Carl Gustaf Ekman

Carl Gustaf Ekman
Gustaf V
Preceded by	Arvid Lindman
Succeeded by	Felix Hamrin
In office 7 June 1926 – 2 October 1928
Monarch	Gustaf V
Preceded by	Rickard Sandler
Succeeded by	Arvid Lindman
Minister of Defence
In office 7 June 1930 – 19 June 1931
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Harald Malmberg
Succeeded by	Anton Rundqvist
Minister of Finance
In office 7 June 1926 – 30 September 1926
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Ernst Wigforss
Succeeded by	Ernst Lyberg
Personal details
Born	(1872-10-06)6 October 1872 Freeminded People's
Spouse	Laura Ekman (née Widlund)

Carl Gustaf Ekman (6 October 1872 – 15 June 1945) was a Swedish

Biography

Carl Gustaf Ekman was born in Munktorp (now

, and quickly won a seat representing the city in the Riksdag.

Ekman became the most influential and controversial politician of the 1920s. Among Social Democrats he was regarded as a "class traitor", having come from a working-class background, but having become a member of a non-socialist party. He was in fact behind the downfall of several Social Democrat governments: Hjalmar Branting's in 1923, Rickard Sandler's in 1926, but also that of Arvid Lindman in 1930. In 1924 Ekman became the leader of the newly formed Freeminded People's Party (Frisinnade folkpartiet), after those Liberals opposed to prohibition had departed to form the Liberal Party of Sweden.

As party leader he worked to strengthen the party's influence by cooperating with both the right and left. His strategy for power was based on controlling the political center in order to 'control the game', this being predicated upon no one bloc having a clear majority in the Riksdag.

After Sandler's fall from power in 1926, Ekman became Prime Minister for the first time. He was able to play the right off against the left by appealing to both and by doing so he became more successful than expected. He resolved an old debate on local taxes with a law on proportional taxation, which is still in effect to this day. He also concluded a sweeping reform of the school system. In the 1928 elections the conservative General Electoral League won, and he was forced to give up power to Arvid Lindman.

Ekman returned as Prime Minister in 1930, when he and Per Albin Hansson defeated the government's proposal to raise tariffs on grain. His second period as Prime Minister was difficult; the international depression that had begun after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 reached Sweden, affecting both industry and agriculture. Ekman's traditional attitude of thriftiness made it difficult for him to accept economic-stimulation programs that would involve heavy public spending.

• 
  Ekman's second government

In addition to this, a debate began after the

(Folkpartiet liberalerna). Not even his enemies thought that he had actually taken money for himself; nevertheless his conflicting statements on the matter enabled others to cast suspicion on him, so that a formidable political opponent could be removed.

Ekman's legacy has been colored to a great extent by his political maneuvering as well as by the scandal leading to his resignation; this does not do justice to his result-oriented policies during an anxious period when no lasting political majority could be formed.^{[citation needed]} He died in Stockholm on 15 June 1945.

He was married to Laura Ekman (née Widlund), with whom he had four children.

References

External links

• Media related to Carl Gustaf Ekman at Wikimedia Commons

Party political offices
Preceded by Party constituted	Chairman of the Freeminded People's Party 1924–1932	Succeeded by Felix Hamrin
Political offices
Preceded by Rickard Sandler	Prime Minister of Sweden 1926–1928	Succeeded by Arvid Lindman
Preceded by Arvid Lindman	Prime Minister of Sweden 1930–1932	Succeeded by Felix Hamrin