Sigvard Arne Eklund (19 June 1911 – 30 January 2000) was Director General of the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...

from 1961 to 1981.

Career

Eklund was born in

Kiruna (; se, Giron ; fi, Kiiruna ) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County. The city was ...

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County ( sv, Norrbottens län; se, Norrbottena leatna, fi, Norrbottenin lääni) is the northernmost county or ''län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares borders ...

, Sweden, the son of train driver Severin Eklund and his wife Vilhelmina (née Pettersson). Eklund obtained his Master of Science degree in 1936, a Licentiate of Philosophy (fil.lic.) degree in 1941 and a Doctor of Philosophy (fil.dr.) degree from

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

in 1946. He was

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 nuclear physics at the

Royal Institute of Technology The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technolog ...

and an employee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Institute of Physics (''Vetenskapsakademiens forskningsinstitut för fysik'') from 1937 to 1945. Eklund was an associate professor ("laborator") at the Swedish National Defence Research Institute (FOA) from 1945 to 1950 and became director of research at the Swedish Atomic Energy Company ( AB Atomenergi, Stockholm) in 1950. He became technical director there in 1957 and led the effort to build Sweden's first research reactor, R1. In 1957, he was Secretary General for the Second International United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy. He was appointed as Director General of the

in 1961. Eklund was reappointed four more times in 1965, 1969, 1974 and 1977, holding the post for twenty consecutive years until he retired and was named Director General Emeritus. Eklund became a member of the Swedish National Commission for Physics (''Svenska nationalkommissionen för fysik'') in 1947 and a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences or ''Kungliga Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademien'' (IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which prom ...

in 1953. He became an honorary doctor in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

in 1968, in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

1971 and in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

in 1971. Eklund became a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

in 1972 and honorary doctor of technology at

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology ( sv, Chalmers tekniska högskola, often shortened to Chalmers) is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that conducts research and education in technology and natural sciences at a high international le ...

in 1974 and at the

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1977. He became an honorary doctor in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1977 and in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in 1977. Eklund became an honorary doctor of technology in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

in 1977, an honorary senator at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...

in 1977, an honorary doctor of technology in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

in 1978, at the

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the " SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in th ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

in 1978, at the

National Agrarian University The National Agrarian University, also formally called National Agrarian University – La Molina (Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina'') (UNALM), is a public university in Lima, Peru. It is the country's best university in the f ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

in 1979 and at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm in 1980. Eklund became a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

in United States in 1979. He received the American

Atoms for Peace Award The Atoms for Peace Award was established in 1955 through a grant of $1,000,000 by the Ford Motor Company Fund. An independent nonprofit corporation was set up to administer the award for the development or application of peaceful nuclear technol ...

in 1968.

Personal life

In 1941 he married adjunct lecturer Anna-Greta Johansson (born 1915), the daughter of merchant Algot Johansson and his wife Ester (née Sundkvist). After retiring, Eklund resided in Vienna,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

until he died in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eklund, Sigvard 1911 births 2000 deaths People from Kiruna Municipality Academic staff of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology Uppsala University alumni Directors General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Atoms for Peace Award recipients