Ernst Wigforss
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2010) |
Ernst Wigforss | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 28 September 1936 – 30 June 1949 | |
| Prime Minister | Per Albin Hansson Tage Erlander |
| Preceded by | Vilmar Ljungdahl |
| Succeeded by | David Hall |
| In office 24 September 1932 – 19 June 1936 | |
| Prime Minister | Per Albin Hansson |
| Preceded by | Felix Hamrin |
| Succeeded by | Vilmar Ljungdahl |
| In office 8 May 1925 – 7 June 1926 | |
| Prime Minister | Rickard Sandler |
| Preceded by | Fredrik Vilhelm Thorsson |
| Succeeded by | Carl Gustaf Ekman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ernst Johannes Wigforss 24 January 1881 Halmstad, Sweden |
| Died | 2 January 1977 (aged 95) Båstad, Sweden |
| Political party | Social Democratic |
| Occupation | Docent |
Ernst Johannes Wigforss (24 January 1881–2 January 1977) was a
Early life and education
Born in the town of
Political career
In 1919 Wigforss was elected as a Social Democratic member of the First Chamber of the Swedish Parliament, representing Gothenburg, and he became a member of various committees. He was appointed a member of the third cabinet of
He was again Minister of Finance in the cabinets of Per Albin Hansson and Tage Erlander from 1932 to 1949.
Wigforss became Gunnar Myrdal's main political opponent with respect to the currency crisis of 1947. Swedish historians tend to interpret this crisis as Myrdal's political failure, while the historian Orjan Appelqvist argue that it is Wigforss and Axel Gjöres who hold primary responsibility for this political fiasco.[1]
Some[
In his pamphlet Har vi råd att arbeta? (Can we afford to work?), widely believed to have won the 1932 elections for the Social Democrats, he made fun of the Liberal theory that budget cuts are the proper remedy for economic downturns. Although he is considered the creator of the Swedish social democratic economy, controversies with Minister for Social Affairs Gustav Möller (who would have preferred graduated taxation to have been higher) prevented both from being elected party chairman and Prime Minister at the death of Hansson.
Later life
After his resignation, Wigforss continued until his death to write and speak on political issues and was considered one of the most innovative and daring Social Democratic politicians. He supported the
In popular culture
In the Swedish television movie, Four Days that shook Sweden - The Midsummer Crisis 1941, from 1988, he is played by Swedish actor Helge Skoog.
Notes
- ^ Örjan Appelqvist (1999:1): "Gunnar Myrdal i svensk politik 1943–1947 – En svensk Roosevelt och hans vantolkade nederlag". NORDEUROPAforum, p. 33-51, http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/nordeuropaforum/1999-1/appelqvist-oerjan-33/XML/
- ^ John Kenneth Galbraith (1991). A History of Economics: The Past as the Present.
References
- Higgins, Winton. Ernst Wigforss: The Renewal of Social Democratic Theory and Practice. Political Power and Social Theory, vol 15, 1985
- Newman, Michael. Socialism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2005
- Rothstein, Bo. Managing the Welfare State: Lessons from Gustav Möller. Scandinavian Political Studies, vol 8, 1985
- Tilton, Timothy. The Political Theory of Swedish Social Democracy: Through the Welfare State to Socialism. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1990
- Tilton, Timothy. A Swedish Road to Socialism, Ernst Wigforss and the Ideological Foundations of Swedish Social Democracy. The American Political Science Review, 1979, pp 505–520
- Tingsten, Herbert. The Swedish Social Democrats: Their Ideological Development. Totowa, Bedminster Press, 1973
