Stig Kjell Olof "Ola" Ullsten (23 June 1931 – 28 May 2018) was a Swedish

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and diplomat who was

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 su ...

from 1978 to 1979 and leader of the Liberal People's Party from 1978 to 1983. He also served as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

briefly in 1978 and then again from 1980 to 1982 and served as

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from 1979 to 1982.

Background and early career

Ullsten was born in Teg,

Västerbotten Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the p ...

, a small town that would ultimately be annexed as a part of

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

capital

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, U ...

. He is the son of forestry inspector Carl Augustin Ullsten (14 August 1892 – 27 March 1977) and schoolteacher Kristina Ullsten (née Röström; 27 February 1900 – 23 March 1993). Ullsten joined the

Liberal Youth of Sweden The Liberal Youth of Sweden ( sv, Liberala ungdomsförbundet, LUF) is the youth wing of the Swedish Liberals. The Liberal Youth of Sweden has a long tradition of international cooperation and is a full member of the International Federation of ...

and the People's Party in the spring of 1958. In his youth he made several travels to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and in 1959 took an active part in the successful campaign to elect liberal Republican Nelson Rockefeller governor of New York. He served as the head of the Liberal Youth of Sweden between 1962 and 1964 and was elected to parliament in 1964.

Ministerial and political appointments

Upon the formation in 1976 of the first non-socialist government in Sweden in 40 years, he was appointed Minister for International Development. When Liberal Party leader

Per Ahlmark Per Axel Ahlmark (15 January 1939 – 8 June 2018) was a Swedish politician and writer. He was the leader of the Liberal People's Party from 1975 to 1978, and Minister for Employment and Deputy Prime Minister in the Swedish government from 1976 ...

resigned in 1978, Ullsten was elected party leader.

Prime Minister of Sweden

Sweden's center-right coalition government broke up later in 1978, mainly owing to disagreements over energy policy. Ullsten then succeeded to the post of

, heading a minority government consisting of Liberal Party and independent ministers. After the successful survival of the coalition in the 1979 parliamentary elections, he resigned as prime minister in favor of

Thorbjörn Fälldin Nils Olof Thorbjörn Fälldin (24 April 1926 – 23 July 2016) was a Swedish politician. He was Prime Minister of Sweden in three non-consecutive cabinets from 1976 to 1982, and leader of the Swedish Centre Party from 1971 to 1985. On his ...

, his predecessor.

Later career

He then went on to serve as

under the new three-party government of Thorbjörn Fälldin from 1979 to 1982. He has later served as the Swedish Ambassador to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, also accredited to

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

from 1984 to 1989 and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, also accredited to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

from 1989 to 1995.

Personal life

In 1961 he married Evi Esko (29 October 1931 – 2 January 1992), daughter of the teachers Roman Esko and Elsa Tammik. They divorced in 1981 and in 1989 Ullsten married Louise Beaudoin (born 1954). Ullsten died on 28 May 2018 at the age of 86 of natural causes.

Awards

Ullsten 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 ...

by the government of Sweden in 2001.

Bibliography

* ''Folkpartiet och reformerna : liberala riksdagsinitiativ 1902-1960'' (1960) * ''Guide-lines for international development co-operation'' (1978) * ''Liberaler om utveckling'' (1978) * ''Sweden and the developing countries'' (1979) * ''Vad ska vi göra med kulturpolitiken? : anföranden och kommentarer kring den svenska kulturpolitikens "fem-årsdag"'' (1979) * ''Lättsinnet i siffror : en sammanfattning av socialdemokraternas ställningstaganden till de 15 viktigaste besparingsförslagen'' (1982) * ''Kämpande liberalism : anförande'' (1982) * ''Ola Ullsten : partiledaren, demokraten, internationalisten, folkpartisten, statsministern, idédebattören'' (1983) * ''Så blev det'' (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ullsten, Ola 1931 births 2018 deaths People from Umeå Liberals (Sweden) politicians Prime Ministers of Sweden Deputy Prime Ministers of Sweden Swedish Ministers for Foreign Affairs Swedish Ministers for International Development Cooperation Leaders of political parties in Sweden Ambassadors of Sweden to Canada Ambassadors of Sweden to the Bahamas Ambassadors of Sweden to Italy Ambassadors of Sweden to Albania Members of the Riksdag 1970–1973 Members of the Riksdag 1976–1979 Members of the Riksdag 1979–1982 Members of the Riksdag 1982–1985 Recipients of the Illis quorum