Sven Adolf Hedin (23 April 1834 – 20 September 1905) 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 ...
newspaper publisher, writer and politician. He was known for his advocacy for democratic and
social reform
A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...
s.
Biography
Hedin was born in Bo Parish (now part of
Hallsberg Municipality
Hallsberg Municipality (''Hallsbergs kommun'') is a municipality in Örebro County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Hallsberg.
The present municipality was created in 1971 when the market town (''köping'') of Hallsberg was ...
) in
Örebro County
Örebro County ( sv, Örebro län) is a county or '' län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, Dalarna, Västmanland, Södermanland and Östergötland. It is frequently culturally divided into the hilly ...
, Sweden. He was the son of vicar Johan Gustaf Hedin and Beata Elisabeth Vesterberg. He earned a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
from
Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
The university rose to significance during ...
in 1861 and worked thereafter as a critic for ''Upsala-Posten''. In 1864 he moved to Stockholm to work as a publisher for several newspapers. He worked for some time at ''
Dagens Nyheter
''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record.
History and profile
' ...
'' and was the executive editor of '' Aftonbladet'' from 1874 to 1876.
In 1870 Hedin was elected a member of the lower house of the Swedish parliament. He continued as a Member of Parliament until his death, with the exception for the years 1874 to 1876 (when he was editor of '' Aftonbladet'') and 1888. During the 1870s, Hedin argued for
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...
and military conscription.
In foreign policy, Hedin was known for his support for
Scandinavism
Scandinavism ( da, skandinavisme; no, skandinavisme; sv, skandinavism), also called Scandinavianism or pan-Scandinavianism,Swedish-Norwegian union. However, at the union crisis in 1905 he supported the
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
demands for independence and in his last public statement he urged for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.