Biographies
All 'Biographies' are listed here in the order that they were published. We aim to have an assortment of biographies of individuals who are Nordic or have a connection to the Nordics, and who have made an impact on Nordic and/or international society in the modern era. Our long term aim is to focus on those who are little known and to be inclusive.
2020.10.08 | Biography, Ulrika Gustafsson, Literature
Sally Salminen 1906–1976
Sally Salminen won a Finnish-Swedish literary prize for her novel 'Katrina' in the autumn of 1936 at a time when she was working as a maid in New York; it was the Great Depression and she had emigrated there six years earlier to work in wealthy households. It was a global sensation that someone like her, unknown and from the working class, could…
2020.09.03 | Biography, Petra Broomans, Literature
Dorrit Willumsen (b. 1940)
Danish writer Dorrit Willumsen excels in historical, biographical novels.
2020.07.28 | Biography, Jonathan Pugh, Governance
Jan Eliasson (b. 1940)
Jan Eliasson has been one of Sweden’s most prominent diplomats since as far back as the 1970s. Not only has he served in key roles for the Swedish Foreign Ministry and international organizations, but he is also renowned for his role as a mediator in numerous conflicts. His support for the concept of conflict prevention within the Swedish…
![Greta Thunberg holding her original sign saying 'Skolstrejk för klimatet' [School strike for the climate]. Photo: Anders Hellberg, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.](typo3temp/_processed_/csm_Greta_Thunberg_Wikimedia_CC_BY-SA_4.0_Anders_Hellberg__2__d0495747e5.jpg "Greta Thunberg holding her original sign saying 'Skolstrejk för klimatet' [School strike for the climate].")
2020.06.22 | Biography, Pernille Almlund, Globalisation
Greta Thunberg – a climate activist
The Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (born 2003) is in many ways a unique phenomenon and an inspiration to many activists all over the world, both children and adults, but she has also faced criticism from various quarters, not least climate change skeptics.
2020.03.11 | Biography, Lars Gustaf Andersson, The arts
Stefan Jarl (b. 1941)
Stefan Jarl is one of the most important and influential documentarists in contemporary Swedish cinema. Stefan Jarl was born in 1941 in Skara. From a left-wing perspective, he has highlighted social and environmental problems. Jarl has promoted the documentary as an art form, and from 1995 to 2005 he was curator of the ‘Little film festival’ in…
2020.03.01 | Biography, Lars Gustaf Andersson, The arts
Jarl Kulle 1927-1997
The Swedish actor Jarl Kulle was a distinguished and popular actor working in a wide range of genres from children’s film to the cinema of Ingmar Bergman. He was born in Rebbelberga, Skåne, in 1927.
2020.02.21 | Biography, Lars Gustaf Andersson, The arts
Kjell Grede 1936 - 2017
The Swedish film director Kjell Grede made a significant contribution to film and television from 1967 to 1990s, heading the Dramatic Institute in Stockholm for nearly a decade.
2020.02.21 | Biography, Lars Gustaf Andersson, The arts
Colin Nutley b. 1944
The filmmaker Colin Nutley has made a great impact on Swedish film culture with a series of popular films. He was born in 1944 in Gosport, England, but has been working mainly in Sweden since the early 1980s.
2020.02.17 | Biography, Lars Gustaf Andersson, The arts
Erland Josephson 1923-2012
The multifarious Erland Josephson – actor, author, playwright – was a key figure in Swedish cultural life after the war. He was born in 1923 in Stockholm.
2020.02.03 | Biography, Lars Gustaf Andersson, The arts
Alf Sjöberg 1903-1980
The Swedish actor and director of both film and drama Alf Sjöberg was an important artist, restlessly introducing new ideas about art and politics into Swedish culture, which could sometimes be rather insular. He was born in Stockholm in 1903.