Gustaf Otto Edvard Petrén (7 October 1912 – 12 October 1990) was a Swedish civil servant. He served as President of the

Supreme Court of Sweden The Supreme Court of Sweden (, HD) is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom of Sweden. Before a case can be decided by the Supreme Court, leave to appeal must be obtained, and wit ...

from 1975 to 1979.

Early life

Petrén was born on 7 October 1912 in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

, Sweden, the son of professor and his wife Torborg (née Sylwan). He was the brother of the lawyer and the judge and the educator and the churchman . Otto was the nephew of psychiatrist and politician and of physician Karl Petrén. Otto Petrén passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...

'' in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

in 1930. He received a

Candidate of Law Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree from

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

in 1935.

Career

Petrén carried out court service in Vemmenhögs, Ljunits and Herrestad Hundred's judicial districts (''Vemmenhögs, Ljunits och Herrestads häraders domsaga'') from 1935 to 1938. He worked as an extra legal clerk (''fiskal'') in the

Scania and Blekinge Court of Appeal The Scania and Blekinge Court of Appeal () is one of the six appellate courts An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered ...

in 1939, as court secretary in Frosta and Eslöv judicial districts (''Frosta och Eslövs domsaga'') from 1942 to 1944, and as assessor in 1952 (temporary officer in 1946). He became ''

hovrättsråd A ''hovrättsråd'' (Swedish) or ''hovioikeudenneuvos'' (Finnish) is a judge of the Swedish or Finnish Court of Appeal (''hovrätt'' or ''hovioikeus''). Until 1789 hovrätt was the highest judicial body in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdo ...

'' in the Scania and Blekinge Court of Appeal in 1953 and a Justice of the

in 1957. Petrén was a member of the Council on Legislation from 1965 to 1969, and served as chairman there from 1972 to 1973. He served as President of the Supreme Court of Sweden from 1975 to 1979. Petrén was secretary in the 1948 Vagrancy Inquiry (''1948 års lösdriveriutredning'') in 1948, in the Second Law Committee in 1949, and had legislative assignments from 1950 to 1953. He was director (''byråchef'') for law matters in the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in 1953, and became director general for administrative affairs (''expeditionschef'') in the

Ministry of Commerce and Industry A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

in 1957 (acting in 1954). Petrén was a member of the National Export Credits Guarantee Board from 1955 to 1957 (vice chairman from 1956 to 1957), in the committee on questions related to the right to carry on business n Swedenfrom 1958 to 1962, chairman of the Oil Protection Inquiry (''oljeskyddsutredningen'') from 1963 to 1965, the Swedish National Association against Heart and Lung Diseases (''Svenska nationalföreningen mot hjärt- och lungsjukdomar'') from 1972, member of the Council on Legislation from 1980 to 1981 and occasionally from 1982 to 1984.

Personal life

In 1942, Petrén married Margit Winroth (1915–1990), the daughter of vice consul Rolf Winroth and Carla (née Hansen). He was the father of Karin (born 1943), Rolf (born 1946), and Marianne (born 1952).

Death

Edling died on 12 October 1990, in Stockholm, three months after his wife. On 11 November 1990, he was interred at his wife's family grave at Falsterbo Old Cemetery in

Falsterbo Falsterbo (, outdatedly ) is a town located at the south-western tip of Sweden in Vellinge Municipality in Skåne. Falsterbo is situated in the southern part of the Falsterbo peninsula. It is part of Skanör med Falsterbo, one of Sweden's histori ...

South Sweden South Sweden () is a national area () of Sweden. The national areas are a part of the NUTS statistical regions of Sweden. Geography South Sweden is situated in the southern part of its country. It is close to Denmark and it borders with the of ...

Awards and decorations

* Commander Grand Cross 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 ...

(11 November 1967)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrén, Otto 1912 births 1990 deaths Presidents of the Supreme Court of Sweden People from Lund Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star 20th-century Swedish judges Lund University alumni