist-Communist and the Liberal-Conservative blocs got 175 places each in the Riksdag. The Palme cabinet continued to govern the country, but several times they had to draw lots to decide on some issues, although most important issues were decided through a consensus agreement.{{cite web|url=http://karisable.com/palme.htm|title=Olof Palme Unsolved Case|author=Kari Sable|work=Kari Sable website|access-date=3 February 2015}}{{self-published source|date=February 2021}} Tax rates also rose from being fairly low even by Western European standards to the highest levels in the Western world.{{cite web|url=http://web.comhem.se/dier/Swedish%20Prime%20Ministers.htm|title=Swedish Prime Ministers in history|work=Comhem|access-date=3 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102234737/http://web.comhem.se/dier/Swedish%20Prime%20Ministers.htm|archive-date=2 November 2014|url-status=dead}}

Under Palme's premiership tenure, matters concerned with child care centers, social security, protection of the elderly, accident safety, and housing problems received special attention. Under Palme the public health system in Sweden became efficient, with the infant mortality rate standing at 12 per 1,000 live births.[http://info.lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/castro/1975/19750729 Castro] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720104338/http://info.lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/castro/1975/19750729 |date=20 July 2011 }} An ambitious redistributive programme was carried out, with special help provided to the disabled, immigrants, the low paid, single-parent families, and the old.Socialists in the Recession: The Search for Solidarity by Giles Radice and Lisanne Radice {{oclc|468658478}} The Swedish welfare state was significantly expanded{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bzfEo6E-YuUC&q=olaf+palme+expanded+welfare+state&pg=PA206|title=Sweden|access-date=3 February 2015|isbn=9780781811149|last1=Sprague|first1=Martina|year=2005|publisher=Hippocrene Books }}{{page needed|date=February 2021}}{{page needed|date=February 2021}} from a position already one of the most far-reaching in the world during his time in office.Taxation, Wage Bargaining and Unemployment by Isabela Mares {{oclc|783321650}} {{page needed|date=February 2021}}{{page needed|date=February 2021}} As noted by Isabela Mares, during the first half of the Seventies "the level of benefits provided by every subsystem of the welfare state improved significantly." Various policy changes increased the basic old-age pension replacement rate from 42% of the average wage in 1969 to 57%, while a health care reform carried out in 1974 integrated all health services and increased the minimum replacement rate from 64% to 90% of earnings. In 1974, supplementary unemployment assistance was established, providing benefits to those workers ineligible for existing benefits.{{page needed|date=February 2021}} In 1971, eligibility for invalidity pensions was extended with greater opportunities for employees over the age of 60. In 1974, universal dental insurance was introduced, and former maternity benefits were replaced by a parental allowance. In 1974, housing allowances for families with children were raised and these allowances were extended to other low-income groups.Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II. Volume 4 edited by Peter Flora {{oclc|1101348657}} {{page needed|date=February 2021}} Childcare centres were also expanded under Palme, and separate taxation of husband and wife introduced.{{cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.se/20110228/32314|title=Palme's political legacy 'put Sweden on the map'|work=The Local|date=28 February 2011 |access-date=3 February 2015}} Under Palme, over half of the Swedish economy was under public ownership, and the influence of the state had grown massively.{{cite web | url=https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2018/10/08/the-dramatic-rise-of-public-ownership-in-midcentury-sweden/ | title=The Dramatic Rise of Public Ownership in Midcentury Sweden | date=8 October 2018 }} Access to pensions for older workers in poor health was liberalised in 1970, and a disability pension was introduced for older unemployed workers in 1972.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ePDKhmzsEIC&q=national+policies+after+the+first+oil+crisis+Sweden&pg=PT108|title=From the Manpower Revolution to the Activation Paradigm|access-date=3 February 2015|isbn=9789089642523|last1=Timo Weishaupt|first1=J.|year=2011|publisher=Amsterdam University Press }}

The Palme cabinet was also active in the field of education, introducing such reforms as a system of loans and benefits for students, regional universities, and preschool for all children. Under a law of 1970, in the upper secondary school system "gymnasium," "fackskola" and vocational "yrkesskola" were integrated to form one school with 3 sectors (arts and social science, technical and natural sciences, economic and commercial). In 1975, a law was passed that established free admission to universities. A number of reforms were also carried out to enhance workers' rights. An employment protection Act of 1974 introduced rules regarding consultation with unions, notice periods, and grounds for dismissal, together with priority rules for dismissals and re-employment in case of redundancies.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=369n7-yPXpMC&q=sweden+employment+protection+act+1974&pg=PA74|title=The Origins of Active Social Policy|access-date=3 February 2015|isbn=9780199669769|last1=Bonoli|first1=Giuliano|date=2013|publisher=OUP Oxford }} That same year, work-environment improvement grants were introduced and made available to modernising firms "conditional upon the presence of union-appointed 'safety stewards' to review the introduction of new technology with regard to the health and safety of workers".{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7RExBmVlpcC&dq=sweden+work+environment+law+1974&pg=PA141|title=Sweden: Social Democracy in Practice|first=Henry|last=Milner|date=31 January 1989|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-827856-6 |via=Google Books}} In 1976, an Act on co-determination at work was introduced that allowed unions to be consulted at various levels within companies before major changes were enforced that would affect employees, while management had to negotiate with labour for joint rights in all matters concerning organisation of work, hiring and firing, and key decisions affecting the workplace.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALBZJ3sG_EgC&q=sweden+codetermination+act+1976&pg=PA123|title=The social construction of Swedish neutrality: Challenges to Swedish ...|access-date=3 February 2015|isbn=9781847791993|last1=Agius|first1=Christine|date=30 July 2006|publisher=Manchester University Press }}

File:PalmeOwpMora010885.JPG, 1 August 1985]]

Palme's last government, elected during a time when Sweden's economy was in difficult shape, sought to pursue a "third way," designed to stimulate investment, production, and employment, having ruled out classical Keynesian policies as a result of the growing burden of foreign debt, together with the big balance of payments and budget deficits. This involved "equality of sacrifice," whereby wage restraint would be accompanied by increases in welfare provision and more progressive taxation. For instance, taxes on wealth, gifts, and inheritance were increased, while tax benefits to shareholders were either reduced or eliminated. In addition, various welfare cuts carried out before Olof's return to office were rescinded. The previous system of indexing pensions and other benefits was restored, the grant-in-aid scheme for municipal child care facilities was re-established, unemployment insurance was restored in full, and the so-called "no benefit days" for those drawing sickness benefits were cancelled. Increases were also made to both food subsidies and child allowances, while the employee investment funds (which represented a radical form of profit-sharing) were introduced.{{page needed|date=February 2021}}

In 1968, Palme was a driving force behind the release of the documentary Dom kallar oss mods ("They Call Us Misfits"). The controversial film, depicting two social outcasts, was scheduled to be released in an edited form but Palme thought the material was too socially important to be cut.Daniel Ekeroth: Swedish Sensations Films: A Clandestine History of Sex, Thrillers, and Kicker Cinema, (Bazillion Points, 2011) {{ISBN|978-0-9796163-6-5}}. {{page needed|date=February 2021}}

An outspoken supporter of gender equality, Palme sparked interest for women's rights issues by attending a World Women's Conference in Mexico. He also made a feminist speech called "The Emancipation of Man" at a meeting of the Woman's National Democratic Club on 8 June 1970; this speech was later published in 1972.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dorudi.nl/olof-palme-on-the-emancipation-of-man/|title = Olof Palme on the Emancipation of Man|date = 22 February 2016}}{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1972.tb00027.x|title = The Emancipation of Man|journal = Journal of Social Issues|volume = 28|issue = 2|pages = 237–246|year = 1972|last1 = Palme|first1 = Olof}}

As a forerunner in green politics, Palme was a firm believer in nuclear power as a necessary form of energy, at least for a transitional period to curb the influence of fossil fuel.{{YouTube|S8cqbdE0j64|Olof Palme till Shirley Maclaine om vikten av kärnkraft}} His intervention in Sweden's 1980 referendum on the future of nuclear power is often pinpointed by opponents of nuclear power as saving it. As of 2011, nuclear power remains one of the most important sources of clean energy in Sweden, much attributed to Palme's actions.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} Palme advocated for nuclear energy to move away from fossil fuels in his speech during the Stockholm Conference in 1972{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dGIsMEQYgI | title=Palme Stockholm Conference 1972 | via=YouTube | date=5 August 2012 }}

Soviet{{endash}}Swedish bilateral relations were tested during Palme's second period as prime minister in the 1980s, in particular, owing to reports of incursions by Soviet submarines into Swedish territorial waters.{{cite news |last1=Feder |first1=Barnaby J. |title=Swedes' Seabed Spy Hunt: No Stone is Unturned |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/31/world/swedes-seabed-spy-hunt-no-stone-is-unturned.html |work=The New York Times |issue=46000 |volume=133|date=31 March 1984}}{{cite news |title=Palme Meets Russian As Sub Hunt Continues |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/06/world/around-the-world-palme-meets-russian-as-sub-hunt-continues.html |work=The New York Times |issue=45670 |volume=132|date=6 May 1983}}

File:Olof Palme marching against the Vietnam War 1968.jpgese ambassador Nguyễn Thọ Chân in Stockholm, 1968]]

On the international scene, Palme was a widely recognised political figure because of his:

• harsh and emotional criticism of the United States over the Vietnam War;
• vocal opposition to the crushing of the Prague Spring by the Soviet Union;
• criticism of European Communist regimes, including labeling the Husák regime as "The Cattle of Dictatorship" (Swedish: "Diktaturens kreatur") in 1975;
• campaigning against nuclear weapons proliferation;
• criticism of the Franco Regime in Spain, calling the regime "goddamn murderers" (Swedish: "satans mördare"; see Swedish profanity) after its execution of ETA and FRAP militants in September 1975;
• opposition to apartheid, branding it as "a particularly gruesome system", and support for economic sanctions against South Africa;
• support, both political and financial, for the African National Congress (ANC), the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Polisario Front;
• visiting Fidel Castro's Cuba in 1975, during which he denounced Fulgencio Batista's government and praised contemporary Cuban revolutionaries;
• strong criticism of the Pinochet regime in Chile;
• support, both political and financial, for the FMLN-FDR in El Salvador and the FSLN in Nicaragua; and,
• role as a mediator in the Iran–Iraq War.

All of this ensured that Palme had many opponents as well as many friends abroad.{{cite web|last=Holst|first=Karen|title=Palme's political legacy 'put Sweden on the map'|url=http://www.thelocal.se/32314/20110228/|work=The Local|access-date=23 March 2011}}

In June 1972 at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment he described the environmental damage caused by the Vietnam War (including use of Agent Orange and other Rainbow Herbicides to deforst whole areas of the country) as ecocide and called for it to become an international crime.{{Cite news |last1=Siddique |first1=Haroon |last2=correspondent |first2=Haroon Siddique Legal affairs |date=22 June 2021 |title=Legal experts worldwide draw up 'historic' definition of ecocide |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/22/legal-experts-worldwide-draw-up-historic-definition-of-ecocide |access-date=22 June 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite magazine |date=19 February 2021 |title=Lawyers Are Working to Put 'Ecocide' on Par with War Crimes. Could an International Law Hold Major Polluters to Account? |url=https://time.com/5940759/ecocide-law-environment-destruction-icc/ |access-date=22 June 2023 |magazine=Time |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Ecocide: a crime against the planet |url=https://www.lawscot.org.uk/members/journal/issues/vol-66-issue-10/ecocide-a-crime-against-the-planet/ |access-date=22 June 2023 |website=Law Society of Scotland |language=en}}

On 23 December 1972, Palme (then Prime Minister) made a speech on Swedish national radio where he compared the ongoing U.S. bombings of Hanoi to historical atrocities, namely the bombing of Guernica, the massacres of Oradour-sur-Glane, Babi Yar, Katyn, Lidice and Sharpeville, and the extermination of Jews and other groups at Treblinka. The US government called the comparison a "gross insult" and once again decided to freeze its diplomatic relations with Sweden (this time the freeze lasted for over a year).

File:Palme Trauer 1986.jpg

File:Place of murder of Olof Palme.jpg

{{Main|Assassination of Olof Palme}}

File:Olof Palme place of death.jpg

Political violence was little-known in Sweden at the time, and Olof Palme often went about without a bodyguard. Close to midnight on 28 February 1986, he was walking home from a cinema with his wife Lisbeth Palme in the central Stockholm street Sveavägen when he was shot in the back at close range. A second shot grazed Lisbeth's back.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Sabbatsberg Hospital at 00:06 CET. Lisbeth survived without serious injuries.[http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c4/12/44/6a2655da.pdf The investigation committee report (1999:88), p. 159] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202132145/http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c4/12/44/6a2655da.pdf |date=2 December 2007}} (PDF) {{in lang|sv}}

Deputy Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson immediately assumed the duties of Prime Minister, a post he retained until 1991 (and then again in 1994{{ndash}}1996). He also took over the leadership of the Social Democratic Party, which he held until 1996.{{cite encyclopedia | title=Ingvar Carlsson | encyclopedia=Nationalencyklopedin | language=sv | url=http://ne.se/ingvar-carlsson | access-date=28 January 2010}}

Two years later, Christer Pettersson (d. 2004), a murderer, small-time criminal and drug addict, was convicted of Palme's murder, but his conviction was overturned.{{cite journal |last1=Jenkins |first1=Philip |title=The Assassination of Olaf Palme: Evidence and Ideology |journal=Contemporary Crises |year=1989 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=15–33 |doi=10.1007/bf00728874|s2cid=143889005 }} Another suspect, Victor Gunnarsson, emigrated to the United States, where he was the victim of an unrelated murder in 1993.Dagens Nyheter, 2 February 1994. The assassination remained unsolved.

A third and fourth suspect popularly referred to as "The Skandia Man" and GH, after their working place at the Skandia building next to the crime scene, and police investigation number ("H" representing the eighth letter, i.e. "Suspect Profile No. 8"), took their own lives in 2000 and 2008 respectively. Both fitted the suspect profile vaguely, and owned firearms.{{Cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/han-talade-om-mordet-med-exfrun-under-sista-samtalet/|title=Skandiamannen talade om Palmemordet under sitt sista samtal|website=Expressen|date=23 May 2018 |access-date=8 June 2020|language=sv}}{{Cite web|url=https://palme.libsyn.com/pmp-31-tv-sp-ren-hasse-aro%20|title = PALMEMORDSPODDEN [gamla feeden] (PMP-31-tv-sp-ren-hasse-aro )}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/a24Eya/var-han-palmes-mordare|title = Var han Palmes mördare?| date=6 June 2012 }} GH was a long-time suspect partly because he had self-described financial motives, and owned the only registered .357 Magnum in the Stockholm vicinity not tested and ruled out by authorities, which as yet has not been recovered.

On 18 March 2020, Swedish investigators met in Pretoria with members of South African intelligence agencies to discuss the case. The South Africans handed over their file from 1986 to their Swedish colleagues. Göran Björkdahl, a Swedish diplomat, had done independent research on Palme's assassination. Major General Chris Thirion, who headed the military intelligence of South Africa during the final years of apartheid rule, had told Björkdahl in 2015 that he believed South Africa was behind Palme's murder. Swedish investigators announced that they would reveal new information and close the case on 10 June 2020.{{cite news |last1=Borger |first1=Julian |title=Sweden to present findings on Olof Palme assassination |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/08/case-of-sweden-murdered-pm-1986-olof-palme-south-africa |access-date=9 June 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=9 June 2020 |location=Washington D.C.}} Earlier remarks by lead investigator Krister Petersson that "there might not be a prosecution" have led commentators to believe that the suspect is dead.{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Simon |title=Who killed Swedish PM Olof Palme in 1986? Swedes hope to find out |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-crime-palme/who-killed-swedish-pm-olof-palme-in-1986-swedes-hope-to-find-out-idUSKBN23G0PY |access-date=9 June 2020 |work=Reuters |date=9 June 2020 |location=Stockholm}}

On 10 June 2020, Swedish prosecutors stated publicly that they knew who had killed Palme and named Stig Engström, also known as "Skandia Man", as the assassin. Engström was one of about twenty people who had claimed to witness the assassination and was later identified as a potential suspect by Swedish writers Lars Larsson and Thomas Pettersson.{{cite book |last1=Larsson |first1=Lars |title=Nationens fiende: om mordet på Olof Palme |date=2016 |oclc=943384360 |language=Swedish}} Given that Engström had committed suicide in 2000, the authorities also announced that the investigation into Palme's death was to be closed.{{cite news |title=Olof Palme murder: Sweden identifies man who killed PM in 1986 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52991406 |access-date=10 June 2020 |publisher=BBC |date=10 June 2020}}

