Palme, Olof (1927-1986), served as prime minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and from 1982 until his assassination in 1986. As leader of Sweden’s Social Democratic Party, Palme supported economic, racial, and social equality in Sweden and abroad.
Sven Olof Joachim Palme was born in Stockholm, Sweden’s capital, on Jan. 30, 1927. After completing high school, Palme served in the Swedish Army. He then studied economics and political science at Kenyon College in Ohio. Palme graduated in 1948 and spent four months touring the United States. Palme then returned to Stockholm, where he studied law.
In 1953, Palme began serving as personal secretary to Prime Minister Tage Erlander of the Social Democratic Party. In 1958, he entered Sweden’s parliament, the Riksdag, as representative for the district of Jönköping. Palme became minister of communication in 1965 and minister of education in 1967. Erlander stepped down as Social Democratic leader in 1969, and Palme was elected to replace him.
Palme became prime minister of Sweden in October 1969. He pushed for the expansion of labor unions and a welfare system that would benefit all Swedes. Under Palme, Sweden established a permanent parliamentary democracy, stripping all governing rights from Sweden’s royal family. Palme was openly critical of United States involvement in the Vietnam War (1957-1975). He was also critical of the aggressive policies and poor human rights record of the Soviet Union. Palme was a fierce opponent of apartheid, the South African government’s policy of rigid racial segregation.
The Social Democratic Party lost power in 1976, ending Palme’s term as prime minister. Over the next few years, Palme continued his efforts as leader of the opposition. In 1980, Palme led a United Nations effort to negotiate peace early in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). The Social Democrats regained control of the Riksdag in 1982, and Palme returned as prime minister. He continued to be an outspoken advocate for equality and nonviolence.
Palme was shot and killed while walking with his wife in Stockholm on Feb. 28, 1986. He was the first Swedish leader assassinated since King Gustav III died from a gunshot wound in March 1792. For years, Palme’s murder went unsolved. In 2018, an investigative journalist published an article insisting that a Swede named Stig Engstrom, who had stepped forward as a witness in the murder, was the likely killer. The article argued that Engstrom, who died in 2000, had access to weapons and political motives for killing Palme. Swedish authorities, noting inconsistencies in Engstrom’s accounts as a supposed witness, also concluded that he was the primary suspect and closed the case in 2020.
