Jarl Harald Hjalmarson (15 June 1904 – 26 November 1993) was the leader of the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Swedish Rightist Party (''Högerpartiet''), today known as the

Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic lib ...

, between 1950 and 1961. Born in

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

, he was considered as a moderate conservative, he led the Swedish conservatives to the position as the second-biggest party (after the predominant

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 ...

) in Sweden in the 1958 election. Under his leadership, the party undertook a wide agreement with the government to expand the Swedish armed forces in face of the ongoing Cold War and

Swedish neutrality Swedish neutrality refers to Sweden's former policy of neutrality in armed conflicts, which was in effect from the early 19th century to 2009, when Sweden entered into various mutual defence treaties with the European Union (EU), and other Nordi ...

and vocally supported the development of Swedish nuclear weapons, which was ultimately abandoned.

Family and education

Hjalmarson was the son of Major General

Harald Hjalmarson Harald Ossian Hjalmarson (14 July 1868 – 15 December 1919) was a Swedish soldier who volunteered for the Finnish Civil War in 1918 on the white army. He served as the commander of Hjalmarson's group, the Crenatorial Division, which belonged to t ...

, who helped to build up the Persian Government Gendarmerie and served in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

. The elder Hjalmarson committed suicide after his return from Finland in 1918. Jarl Hjalmarson's mother was Blenda Hjalmarson, born Lindeborg. In 1929 Hjalmarson received a bachelor's degree in law. He married Eywor Dahlén in 1933 and had three sons, Torgils (born in 1936), Staffan (born in 1939) and Bo (born in 1943).

Career

Swedish radio interview, 1950, with 4 politicians

Hjalmarson became private secretary to prime minister

Arvid Lindman Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman (19 September 1862 – 9 December 1936) was a Swedish rear admiral, industrialist and conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1906 to 1911 and again from 1928 to 1930. He was also th ...

from 1929 to 1930. From 1944, he was second deputy party leader in the Rightist Party. He became a member of the

Parliament 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 ...

's second chamber from 1947, after Professor Gösta Bagge. He became the leader of the Rightist Party, following the retirement of the farmer and estate-owner Fritiof Domö, in 1950. During his time as party leader, he won improved election results for the Rightist Party in 1952, 1954, 1956 and the two elections in 1958. In 1960 the Rightist Party lost seats and votes in the general election because of the issue of the new pensions system, strongly criticised by the Rightist Party. After stern criticism inside the party, he made his intention public that he would stand down as party leader as soon as a successor had been chosen. After his time as party leader, he served as governor of Gävleborg County from 1963 to 1971. He also served as a deeply respected mediator between Swedish labour and management to resolve labour conflicts. Later in his life, he became a vocal proponent for limiting the use of prisons, which he believed should only be used for the most dangerous criminals. He was also chairman of the Swedish

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

between 1970 and 1974. When the Moderates started their party foundation for democratic aid and development, they named it the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation after Hjalmarson. Hjalmarson was awarded the

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 Gu ...

in 1984. Hjalmarson died in 1993 in

Lidingö Lidingö, also known in its definite form ''Lidingön'' and as ''Lidingölandet'', is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2010, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 31,561. It is ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hjalmarson, Jarl 1904 births 1993 deaths People from Helsingborg Swedish jurists 20th-century Swedish politicians Recipients of the Illis quorum