Some politicians and journalists in Turkey relate the assassination of Palme to PKK since he was the first in Europe to designate PKK as a terrorist organisation.{{cite web | url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/yazarlar/nedim-sener/palmenin-katili-pkkya-asik-isvecin-stockholm-sendromu-2-42069600 | title=Palme'nin katili PKK'ya âşık İsveç'in Stockholm Sendromu (2) | date=25 May 2022 }}

File:Olof Palmes grav.jpg]]

• List of Olof Palme memorials, for a list of memorials and places named after Olof Palme.
• List of streets named after Olof Palme
• Olof Palme International Center
• Olof Palme Prize
• List of peace activists
• Sweden-bashing
• Anna Lindh
• Bernt Carlsson
• Folke Bernadotte
• Caleb J. Anderson
• IB affair, a political scandal involving Palme.
• Ebbe Carlsson affair, a political scandal concerning non-official inquiries into the murder.

{{clear}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|last=Ruin |first=Olof |year=1989 |title=Tage Erlander: Serving The Welfare State, 1946–1969|publisher= University of Pittsburgh Press|isbn=9780822976677 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OOBed9FyYr0C}}
• {{Cite book|last=Qureshi|first=Lubna Z.|title=Olof Palme, Sweden, and the Vietnam War: A Diplomatic History|date=2023|publisher=Lexington Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FCLEEAAAQBAJ|isbn=9781793638458}}
• {{Cite book|last=Vivekanandan|first=Bhagavathi|title=Global Visions of Olof Palme, Bruno Kreisky and Willy Brandt: International Peace and Security, Co-operation, and Development|date=2016|publisher=Springer International Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GO8mDQAAQBAJ|isbn=9783319337111}}

• Bondeson, Jan. Blood on the snow: The killing of Olof Palme (Cornell University Press, 2005). {{oclc|979575815}}
• Derfler, Leslie. The Fall and Rise of Political Leaders: Olof Palme, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Indira Gandhi (Springer, 2011).
• Ekengren, Ann-Marie. (2011). "How Ideas Influence Decision-Making: Olof Palme and Swedish Foreign Policy, 1965–1975." Scandinavian Journal of History 36 (2): pp. 117–134. {{doi|10.1080/03468755.2011.561189}}
• Esaiasson, Peter, and Donald Granberg. (1996). "Attitudes towards a fallen leader: Evaluations of Olof Palme before and after the assassination." British Journal of Political Science. 26#3 pp. 429–439. {{doi|10.1017/s0007123400007535}}
• Marklund, Carl. "From ‘False’ Neutrality to ‘True’ Socialism: Unofficial US ‘Sweden-bashing’ During the Later Palme Years, 1973–1986." Journal of Transnational American Studies 7.1 (2016): 1–18. [https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1096596/FULLTEXT01.pdf online]
• Marklund, Carl. "American Mirrors and Swedish Self-Portraits: American Images of Sweden and Swedish Public Diplomacy in the USA from Olof Palme to Ingvar Carlsson,” in Histories of Public Diplomacy and Nation Branding in the Nordic and Baltic Countries, ed. Louis Clerc, Nikolas Glover and Paul Jordan (Leiden: Brill, 2015), 172–194.
• Ruin, Olof. (1991). "Three Swedish Prime Ministers: Tage Erlander, Olof Palme and Ingvar Carlsson." West European Politics 14#3: pp. 58–82. {{doi|10.1080/01402389108424859}}
• Sundström, Anna. "Looking Through Palme’s Vision for the Global Environment." Environmental Policy and Law 51.1–2 (2021): 83–90.
• Tawat, Mahama. "The birth of Sweden’s multicultural policy. The impact of Olof Palme and his ideas." International Journal of Cultural Policy 25.4 (2019): 471–485.
• Walters, Peter. "The Legacy of Olof Palme: The Condition of the Swedish Model." Government and Opposition 22.1 (1987): 64–77.
• Wilsford, David, ed. Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary (Greenwood, 1995) pp. 352–361. {{oclc|905779113}}

