Christian Günther

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Christian Günther
Per-Albin Hansson
Preceded by	Rickard Sandler
Succeeded by	Östen Undén
Personal details
Born	Christian Ernst Günther (1886-12-05)5 December 1886 Stockholm, Sweden
Died	6 March 1966(1966-03-06) (aged 79) Stockholm, Sweden
Political party	Independent
Spouse	Ingrid Günther
Children	Lena Günther Strååt

Christian Ernst Günther (5 December 1886 – 6 March 1966) was

.

Günther, whose father had been Swedish diplomat and whose grandfather briefly had been prime minister, had entered the civil service at the age of 30.

and then was Accredited as ambassador to Norway, where he intended to stay until retirement.

Günther's main achievement was to defend

and used what it called the "small state realist" argument that neutrality and co-operation with Germany were necessary for survival since Germany was vastly more powerful. Concessions were limited and made only if the threat was too great, neutrality was bent but not broken, national unity was paramount and Sweden had the neutral right of trading with Germany. Swedish iron was needed by Germany, which had nothing to gain and much iron to lose by an invasion.

Sweden was run by a unity government, which included all major parties in the Riksdag.^[2]

Personal background

Günther was hardly a typical representative for the diplomatic corps. Although a perpetual student of law, his ambitions were rather that of a writer, drama, lyrics and a few novels, not without some success. Unanimous testimony describes him as a man of unassuming ways, high intelligence and a bohemian personality, with a significant lack of ambition; he made his visits in the office as brief as possible. He was passionate for harness racing and had the nerves of a habitual gambler.

Günther represents the last generation of cultural

.

As a foreign minister, Günther favoured policies that were rather in the taste of pro-German Conservatives than of pro-Soviet Radicals. Both during the war and after the Allies' victory, he was the target of criticism, which chiefly argued that the nation's soul would have been better saved by a less indulgent position toward Nazi Germany and a more yielding attitude towards the Allies, even if that had resulted in a German invasion and occupation. Together with his aristocratic appearance and bourgeois upbringing, that has rendered him being sometimes characterized as a conservative. Günther himself would hardly have approved, as he was an ardent anti-Nazi; a religious sceptic; and, according to his wife, Ingrid, a cautious supporter of the Social Democrats.

Günther, who had distanced himself from the

.

Situation during appointment as Foreign Minister

A serious cabinet crisis in Stockholm put an end to his mission in

, made Sandler's resignation unavoidable, but it was somewhat postponed because of the tense international situation.

The outbreak of the Winter War put Sweden in one of the worst political crises since the secession of Finland in 1809. A strong and vociferous public opinion demanded unlimited solidarity with Finland. However, a broad parliamentary majority opposed not only military support of Finland but also other actions that might put Sweden in danger of an invasion by either Nazi Germany or its ally, the Soviet Union.

To overcome the crisis, a National Unity Government was deemed essential, which proved difficult since the Conservative Party, led by Gösta Bagge, supported at least moderately-activist policies for the defence of Finland. To solve the difficulties, it was agreed to appoint a "non-political" Foreign Minister from among Sweden's top diplomats, which was thought to put the foreign policies in the firm grip of the party leaders in the cabinet, where they planned to broker compromises.

Foreign Minister

Günther left no memoirs, no diaries, very few personal letters of interest for historians, and actually remarkably few notes and writings from his time as Foreign Minister. Hence, an assessment of Günther must rely on the account of colleagues in the cabinet and in the Foreign Ministry.

As a Foreign Minister, Günther represented a stark contrast to

, the latter being the latest appearance of Sweden's old arch-enemy, could not be perceived as particularly alarming. On that point, Günther was close to the most conservative cabinet members.

In popular culture

In the Swedish television movie Four Days that shook Sweden - The Midsummer Crisis 1941 (Sveriges Television TV1, from 1988), his role is played by the Swedish character actor Sven Lindberg.

References

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Einar Ekstrand	Envoy of Sweden to Argentina 1931–1934	Succeeded by Einar Modig
Preceded by Einar Ekstrand	Envoy of Sweden to Chile 1931–1934	Succeeded by Einar Modig
Preceded by Einar Ekstrand	Envoy of Sweden to Paraguay 1931–1934	Succeeded by Einar Modig
Preceded by Einar Ekstrand	Envoy of Sweden to Uruguay 1931–1934	Succeeded by Einar Modig
Preceded by Torvald Höjer	Envoy of Sweden to Norway 1937–1939	Succeeded by Johan Beck–Friis
Preceded by Joen Lagerberg	Envoy of Sweden to Italy 1946–1950	Succeeded by Hans Gustaf Beck-Friis
Political offices
Preceded by Carl Hamilton	State Secretary for Foreign Affairs 1934–1937	Succeeded by Erik Boheman
Preceded by Rickard Sandler	Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs 1939–1945	Succeeded by Östen Undén