Birger Ekeberg (1880–1968) was a Swedish jurist and legal scholar. He served as justice minister of Sweden, and during his tenure the

Swedish Parliament The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and s ...

abolished the death penalty on 7 May 1921.

Early life and education

Ekeberg was born in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

on 10 August 1880. He graduated from

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

in 1902 receiving a degree in law. He completed his PhD in

private law Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the ''jus commune'' that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts and torts (as it is called in the common law), and the law of obligations ( ...

at the same university in 1904 and became an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

the same year.

Career

Following his graduation he joined his alma mater as a faculty member where he worked until 1907 when he began to work at the newly founded law faculty of Stockholm University. There he was the professor of private and civil law and a member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...

between 1945 and 1968. He was first appointed minister of justice in 1920 and served in the post for one year. One of his most significant contributions was the annulment of the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

in Sweden in 1921. He was reappointed to the post in 1923 and remained in office until 1924. Then he worked at the council of justice which he also headed from 1927 and at the supreme court. He was named as the head of the Court of Appeal in 1931. His term ended in 1946 with the royal permission. He was appointed Marshal of the Realm in 1947, replacing

Axel Vennersten Axel Vennersten (20 January 1863 – 22 March 1948) was a Swedish politician and the ninth Speaker of Första kammaren of the Riksdag. He was Minister for Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or mor ...

in the post. Ekeber remained in office until 1959. In addition to these academic and political posts Ekeberg was the board member of the following organizations: Stockholm University (1927–1958), Stockholm School of Economics (1939–1957),

Nobel Foundation The Nobel Foundation ( sv, Nobelstiftelsen) is a private institution founded on 29 June 1900 to manage the finances and administration of the Nobel Prizes. The foundation is based on the last will of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. It ...

(1947–1960) and Swedish Association of Judges (1935–1948).

Work and death

Ekeberg published many articles most of which were about patent law and

maritime law Admiralty law or maritime law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between priva ...

. He was among the founders of the law journal entitled ''Svensk Juristtidnings'' and was a member of its editorial board between in 1916 and 1960. He headed the journal's editorial board from 1940 to 1960. He died on 30 November 1968.

Awards

Ekeberg was awarded honorary doctorate by

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

in 1923, by the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 1945, by the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

in 1955 and by Stockholm University in 1953.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ekeberg, Birger 20th-century Swedish lawyers 1880 births 1968 deaths Swedish Ministers for Justice Uppsala University alumni Academic staff of Uppsala University Academic staff of Stockholm University Politicians from Uppsala Independent politicians in Sweden