Gunnar Hedlund (1 October 1900 – 27 November 1989) 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 ...

politician. He was

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Centre Party 1949–1971,

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

1951–1957 and member of the

Riksdag 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 se ...

(parliament) 1942–1976. Hedlund was born in Helgum,

Sollefteå Municipality Sollefteå Municipality ( sv, Sollefteå kommun) is a Swedish municipality in Västernorrland County. Its seat is located in Sollefteå. The former ''City of Sollefteå'' (instituted in 1917) was amalgamated with the surrounding entities in 1974 ...

Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from the O ...

, and in 1926 Hedlund became a member of the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

of Helgum and in 1930 he became its chairman. He was very active in associations connected with

silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...

. In 1938 he defended a dissertation at

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 ...

and became

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

. In 1942 he was elected to the lower chamber of the

(parliament), representing the Centre Party, or ''Bondeförbundet'' (The Farmers' League) as it was known until 1957. In 1948 he took over the leadership of the party temporarily (when the former leader

Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp Axel Alarik Pehrsson-Bramstorp (born Axel Alarik Pehrsson; 19 August 1883 – 19 February 1954) was a Swedish politician and was Prime Minister of Sweden for a few months during 1936. As a parliamentarian he was known as Axel Pehrsson in Bramstorp ...

had suffered a stroke) and was formally elected to the post in 1949. In 1951 the Centre Party entered into a coalition government with the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

, and Hedlund became

, succeeding . In the end, the parties could not agree on a new pension system, and after a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

in 1957 on the matter the Centre Party and the Social Democrats went their separate ways. The Centre Party grew steadily from 1958 and in 1968 they had become the second largest party in Sweden. In 1971 Hedlund resigned as chairman and was succeeded by

Thorbjörn Fälldin Nils Olof Thorbjörn Fälldin (24 April 1926 – 23 July 2016) was a Swedish politician. He was Prime Minister of Sweden in three non-consecutive cabinets from 1976 to 1982, and leader of the Swedish Centre Party from 1971 to 1985. On his ...

. Hedlund retained a seat in the Riksdag until 1976.

Awards and decorations

Order_of_the_Polar_Star_-_Ribbon_bar,_pre_1975

Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

(23 November 1955) *

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 Gust ...

(1984)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedlund, Gunnar 1900 births 1989 deaths People from Sollefteå Municipality Members of the Riksdag from the Centre Party (Sweden) Leaders of political parties in Sweden Uppsala University alumni Members of the Riksdag 1970–1973 Members of the Riksdag 1974–1976 Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Recipients of the Illis quorum