1949-1969 since 1990







Sweden 1969-1990


Administration . Gustaf VI. Adolf was king from 1950 to 1973, Carl XVI. Gustaf since 1973. The office of PM was held by Olof Palme (SAP) 1969-1976, by Thorbjörn Fälldin (CP) 1976-1982, by Olof Palme (SAP) 1982-1986 and by Ingvar Carlsson (SAP) 1986-1991. Parliamentary elections were held in 1970, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1985 and 1988.

Foreign Policy . Sweden had joined the EFTA in 1960 and followed a strict course of neutrality. Sweden continually was actively engaged in UN peacekeeping missions, among others on the Sinai peninsula (1973ff). The Swedish government actively supported the ANC struggle against Apartheid in South Africa.
In 1973 Chile (following the coup d'etat there) declared the Swedish ambassador in Santiago unwelcome.

Political History . In 1971 Sweden switched from a bicameral to a unicameral parliamentary system. 40 years of Social Democratic rule ended in 1976 with the formation of a coalition government led by Thorbjörn Fälldin (Center Party). The Social Democrats returned to power in 1982. The assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme (SAP) in 1986 made Sweden realize that they were not living on an island of harmony, that terrorism could also affect their country.
In 1979 Sweden was one of the first countries in the world to opt out of nuclear energy; the country can afford to, because of its abundant resources of hydroelectric power.

The Economy . The Oil Crisis of 1973 significantly changed the economic situation. Sweden's welfare state had become too costly by far, financed in part by exorbitant tax rates for the earners of high incomes, many of whom emigrated for that reason (for instance tennis players such as BJörn Borg, who became a citizen of tax paradise Monaco). In 1976, after 40 years of Social Democratic rule, Thorbjörn Fälldin (Farmers' Party, heading a center-right coalition) was elected prime minister. Attempts to scale down taxes and the welfare programme were confronted by the labour organization; in a 1980 labour conflict 700,000 Swedish workers were locked out by their employers. In 1981 the Swedish currency was devalued by 10 %. In the late 1980es it had become apparent that the Welfare State had become too expensive; Sweden's industry threatened with emigration, and a general reform was agreed upon (1989-1992). Benefits were cut down to a sustainable level. Sweden applied for EU membership in 1990 and was admitted in 1995.

Social History . The population of Sweden rose from 7.97 million in 1969 to 8.59 million in 1990. Until the mid-1970es, unemployment was negligible; from 1976 to 1983 it almost tripled, the Swedish welfare state proving no longer capable of providing full employment. In the early 1970es Sweden continued to register an influx of labour immigrants; throughout the period Sweden accepted asylum seekers. Late in the 1980es certain circles of Swedish society began to oppose further immigration, some of them with violent means. In the Swedish Lutheran church, the first female priests were ordained in 1958, the first female bishop in 1997.

Cultural History . Swedish athletes participated in the Summer Olympics of Munich 1972, Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988, and in the Winter Olympics of Sapporo 1972, Innsbruck 1976, Lake Placid 1980, Sarajevo 1984 and Calgary 1988. Tennis players Björn Borg, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg, alpine skier Ingemar Stenmark were leaders in their respective sports. Sweden's national men's ice hockey team took 2nd place in world championships in 1969, 1970, 1973, 1977, 1981, 1986 and 1990 and won the world cup in 1987; Sweden hosted the ice hockey world championships in 1969, 1970, 1981 and 1989, the FIS Nordic World Ski Championship in 1974 and 1980 (Falun).
Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, actor Max von Sydow enjoyed/enjoy worldwide recognition. Swedish pop-group ABBA dominated the charts from 1972 to 1982.







EXTERNAL
FILES 		Articles Olof Palme, Thorbjörn Fälldin, Ingvar Carlsson, Ingmar Bergman, Max von Sydow, ABBA, Sweden at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Sweden at the 1976 Summer Olympics, Sweden at the 1980 Summer Olympics, Sweden at the 1984 Summer Olympics, Sweden at the 1988 Summer Olympics, Sweden at the 1972 Winter Olympics, Sweden at the 1976 Winter Olympics, Sweden at the 1980 Winter Olympics, Sweden at the 1984 Winter Olympics, Sweden at the 1988 Winter Olympics, Ice Hockey World Championship, FIS Nordic World Ski Championship, from Wikipedia
The Welfare State, from Swedish History - The Modern Age, from ufb.boras
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
Chronology of Swedish History, 1980-2001 by Ken Polsson
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 Article : Sweden, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1970 pp.711-713, 1971 pp.691-693, 1972 pp.649-651, 1973 pp.642-643, 1974 pp.641-642, 1975 pp.648-649, 1976 pp.637-638, 1977 pp.638-639, 1978 pp.651-653, 1979 pp.645-646, 1980 pp.644-645, 1981 pp.639-640, 1982 pp.645-646, 1983 pp.641-642, 1984 pp.641-642, 1985 pp.541-542, 787, 1986 pp.535-536, 786, 1987 pp.507-508, 754, 1988 pp.462-463, 706, 1989 pp.463, 706, 1990 pp.478-479, 722 [G]
Article : Sweden, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1970-1971 pp.1328-1342, 1975-1976 pp.1332-1347, 1976-1977 pp.1331-1345, 1978-1979 pp.1125-1141, 1979-1980 pp.1134-1150, 1980-1981 pp.1130-1146, 1981-1982 pp.1136-1152, 1983-1984 pp.1135-1151, 1984-1985 pp.1131-1147, 1985-1986 pp.1133-1148, 1986-1987 pp.1132-1147, 1987-1988 pp.1137-1152, 1988-1989 pp.1141-1156, 1989-1990 pp.1149-1164, 1990-1991 pp.1148-1163 [G]
Article : Sweden, in : The World in Figures 1st ed. 1976 pp.256-258, 2nd ed. 1978 pp.260-262, 4th ed. 1984 pp.260-262 [G]
Article : Sweden, in : Americana Annual 1971 pp.654-655, 1972 pp.653-654, 1973 pp.653-654, 1974 pp.571-572, 1976 p.528, 1988 pp.506-507, 1989 pp.514-515, 1990 pp.503-504 [G]
Article : Sweden, in : Yearbook on International Communist Affairs 1976 pp.218-222, 1980 pp.208-212 (Bertil Häggman) [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on July 22nd 2007

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