1945-1949 1969-1990







Sweden 1949-1969


Administration . From 1907 to 1950, Gustaf V. was king; he was succeeded by Gustaf VI. Adolf (1950-1973). Tage Erlander (SAP) held the position of PM from 1946 to 1949. Parliamentary Elections were held in 1952, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1964, 1968.

Foreign Policy . Sweden was very suspicious of the Soviet Union; the country pursued a policy of armed neutrality; Sweden had a small, but advanced arms industry. In 1960, Sweden joined EFTA (European Free Trade Organization).
Swede Dag Hammarskjöld was secretary general of the United Nations 1953-1961; he died in a plane crash while trying to negotiate a settlement in the Congo Crisis. Swedish peacekeeping troops got involved wherever there was demand for a neutral force to separate enemies. Sweden sent a military hospital to the Korean battleground, but did not otherwise get involved. After the armistice was signed in 1953, Swedes were selected as members of the NNSC (Neutral Nations Supervisory Council) created to supervise that both sides keep the armistice.

Political History . From 1936 to 1976 the Social Democratic Party dominated political life, a feat unparalleled in the history of modern European multiparty democracies. Sweden did not have to undergo a reconstruction period, could instead focus on the perfection of the Swedish welfare state.

The Economy . During the post-war boom, Sweden's industry (car industry : Saab, Volvo, Scania). paper industry, SKF bearings, Swedish furniture industry were export-oriented. In 1967 Sweden switched from driving on the left to driving on the right side of the road. In 1963, the first Swedish nuclear power plant was built.
Over the years it became obvious that the welfare state was a great burden on the economy. One consequence was heavy taxation on the wealthy, the maximum tax rate reaching 102 % for the highest earners. Another consequence was inflation.

Social History . The population of Sweden rose from 6.96 million in 1949 to 7.97 million in 1969. During the post-war boom, the Swedish welfare state was expanded. Universal compulsory health insurance was introduced in 1955. Sweden experienced a period of remarkable political stability; throughout the entire period of 20 years, the prime minister (Tage Erlander) did not change. In 1964 the regulation preventing bars to open was revoked. The sales of licquors was monopolized by the non-profit Systembolagets; high sale taxes were placed on alcohol, tobacco and sweets; the systembolaget was to ensure that alcohol was neither advertized nor sold to minors. In 1977, the sale of beverages low in alcohol content was also included in the systembolaget monopoly. As the systembolagets are closed over the weekend, long queues form in front of them on Friday afternoon. The ruling increased the popularity of the Baltic Sea ferries, which opened their duty free shops once outside the 3 mile zone.

Cultural History . Swedish athletes participates in the Olympic Summer Games of Helsinki 1952, Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964 and Mexico City 1968, and in the Olympic Winter Games of Oslo 1952, Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956, Squaw Valley 1960, Innsbruck 1964, Grenoble 1968. In 1956 the equestrian events of the Olympic summer games were held in Stockholm; Sweden hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1958, the home team being defeated by Brazil in the final game 5-2. Sweden hosted the Ice Hockey World Championships in 1949, 1954 and 1963; the Swedish team took the championship in 1953, 1957 and 1962, took second place in 1951, 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1969.
In 1956, Swedish Television began to broadcast. In 1963 the Swedish Film Institute was founded. The "WASA", a sailship which sunk in Stockholm harbour in 1628, was raised in 1961; a separate museum was built to display it, opening in 1990.







EXTERNAL
FILES 		Articles Elections in Sweden, Tage Erlander, Sweden at the 1952 Summer Olympics, Sweden at the 1956 Summer Olympics, Sweden at the 1960 Summer Olympics, Sweden at the 1964 Summer Olympics, Sweden at the 1968 Summer Olympics, Sweden at the 1952 Winter Olympics, Sweden at the 1956 Winter Olympics, Sweden at the 1960 Winter Olympics, Sweden at the 1964 Winter Olympics, Sweden at the 1968 Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Ice Hockey World Championship, Swedish Film Institute, Vasa Museum, from Wikipedia
The Welfare State, from Swedish History - The Modern Age, from ufb.borås
Swedish History, 1945- : Social Security, 1945-1960, from Nordic Usenet
Biography of Olof Palme, from ANC Homepage
Undermining the Welfare State in Sweden, by Tor Wennerberg, from Z Magazine 1995
The Civil Society in the Welfare State, by Karin Busch Zetterberg, from ValueScope
Biography of Dag Hammarskjöld, from un.org
Chronology of Swedish History, 1960-1980, by Ken Polsson
Swedish Film Institute
Sweden, in : Kenneth Janda, Political Parties : A Cross-National Survey
DOCUMENTS Selected Speeches of Olof Palme, mostly on Apartheid, from ANC Homepage
Swedish banknotes, from Ron Wise's World Paper Money and from Currency Museum
REFERENCE Chapter 20 : Scandinavia - The Outer Bastion, pp.273-286 in : John Gunther, Inside Europe Today, NY : Harper & Bros. 1961 [G]
Article : Sweden, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1950 pp.652-653, 1951 pp.657-658, 1952 pp.660-661, 1953 pp.669-670, 1954 pp.672-673, 1955 pp.721-722, 1956 pp.659-660, 1957 pp.723-724, 1958 pp.663-664, 1959 p.663, 1960 pp.663-664, 1961 pp.663-664, 1962 pp.656-657, 1963 pp.772-773, 1964 pp.793-794, 1965 pp.785-786, 1966 pp.719-720, 1967 pp.711-712, 1968 pp.721-722, 1969 pp.705-707 [G]
Article : Sweden, in : Americana Annual 1957 pp.759-761, 1961 pp.739-740, 1962 pp.744-745, 1963 pp.661-662, 1964 pp.643-644, 1965 pp.670-671, 1967 pp.663-665, 1968 pp.652-653, 1969 pp.663-664, 1970 pp.663-664 [G]
Article : Sweden, in : Funk & Wagnall's New Standard Encyclopedia Year Book 1952 pp.403-405, 1961 pp.320-321 [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on September 28th 2007

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