Nils Edén
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Nils Edén (25 August 1871 – 16 June 1945) 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 ...
historian and liberal politician who served as
Prime Minister of Sweden The prime minister ( sv, statsminister ; literally translating to "Minister of State") is the head of government of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subj ...
from 1917 to 1920, and along with
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 ...
acknowledged as co-architect of
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
's transition from a
constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
to a fully
parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
with equal male and female suffrage.


Early life and education

Edén was born in
Piteå Piteå () is a locality and the seat of Piteå Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. Piteå is Sweden's 58th largest city, with a population of 23,326. Geography Piteå is located at the mouth of the Pite River ( sv, Piteälven), at th ...
, in
Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swede ...
, son of a school principal, and graduated from secondary school in
Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...
before matriculating 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 ...
in 1889. He completed his PhD in 1899 and was made
docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...
in history at the university the same year. He was a specialist in Swedish 16th and 17th century history, but also published on topics concerning the
union of Sweden and Norway Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
. His dissertation, ''Om centralregeringens organisation under den äldre Vasatiden 1523–1594'' ("The organization of the central government during the older Vasa period, 1523–1594", 1899), was awarded the Geijer Prize.


In Uppsala

Nils Edén became lecturer of history 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 ...
in 1899, extraordinary professor in 1903 and ordinary professor in 1909. He retained his chair until 1920, when he became governor of Stockholm county. In the meantime he was active as a liberal politician, having written on the burning issue of the union with Norway as early as the 1890s, arguing among Uppsala students for the system of
compulsory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
that was introduced with the abolishment of the
allotment system The allotment system ( sv, indelningsverket; fi, ruotujakolaitos) was a system used in Sweden for keeping a trained army at all times. This system came into use in around 1640, and was replaced by the modern Swedish Armed Forces conscription s ...
in 1901, and for
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
, an issue that were in his mind and in the political rhetoric of the time connected to that of compulsory military service.


In the Riksdag

In 1908, Edén was elected a member of the Second Chamber of 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 ...
. He became a member of the parliamentary constitution committee in 1911. In 1912, when the liberal Karl Staaff became prime minister, Edén was made chairman of the liberal group in the Second chamber. After Staaff's death in 1915, Edén emerged as the leader of the liberals. He belonged to the liberal right wing which stood close to the right on defense issues and did not share the view of the many liberals from the temperance and free church movements, whose main representative was
Carl Gustaf Ekman Carl Gustaf Ekman (6 October 1872 – 15 June 1945) was a Swedish politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1911 to 1932 (serving in both lower and upper houses), leader of the Freeminded People's Party between 1924 and 1932, and served as ...
.


Prime Minister

Edén led the Liberals to heavy gains in the election of 1917. Between them, the Liberals and Social Democrats held a clear majority in the Second Chamber. Nonetheless, King
Gustaf V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxem ...
invited the liberal-conservative
Johan Widén Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a manu ...
to form a government. However, the conservatives were unable to line up enough support to form a government. It was now clear that a king could no longer appoint a government dependent solely on him, nor could he keep it in office against the will of the Riksdag. With no choice but to appoint a Liberal as prime minister, Gustaf invited Edén to form a government. He formed a coalition with the Social Democrats, led by
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 ...
who became minister for finance. The Edén government promptly arrogated most of the king's executive powers to itself. While the
Instrument of Government The Instrument of Government was a constitution of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. Drafted by Major-General John Lambert in 1653, it was the first sovereign codified and written constitution in England. Antecedence The '' ...
stated that "the King alone shall govern the realm," it was now understood that Gustaf was required to exercise his powers through the ministers and act on their advice. In turn, the ministers were now both politically and legally responsible to the Riksdag. This marked the definitive establishment of parliamentary government in Sweden, though it would not be formally codified until 1974. The Edén government finally managed to get a parliamentary majority for
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
. The fear of a revolutionary development in Sweden, under the impression of the events in Russia, post-
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Germany and elsewhere, created a pressure for further democratization and through a first voting in the parliament, universal suffrage was introduced in 1921. The Edén cabinet resigned in 1920, after the issue of joining the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
had been resolved.


County Governor

Edén was appointed Governor of Stockholm County which he remained until 1938, but continued as a member of the parliament. His objections against the
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
ist policies of the majority of the party caused him and about a third of the members of liberal group in the parliament to leave the party and create a new party in 1923.


References

*''
Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...
'', Vol. 6 (1907), col
1342
and Vol. 35, col

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eden, Nils 1871 births 1945 deaths People from Piteå Liberal Party of Sweden politicians Members of the Riksdag Prime Ministers of Sweden Governors of Stockholm County County governors of Sweden Leaders of political parties in Sweden 20th-century Swedish historians Uppsala University alumni Free-minded National Association politicians 19th-century Swedish historians Uppsala University faculty