Olof "Olle" Mattias Wästberg (6 May 1945 – 10 October 2023) was a Swedish journalist, politician and diplomat, who served as Director-General of the Swedish Institute from 2005 to 2010.

Biography

Olle Wästberg was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, the son of Erik Wästberg and his wife ''Greta'' née ''Hirsch'', and is the younger brother of

Per Wästberg Per Erik Wästberg (born 20 November 1933) is a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy since 1997. Wästberg was born in Stockholm, son of Erik Wästberg and his wife Greta née Hirsch, and holds a degree in literature from Uppsala ...

. He received a Candidate of Philosophy in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

economic history Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the Applied economics ...

from

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

in 1972. He was married to Inger Claesson-Wästberg with whom he had two children. Wästberg started his political career in the Liberal Youth of Sweden, where he served as Secretary-General from 1966 to 1969. He worked as an editorial writer in ''

Expressen (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden. Describing itself as independent liberal, was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or " to your rescue". The newspaper awards the cultu ...

'' from 1969 to 1971. He was elected Member of Parliament for the Liberal People's Party from 1976 to 1982. During his time as an MP, he was noted for his criticism towards the Fälldin government during the Telub affair in 1981. From 1983 to 1991 Wästberg was CEO of the company Dagspressens marknadsinformation AB. From 1991 to 1993 he served as State Secretary at the Swedish

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

under Minister for Finance Anne Wibble. In 1993 Wästberg became editor-in-chief of ''Expressen'', but was fired in 1995 after a conflict with the

Bonnier family The Bonnier family is a Sweden, Swedish family, originally of History of the Jews in Germany, German Jewish descent, who since the beginning of the 19th century has been active in the book/literature industry and later also in the mass media indus ...

owners. From 1999 to 2004 Wästberg served as Consul-General of Sweden in New York City. He was appointed Director-General of the Swedish Institute on 1 March 2005. He has written many articles and books on New York and in 2005 he nominated its former mayor

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

for his efforts to severely reduce crime rates in the city. Wästberg died on 10 October 2023, at the age of 78.

References

Sources

* Judisk Krönika, 1–1999

External links

Olle Wästberg
– personal website {{DEFAULTSORT:Wastberg, Olle 1945 births 2023 deaths Jewish Swedish politicians Stockholm University alumni Members of the Riksdag from the Liberals (Sweden) Members of the Riksdag 1979–1982 Swedish journalists Consuls-general for Sweden in New York City Swedish Jews Politicians from Stockholm