Myrdal, << MIHR dahl, >> Alva Reimer (1902-1986), a Swedish diplomat and sociologist, gained fame for promoting nuclear disarmament and world peace. From 1962 to 1973, she headed Sweden’s delegation to the United Nations Disarmament Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Myrdal shared the 1982 Nobel Peace Prize with Alfonso Garcia Robles of Mexico. She was the author of The Game of Disarmament (1976) and War, Weapons, and Everyday Violence (1977), plus several other books and numerous articles on disarmament.
Myrdal was born in Uppsala, Sweden, on Jan. 31, 1902. She graduated from Stockholm University and received a master’s degree from Uppsala University. Myrdal became Sweden’s first woman ambassador. From 1955 to 1961, she served as the country’s ambassador to four nations at the same time—Burma (now Myanmar), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, and Nepal. Myrdal was a member of Sweden’s parliament from 1962 to 1970. She served as minister of disarmament and church affairs in the Swedish Cabinet from 1967 to 1973. Her husband, Gunnar Myrdal, won the 1974 Nobel Prize in economics. The Myrdals were the only married couple to win the Nobel Prize in different categories. Alva Myrdal died on Feb. 1, 1986.
