Ernst ''Åke'' Kromnow (2 May 1914 – 27 April 1986) was a Swedish archivist, historian and civil servant. He was National Archivist and head of the

National Archives of Sweden The National Archives of Sweden (, RA) is the official archive of the Swedish government and is responsible for the management of records from Sweden's public authorities. Although the archives functions primarily as the government archive, it al ...

from 1965 to 1979.

Early life

Kromnow was born on 2 May 1914 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 director Axel Kromnow and his wife Emma (née Norman). He was secretary in the

Swedish National Union of Students The Swedish National Union of Students (, SFS), is an umbrella organisation of students' unions at higher education facilities in Sweden. The organisation was founded in 1921. It has around 47 affiliated students' unions, gathering around 270,000 s ...

from 1937 to 1939 and he received a Bachelor of Arts degree the same year.

Career

In 1939, Kromnow became an employee of the

. He received a Licentiate of Philosophy degree three years later and became first assistant in 1945. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Kromnow was part of the Swedish intelligence agency C-byrån. In January 1946 he and the future National Librarian Uno Willers reported the head of C-byrån, Carl Petersén, to the Supreme Commander, General

Helge Jung General (Sweden), General Helge Victor Jung (23 March 1886 – 3 January 1978) was a Swedish Army officer. Helge Jung had a distinguished military career in the Swedish Army. He began as a volunteer in 1904, graduated from the Military Academy Kar ...

due to irregularities committed by Petersén and the agency during the war. Petersén was dismissed from his post the same year. Kromnow became temporary archivist in 1948 and was the leader of the Swedish archives delegation to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

the same year. He became archivist in 1950 and had public research assignments in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

the same year. Two years later he was appointed deputy director and head of the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

' archive. Kromnow was chairman of the Industry and Commerce Archives Council (''Näringslivets arkivråd'') from 1955 to 1970 (honorary chairman) and had public research assignments in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1958. He was also an archive consultant in the Swedish industry and expert in the 1960 Publicity Commission. Kromnow was a member of the Utility Board for Universities and University Colleges from 1961 to 1965 and chairman of the Personal History Society (''Personhistoriska samfundet'') from 1964 to 1971 (honorary member). In 1965 he left his position at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and was appointed National Archivist and head of the National Archives of Sweden, a position he held until 1979. Kromnow was chairman or board member of a number of boards, committees and foundations. He was chairman of the ''Diplomatarium'' Committee of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademien abbreviated KVHAA ( or or ) is the Sweden, Swedish Swedish Royal Academies, royal academy for the Humanities. Its ...

1965–1976, National Heraldry Board (''Statens heraldiska nämnd'') and Swedish Archive Society (''Svenska arkivsamfundet'') from 1965 to 1979, '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' 1965–1977, Sweden's Press Archive (''Sveriges pressarkiv'') 1966–1975 and the 1967 Data Archiving Committee. He was board member of the Delegation for Military History Research (''Delegationen för militärhistorisk forskning'') 1966–1982, Archive of the

Swedish labour movement The labour movement in Sweden dates back to at least the 1850s, when Swedish workers initiated the organizing of previously spontaneous food riots into strikes, hence acting as an autonomous group. History Modern types of labour unions emerge ...

(''Arbetarrörelsens arkiv'') 1966–1982, Swedish Emigrant Institute in

Växjö Växjö () is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 71,282 inhabitants (2020) out of a Municipalities of Sweden, municipal population of 97,349 (2024). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial ce ...

1966–1979, Board of the

Nordic Museum The Nordic Museum () is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period (in Swedish history, it is said to begin in 1520) to the ...

1967–1984 (vice chairman in 1970),

Skansen Skansen (; "the Sconce") is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened on 11 October 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts ...

1967–1984. Kromnow was chairman of Dialect and Place Name Archives (''Dialekt- och ortnamnsarkiven'') as well as Swedish Folk Music Archive (''Svenskt visarkiv'') 1970–1977, Swedish Music History Archive (''Svenskt musikhistoriskt arkiv'') 1971–1981 and vice chairman of Svenska Historiska Föreningen 1973–1975. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the

International Council on Archives The International Council on Archives (ICA; French: ''Conseil international des archives'') is an international non-governmental organization which exists to promote international cooperation for archives and archivists. It was set up in 1948, w ...

1973–1978 and the National Humanist Research Council (''Statens humanistiska forskningsråd'') 1975–1977. Kromnow was chairman of the State Archives Board (''Statens arkivstyrelse'') 1977–1979, Association of Swedish Cultural History (''Föreningen för svensk kulturhistoria'') 1977–1984 and vice chairman of the government agency National Art Museums (''Statens konstmuseer'') from 1979. He was also expert in the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

1979–1984 and special investigator for place names activities in 1980.

Personal life

In 1970 he married Birgitta Lager (1920–1999).

Death

Kromnow died on 27 April 1986 and was buried at

Skogskyrkogården (; ) is a cemetery located in the Gamla Enskede district south of central Stockholm, Sweden. It was inaugurated in 1920 and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. Its design, by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz, reflects th ...

in Stockholm.

Awards and decorations

* Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

Commander of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

AUT Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria - 6th Class BAR

Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria

Honours

*Member of the Royal Society for Publication of Manuscripts on Scandinavian History (''Kungliga Samfundet för utgivande av handskrifter rörande Skandinaviens historia'') (1962) *Member of the

(1971) *Member of the

Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy The Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy () in Uppsala is one of 18 Swedish royal academies and dedicated to the study of Swedish folklore. Its name is often expanded to ("...for Swedish Folk Culture"). The Academy was founded on 6 November 1932, on ...

(1975) *Honorary Doctors of

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 ...

(1969) *Corresponding member of the Indian Historical Records Commissission (1969)

Selected biography

* * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kromnow, Ake 1914 births 1986 deaths Swedish archivists 20th-century Swedish civil servants People of the C-byrån Scientists from Stockholm Members of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities