Gösta Skoglund (29 April 1903 – 14 June 1988) was a Swedish social democrat politician who was the minister of communications between 1957 and 1965. He was also known for his contributions in the establishment of

Umeå University Umeå University (; Ume Sami language, Ume Sami: ) is a public university, public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present bord ...

Biography

Skoglund was born in

Hudiksvall Hudiksvall () is a cities of Sweden, city and the seat of Hudiksvall Municipality, in Hälsingland, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 16,792 inhabitants as of 2024. Hudiksvall is also known as Glada Hudik (), a term that originated in the 19th centur ...

Gävleborg County Gävleborg County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders the counties of Uppsala County, Uppsala, Västmanland County, Västmanland, Dalarna County, Dalarna, Jämtland County, Jämtland and V� ...

, on 29 April 1903. He received a degree in primary school education in 1925 after which he moved to

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...

where he began to work as a teacher in 1927. Skoglund started his political career in 1938 when he became a county councilor in

Västerbotten Västerbotten (), sometimes called West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in northern Sweden, located by the Gulf of Bothnia. It borders the provinces of Ångermanland, Lapland and Norrbotten. The region is famous for Väs ...

and later a member of parliament where he served between 1940 and 1970. In April 1957 Skoglund was appointed minister of communications (Transport) to the cabinet led by social democrat

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Tage Erlander Tage Fritjof Erlander (; 13 June 1901 – 21 June 1985) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Sweden and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party from 1946 to 1969. Previously, h ...

. During his term as minister Skoglund initiated the traffic reform in Sweden in 1963. He was also a member of the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...

. His term as the minister of communications (Transport) ended in September 1965, and he was succeeded by

Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until as ...

in the post. Skoglund was made the head of Commission for High Level Road Planning in 1965. He served as chairman of the county council for two years from 1971 to 1973. He was one of the driving forces behind the formation of Umeå University. He died in Umeå on 14 June 1988.

Honors and legacy

Umeå University made Skoglund honorary doctor of the faculty of dentistry in 1958, which was before the official inauguration of the university, and of the faculty of medicine in 1972. In 1982 a road at the Umeå University campus was named after him. In 1983 a scholarship fund was established in his memory at the Center for Regional Science (CERUM) at Umeå University which provides scholarships every year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skoglund, Gosta 20th-century Swedish educators 1903 births 1988 deaths Members of the Riksdag from the Social Democrats People from Hudiksvall Ministers for communications of Sweden Members of the Riksdag 1968–1970