; In Swedish

{{Refbegin|2}}

• {{Citation |last1=Antman |first1=Peter |last2=Schori |first2=Pierre |author2-link=Pierre Schori |title=Olof Palme : den gränslöse reformisten |publisher=Tiden |place=Stockholm |year=1996 |isbn=978-91-518-2948-7}}
• {{Citation |last=Arvidsson |first=Claes |title=Olof Palme : med verkligheten som fiende |publisher=Timbro |place=Stockholm |year=2007 |isbn=978-91-7566-539-9}}
• {{Citation |last=Åsard |first=Erik |title=Politikern Olof Palme |publisher=Hjalmarson & Högberg |place=Stockholm |year=2002 |isbn=978-91-89080-88-1}}
• {{Citation |last=Berggren |first=Henrik |title=Underbara dagar framför oss – En biografi över Olof Palme |publisher=Norsteds |place=Stockholm |year=2010 |isbn=978-91-1-301708-2}}
• {{Citation |last=Björk |first=Gunnela |title=Olof Palme och medierna |publisher=Boréa |place=Umeå |year=2006 |isbn=978-91-89140-45-5}}
• {{Citation |last=Ekengren |first=Ann-Marie |title=Olof Palme och utrikespolitiken : Europa och Tredje världen |publisher=Boréa |place=Umeå |year=2005 |isbn=978-91-89140-41-7}}
• {{Citation |last=Elmbrant |first=Björn |title=Palme |edition=2nd |publisher=Fischer |place=Stockholm |year=1996 |isbn=978-91-7054-797-3}}
• {{Citation |last=Fredriksson |first=Gunnar |title=Olof Palme |publisher=Norstedt |place=Stockholm |year=1986 |isbn=978-91-1-863472-7}}
• {{Citation |last=Gummesson |first=Jonas |title=Olof Palmes ungdomsår : bland nazister och spioner |publisher=Ekerlid |place=Stockholm |year=2001 |isbn=978-91-88595-95-9}}
• {{Citation |last1=Haste |first1=Hans |last2=Olsson |first2=Lars Erik |last3=Strandberg |first3=Lars |last4=Adler |first4=Arne |title=Boken om Olof Palme : hans liv, hans gärning, hans död |publisher=Tiden |place=Stockholm |year=1986 |isbn=978-91-550-3218-0}}
• {{Citation |last1=Hermansson |first1=Håkan |last2=Wenander |first2=Lars |title=Uppdrag: Olof Palme : hatet, jakten, kampanjerna |publisher=Tiden |place=Stockholm |year=1987 |isbn=978-91-550-3340-8}}
• {{Citation |last=Isaksson |first=Christer |title=Palme privat : i skuggan av Erlander |publisher=Ekerlid |place=Stockholm |year=1995 |isbn=978-91-88594-36-5}}
• {{Citation |last=Kullenberg |first=Annette |title=Palme och kvinnorna |publisher=Brevskolan |place=Stockholm |year=1996 |isbn=978-91-574-4512-4}}
• {{Citation |last=Larsson |first=Ulf |title=Olof Palme och utbildningspolitiken |publisher=Hjalmarson & Högberg |place=Stockholm |year=2003 |isbn=978-91-89660-24-3}}
• {{Citation |last=Malm-Andersson |first=Ingrid |title=Olof Palme : en bibliografi |publisher=Arbetarrörelsens arkiv och bibliotek |place=Hedemora |year=2001 |isbn=978-91-7844-349-9}}
• {{Citation |last=Östberg |first=Kjell |title=I takt med tiden : Olof Palme 1927–1969 |publisher=Leopard |place=Stockholm |year=2008 |isbn=978-91-7343-208-5}}
• {{Citation |last=Östergren |first=Bertil |title=Vem är Olof Palme? : ett politiskt porträtt |publisher=Timbro |place=Stockholm |year=1984 |isbn=978-91-7566-037-0}}
• {{Citation |last=Palme |first=Claës |title=Olof Palme |publisher=Kirjayhtymä |place=Helsinki |year=1986 |isbn=978-951-26-2963-3}}
• {{Citation |last=Palme |first=Olof |title=Sveriges utrikespolitik : anföranden |publisher=Tiden |place=Stockholm |year=1984 |isbn=978-91-550-2948-7}}
• {{Citation |last=Palme |first=Olof |title=Politik är att vilja |edition=3rd |publisher=Prisma |place=Stockholm |year=1986 |isbn=978-91-518-2045-3}}
• {{Citation |last=Palme |first=Olof |title=Att vilja gå vidare |edition=2nd |publisher=Tiden |place=Stockholm |year=1986 |isbn=978-91-550-3224-1}}
• {{Citation |last1=Palme |first1=Olof |last2=Richard |first2=Serge |last3=Åkerman |first3=Nordal |title=Med egna ord : samtal med Serge Richard och Nordal Åkerman |publisher=Bromberg |place=Uppsala |year=1977 |isbn=978-91-85342-32-7}}
• {{Citation |last1=Palme |first1=Olof |last2=Dahlgren |first2=Hans |title=En levande vilja |publisher=Tiden |place=Stockholm |year=1987 |isbn=978-91-550-3225-8}}
• {{Citation |last1=Palme |first1=Olof |last2=Hansson |first2=Sven Ove |last3=Dahlgren |first3=Hans |title=Palme själv : texter i urval |publisher=Tiden |place=Stockholm |year=1996 |isbn=978-91-518-2947-0}}
• {{Citation |last=Palme |first=Olof |title=Solidaritet utan gränser : tal och texter i urval |publisher=Atlas |place=Stockholm |year=2006 |isbn=978-9173892193}}
• {{Citation |last=Peterson |first=Thage G. |author-link=Thage G. Peterson |title=Olof Palme som jag minns honom |publisher=Bonnier |place=Stockholm |year=2002 |isbn=978-91-0-058042-1}}
• {{Citation |last=Strand |first=Dieter |title=Palme mot Fälldin : rapporter från vägen till nederlaget |publisher=Rabén & Sjögren |place=Stockholm |year=1977 |isbn=978-91-29-50309-8}}
• {{Citation |last=Strand |first=Dieter |title=Palme igen? : scener ur en partiledares liv |publisher=Norstedt |place=Stockholm |year=1980 |isbn=978-91-1-801351-5}}
• {{Citation |last=Strand |first=Dieter |title=Med Palme : scener ur en partiledares och statsministers liv |publisher=Norstedt |place=Stockholm |year=1986 |isbn=978-91-1-861431-6}}
• {{Citation |last=Svedgård |first=Lars B. |title=Palme : en presentation |publisher=Rabén & Sjögren |place=Stockholm |year=1970}}
• {{Citation |last1=Zachrisson |first1=Birgitta |last2=Alandh |first2=Tom |last3=Henriksson |first3=Björn |title=Berättelser om Palme |publisher=Norstedt |place=Stockholm |year=1996 |isbn=978-91-1-960002-8}}

{{Refend}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [http://www.olofpalme.org/ Olof Palme Archives]
• [http://www.palmefonden.se/ Olof Palme Memorial Fund]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081031141500/http://www.palmecenter.org/ Olof Palme International Center]

{{S-start}}

{{s-other|Transnational offices}}

{{s-bef|before=Trygve Bratteli}}

{{s-ttl|title=President of the Nordic Council|years=1979}}

{{s-aft|after=Matthías Árni Mathiesen}}

{{S-off}}

{{S-bef| before=Gösta Skoglund}}

{{S-ttl|title=Minister of Communications (Transport) | years=1965–1967}}

{{S-aft| after=Svante Lundkvist}}

{{S-bef| before=Ragnar Edenman}}

{{S-ttl|title=Minister for Education | years=1967–1969}}

{{S-aft| after=Ingvar Carlsson}}

{{S-bef| before=Tage Erlander}}

{{S-ttl| title=Prime Minister of Sweden| years=1969–1976}}

{{S-aft| after=Thorbjörn Fälldin}}

{{S-bef| before=Thorbjörn Fälldin}}

{{S-ttl| title=Prime Minister of Sweden| years=1982–1986}}

{{S-aft| after=Ingvar Carlsson}}

{{s-ppo}}

{{s-bef|before=Tage Erlander}}

{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the Social Democratic Party|years=1969–1986}}

{{S-aft| after=Ingvar Carlsson}}

{{s-end}}

{{Prime Ministers of Sweden}}

{{Swedish Social Democratic Party}}

{{Presidents of the Nordic Council}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palme, Olof}}

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Olof

Category:Swedish social democrats

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Category:European politicians assassinated in the 1980s

Category:Politicians assassinated in 1986