Sigvard Nyström (13 August 1916 – 1994) was a Swedish trade union leader and anti-fascist. 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 ...

, he found work as a lift attendant in a warehouse for the SARA restaurant, where he joined the

Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union The Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union (HRF) is a trade union in Sweden. History The union was founded on 31 March 1918 in Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Swe ...

(HRF). He also became active in the

Swedish Social Democratic Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a social democratic political party in Sweden. The party is member of the Progressiv ...

. In 1944, Nyström was seconded to work as a driver for the Swedish embassy in Berlin, chosen due to his anti-fascist views. After

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 ...

, he worked on the country's humanitarian aid programme, only returning to Sweden in 1947. He began working full-time for the HRF, becoming its general secretary in 1950, and from 1962 to 1965 editing its journal. Nyström was elected as president of the HRF in 1968, and also joined the executive body of the Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Workers' Trade Group of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF), becoming its chair in 1971. In 1973, he was elected as joint vice-president of the IUF, and then in 1975 he became president of the IUF's European section. Finally, in 1977, he was elected as president of the IUF. As president of the IUF, Nyström focused on expanding membership to unions in poorer countries. He retired from the HRF in 1978, and from the IUF in 1981. He then wrote a history of the IUF, which was published in 1983. He died in 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nystrom, Sigvard 1916 births 1994 deaths Writers from Stockholm Swedish people of World War II Swedish trade unionists