Olof Palme

Sven Olof Joachim Palme {{Audio|sv-Olof_Palme.ogg|listen}} (January 30, 1927 ? February 28, 1986) was a Swedish politician. He was the leader of the Social Democrat Party from 1969 to 1986 and was Prime Minister of Sweden with a Privy Council Government from October 1969 to October 1976 and with a Cabinet Government starting in October 1982. Palme was assassinated in 1986 and was succeeded by Ingvar Carlsson.

Political career

In 1953, Palme was recruited by social democratic Prime Minister Tage Erlander to work in his secretariat. From 1955 he was a board member of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League. In 1958 he was elected Member of Parliament.

Related Topics:
1953 - Tage Erlander - 1955 - Swedish Social Democratic Youth League - 1958

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Olof Palme held several cabinet posts from 1963 and onwards. In 1967 he became Minister of Education, and the following year he was the target of fierce criticism from left-wing students protesting against the government's plans for university reform. When party leader Tage Erlander stepped down in 1969, Palme was unanimously elected as the new leader by the Social Democratic party congress and succeeded Erlander as Prime Minister.

Related Topics:
1963 - 1967 - Tage Erlander - 1969

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Palme's subsequent 125-month tenure as Prime Minister, and his untimely death, made him the most internationally-known Swedish politician of the 20th century (with the possible exception of the two "humanitarians" Raoul Wallenberg and Dag Hammarskjöld).

Related Topics:
Raoul Wallenberg - Dag Hammarskjöld

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His protégé and political ally, Bernt Carlsson, who was appointed UN Commissioner for Namibia in July 1987, also suffered an untimely death. Carlsson was killed in the Pan Am Flight 103 crash on December 21, 1988 en route to the UN signing ceremony in New York, whereby South Africa granted a much-delayed independence to Namibia.

Related Topics:
Bernt Carlsson - Namibia - Pan Am Flight 103 - December 21 - 1988 - New York

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