Torsten Waldemar Gårdlund (23 February 1911 – 21 February 2003) was a Swedish economist, economic historian, essayist and biographical writer. In economic history, he published several significant monographs, but also several works on individual Swedish industries. He was also active as a developing country advisor and wrote three books on development issues. Gårdlund was a professor at the

Stockholm School of Economics The Stockholm School of Economics (SSE; , HHS) is a private business school located in city district Vasastaden in the central part of Stockholm, Sweden. SSE offers BSc, MSc and MBA programs, along with PhD- and Executive education progr ...

from 1947 to 1963, and professor of international economics at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

from 1965 to 1976.

Early life

Gårdlund 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 ...

, Sweden, the son of MD Waldemar Gårdlund and his wife Gertrud (née Olsson). Gårdlund studied at the

and

Stockholm University College 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 ...

for teachers such as

Bertil Ohlin Bertil Gotthard Ohlin () (23 April 1899 – 3 August 1979) was a Swedish economist and politician. He was a professor of economics at the Stockholm School of Economics from 1929 to 1965. He was also leader of the People's Party, a social-liber ...

, Sven Brisman and Alf Johansson, and came into contact with

Gunnar Myrdal Karl Gunnar Myrdal ( ; ; 6 December 1898 – 17 May 1987) was a Swedish economist and sociologist. In 1974, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences along with Friedrich Hayek for "their pioneering work in the theory of money an ...

and

Herbert Tingsten Herbert Lars Gustaf Tingsten (17 March 1896 – 26 December 1973) was a Swedish political scientist, writer and newspaper publisher. An influential figure in Swedish political science, he was a professor of political science at Stockholm Univer ...

, but the one who strongly influenced him was

Eli Heckscher Eli Filip Heckscher (24 November 1879 – 23 December 1952) was a Swedish political economist and economic historian who was a professor at the Stockholm School of Economics. He is known for the Heckscher–Ohlin theorem, an influential model of ...

. He graduated from the Stockholm School of Economics in 1932 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1934. Sociology studies at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

from 1934 to 1935 was also important for his view of society. During the 1930s and 1940s he was drawn into Stockholm's intellectual and political life. It was then that the specific Swedish social model began to take shape and the " Stockholm School" was recognized internationally.

Career

Gårdlund worked as secretary in the Population Commission (''Befolkningskommissionen'') in 1936 and worked as a teaching assistant in economics at the Stockholm University College from 1937 to 1939 when he received a Licentiate of Philosophy degree. He was an editor in the Social-Democratic magazine ''Tiden'' from 1939 to 1944 and an expert in the National Labor Market Commission (''Statens arbetsmarknadskommission'') from 1940 to 1941. In 1942, Gårdlund received a Doctor of Philosophy degree and worked as a

Docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

at Stockholm University College. He was a professor of economics at Stockholm School of Economics from 1947 to 1963. Gårdlund was financial advisor in the Swedish Savings Bank Association (''Svenska sparbanksföreningen'') from 1947 to 1959 and an employee in financial matters in the Swedish newspaper ''

Svenska Dagbladet (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily List of Swedish newspapers, newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the 1900s the pap ...

'' from 1949 to 1996. He was an economic expert of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

technical assistance activities in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

from 1958 to 1959. He was then head of United Nations technical assistance activities in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

from 1960 to 1961 as well as financial adviser to the

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 ...

there (on behalf of the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

) from 1963 to 1964. Gårdlund was professor of

international economics International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns an ...

from 1965 to 1976.

Personal life

In 1939 he married Ingrid Schmidt (born 1916), the daughter of August Schmidt and Elisabeth Eriksson. They divorced and in 1947 he married Ingrid Österling (born 1917), the daughter of A. Österling and Greta Sjöberg. They also divorced and in 1957 he married

Anne-Margrethe Björlin Anne-Margrethe Björlin (1921–2006) was a Swedish film actress. She played several female leads during the 1940s, and also appeared in supporting roles. After making her last film in 1953 she became a fashion consultant. She was married to the ...

(born 1921), the daughter of Olof Björlin and Elsa Rosén. Gårdlund was married a fourth time, to Susanna.

References

External links

Portrait of Torsten Gårdlund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardlund, Torsten 1911 births 2003 deaths Swedish economists University of Chicago alumni Stockholm School of Economics alumni Academic staff of the Stockholm School of Economics Academic staff of Lund University Scientists from Stockholm

Early life

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links