Anna Lisbeth Christina Palme (née Beck-Friis; 14 March 1931 – 18 October 2018) was a Swedish children's psychologist,

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

chairwoman and the wife of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme, until his assassination in 1986.

Biography

Early life and studies

Anna Lisbeth Christina Beck-Friis was born to civil engineer and baron Christian Beck-Friis and his wife Anna-Lisa Beck-Friis (née Bolling). After graduating from the ''Nya Elementarskolan för flickor'' (New Elementary School for Girls) in Stockholm in 1950, she studied at Stockholm University, graduating in the summer of 1955.

Career

Palme worked as a children's psychologist and was during a period of time employed at Stockholm County Council, and later at the social department for Stockholm county. She was the chairman of the Swedish UNICEF committee between 1987 and 1999 and in that role campaigned against the

sexual exploitation of children Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a commercial transaction that involves the sexual exploitation of a child, or person under the age of consent. CSEC involves a range of abuses, including but not limited to: the prostitution ...

. She became the international chairwoman for UNICEF between 1990 and 1991. Palme was one of the champions for the Children's convention (Barnkonventionen) which was later established. She was a member of the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

committee of investigation into the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed H ...

which reported its findings in 2000.

Personal life

Lisbeth married politician Olof Palme on 9 June 1956. He later became Sweden's prime minister; firstly between 1969 and 1976, and again between 1982 and 1986. Together they had three sons:

Joakim Joakim or Joacim is a male given name primarily used in Scandinavian languages and Finnish. It is derived from a transliteration of the Hebrew יהוֹיָקִים, and literally means "lifted by Jehovah". In the Old Testament, Jehoiakim was a ...

, Mårten and Mattias. The couple had been married for almost 30 years when Olof Palme was assassinated in 1986. Lisbeth Palme was an eyewitness to the murder of her husband on the night of 28 February 1986. During the trial, she pointed out

Christer Pettersson Carl Gustaf Christer Pettersson (23 April 1947 – 29 September 2004) was a Swedish criminal who was a suspect in the 1986 assassination of Olof Palme, the Prime Minister of Sweden. In 1989 he was convicted of the murder in district court but ...

as being the perpetrator of the killing. According to a detective present, she also made remarks that it was evident that Pettersson was an

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

. The comments were interpreted by some as if she had been informed that the suspect was an alcoholic and a drug addict. Several experts have, over the years, pointed towards the possibility that Lisbeth Palme may have identified the wrong man. Olof och Lisbet Palme 1960-tal

Death

Palme died on 18 October 2018, after suffering from an unspecified illness for some time. She was 87.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palme, Lisbeth 20th-century Swedish women 21st-century Swedish women 1931 births 2018 deaths Chairmen and Presidents of UNICEF Child psychologists Lisbeth Politicians from Stockholm Sommar (radio program) hosts Spouses of prime ministers of Sweden Swedish nobility Swedish officials of the United Nations Swedish psychologists Swedish social democrats Swedish women psychologists