Gösta Adolfsson Bagge (27 May 1882 – 3 January 1951) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

economist and politician. He was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

at Stockholm University. A

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, he became a member of the Swedish parliament in 1932, led the

National Organization of the Right The Moderate Party ( , , M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative* * * * * List of political parties in Sweden, political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free ma ...

from 1935 to 1944, and served as Minister of Education in the Hansson III Cabinet during World War II.

Biography

Bagge 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 ...

and entered

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

in 1900, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1904. He then studied at the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in Baltimore 1904–1905. He took a licentiate degree at

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 1911 and a Ph.D. in economics in Stockholm in 1917, with a thesis on the regulation of wages through trade unions. He worked at the National Board of Trade's division for labour statistics 1906 to 1909, where he studied

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...

. He was a teacher 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 1917 to 1919. In 1921 he was appointed professor of economics and social policy at Stockholm University. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1933. He died on 3 January 1951 in Högalid,

Political career

Bagge was initially active in local politics in Stockholm, where he was a member of the city council from 1913 to 1926. He was then a member of the upper chamber of the

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

from 1932 to 1936, and of the lower chamber from 1937 to 1947. Bagge was named leader of the

after the sudden retirement of

Arvid Lindman Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman (19 September 1862 – 9 December 1936) was a Swedish rear admiral, industrialist and conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1906 to 1911 and again from 1928 to 1930. He has been des ...

in 1935. He remained the party's leader until 1944, when he was succeeded by

Fritiof Domö Johan Fritiof Domö (born Gustafsson, 30 August 1889 – 23 November 1961) was a Swedish landlord and social conservative right politician and mostly known as the party leader for the Moderate Party. Domö was the first vice party leader 1935– ...

. Bagge was a

social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...

politician within the rightist party, but had a liberal view of economic affairs. He was a harsh critic of the economic policies of the social democratic

finance minister 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 ...

Ernst Wigforss. Bagge was also

minister of education and ecclesiastical affairs The Minister of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs () was a member of the government of Sweden. The minister of education and ecclesiastical affairs was the head of the Ministry of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs from 1840 to 1967 which han ...

in the Hansson III Cabinet, a coalition government, from 13 December 1939 to 15 December 1944. In government he was the leading supporter of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

's fight for survival against 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 ...

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 ...

and wanted to give aid to the Nordic neighbor country.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagge, Gosta 1882 births 1951 deaths Politicians from Stockholm Leaders of the Moderate Party Ministers of education and ecclesiastical affairs of Sweden Members of the Första kammaren Members of the Andra kammaren 20th-century Swedish economists Uppsala University alumni Stockholm University alumni Academic staff of Stockholm University Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen