Hjalmar Leo Mehr (November 19, 1910 – December 26, 1979) 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 ...

mayor of Stockholm This is a list of municipal commissioners for finance of Stockholm (''finansborgarråd''). In English, the title is often translated as Mayor of Stockholm.c.f. :sv:Stockholms författningsreform 1940 The office of municipal commissioner for fin ...

(1958–1966, 1970–1971) and

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Stockholm County Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or '' län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm ...

(1971–1977). He promoted many radical socialist

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...

policies but is mostly remembered and criticized for the

redevelopment of Norrmalm The redevelopment of Norrmalm ( sv, Norrmalmsregleringen; ) was a major revision of the city plan for lower Norrmalm district in Stockholm, Sweden, which was principally decided by the Stockholm town council in 1945, and realised during the 195 ...

, where a significant part of the old Stockholm was demolished. In 1969, Mehr was elected president of the newly established Swedish Association of Local Authorities (''Svenska Kommunförbundet''), an association that existed from 1969 to 2007 (now the Swedish Association of Regions) to interact with the

Riksdag of Sweden 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 ...

. Mehr's parents, Sara and Bernhard Meyerowitch, were

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

revolutionaries A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

who after the failed

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

fled to Sweden, where Hjalmar was born and named after

Hjalmar Branting Karl Hjalmar Branting (; 23 November 1860 – 24 February 1925) was a Swedish politician who was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP) from 1907 until his death in 1925, and three times Prime Minister of Sweden. When Branting cam ...

References

{{Reflist Jewish mayors Jewish Swedish politicians Mayors of Stockholm Municipal commissioners of Sweden Governors of Stockholm County County governors of Sweden Swedish Social Democratic Party politicians Politicians from Stockholm Swedish Jews 1910 births 1979 deaths Swedish people of Russian-Jewish descent