Arvid Lindman | |
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| Prime Minister of Sweden | |
| In office 2 October 1928 – 7 June 1930 | |
| Monarch | Gustaf V |
| Preceded by | Carl Gustaf Ekman |
| Succeeded by | Carl Gustaf Ekman |
| In office 29 May 1906 – 7 October 1911 | |
| Monarchs |
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| Preceded by | Karl Staaff |
| Succeeded by | Karl Staaff |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 30 March 1917 – 19 October 1917 | |
| Prime Minister | Carl Swartz |
| Preceded by | Knut Wallenberg |
| Succeeded by | Johannes Hellner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman (1862-09-19)19 September 1862 Österbybruk, Sweden |
| Died | 9 December 1936(1936-12-09) (aged 74) Croydon, England |
| Cause of death | Aircraft crash |
| Resting place | Norra begravningsplatsen |
| Party | General Electoral Union |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Hudiksvalls högre allmänna läroverk [sv] |
| Alma mater | Royal Swedish Naval Academy |
| Occupation | Industrialist • politician |
| Cabinet | Lindman I Lindman II |
| Signature |  |
| Nickname | The Admiral |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Swedish Navy |
| Years of service | 1882–1889 1889–1905 (reserve) |
| Rank | Rear admiral |
| Part ofa series on |
| Conservatism in Sweden |
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Commentators |
Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman (19 September 1862 – 9 December 1936), also known as theAdmiral (Swedish:Amiralen),[1] was a Swedishconservative statesman, military officer, and industrialist who served asPrime Minister of Sweden from 1906 to 1911 and again from 1928 to 1930.[2][3] He was leader of theGeneral Electoral League from 1912 and representedStockholm in theRiksdag from 1905 until his retirement in 1935. Regarded as one of the fathers of modern Sweden, he led the passage ofuniversal male suffrage andelectoral reform.[4]
He was also leader of theLantmanna andbourgeois Party (Swedish:Lantmanna- och borgarepartiet; a member party of the General Electoral League) from 1913 to 1935, except for a brief period in 1917 when he served asMinister for Foreign Affairs.[5]
Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman was born on 19 September 1862 inÖsterbybruk,Uppsala County,Sweden, the son of Emil Achates Lindman, a mill director, and Ebba Dahlgren. The family name derives from the Lindrum farm in Ölsremma parish,Älvsborg County.
After studying atHudiksvall’ssecondary school, Lindman entered theRoyal Swedish Navy Academy in 1876 aged 14. Among his classmates were banker and industrialistMarcus Wallenberg Sr. (father ofSAAB founderMarcus Wallenberg Jr.), princeOscar Bernadotte,[6] and navy officerHenning von Krusenstierna, the last of whom he became close friends with.[7] Upon his graduation in 1882, he had earned the highest grades possible, and was regarded by mentors as a highly promising future naval officer.[8] He became a sub-lieutenant in October 1882 and served aboard theVanadis expedition from December 1883 to April 1885.[9] He was promoted tolieutenant in 1887 and transferred to the naval reserve two years later in 1889, although he remained active and was promoted tocaptain in 1892.[10] His naval career earned him the nickname "the Admiral", by which he was widely known throughout his later political life.[11]
Lindman also proved farsighted and capable as an industrial leader when he, in 1889, left his naval career to enter the service of theIggesund Ironworks Company, owned by theTamm family. Lindman’s father was at that time head of both Iggesund and the Tamm family’sÖsterby and Strömbacka estates. In 1892, Lindman became managing director ofIggesund Ironworks,[12][13] a position he held until 1903, when the company was sold to Hudiksvall Timber Ltd through his efforts.[14] Strömbacka was excluded from the sale, and Lindman remained head of Strömbacka Ironworks Ltd until 1923,[15] when it was sold to Iggesund Ironworks, still with Lindman as chairman of the board and a member of Iggesund’s board of directors.
Through his friendMarcus Wallenberg, he received an offer to become head ofLKAB, a position he held for just over a year (1900–1901), during which he oversaw major investments and the construction of housing for LKAB employees. His experiences in the role proved valuable in the negotiations that, in 1907, led to the state’s acquisition of partial ownership in LKAB. In 1904, he accepted the role asDirector General ofTeleverket, Sweden’s nationaltelecommunications agency. He also held board positions in several other major companies, includingHusqvarna Vapenfabriks AB.
Lindman declined as early as 1897 an offer to run for theFirst Chamber of theRiksdag.[16] He later also refused an attempt byPrime MinisterErik Gustaf Boström to recruit him asMinister of Finance in 1902.[17] However, he was eventually elected to the First Chamber by theGävleborg County Council in 1904, becoming its youngest member.[18][19] When theLundeberg cabinet was formed in August 1905 to resolve theunion crisis with Norway, Lindman becameMinister for Naval Affairs.[20] As such, he was required to hold a military rank and was therefore promoted toCommander; two years later, he was madeRear Admiral in the reserve.[21] Had he instead obtained the role ofMinister for Civil Affairs, as he had wished, he would likely never have received the admiral’s title.[22] When the Lundeberg government resigned later in1905, there were already plans for a possibleright-wing ormoderate-liberal ministry under Lindman.Karl Staaff later offered him the post ofMinister to London, but he declined over financial reasons.[23]
During the 1906 Riksdag session, Lindman was elected to the council of theProtectionist Party and became a member of theLaw Committee. AfterKarl Staaff and his government resigned after an unsuccessful attempt at implementingelectoral reform,[24] theMinister of Agriculture,Alfred Petersson and theMinister for Foreign Affairs,Fredrik Wachtmeister, both declined the opportunity of forming and leading a new cabinet ashead of government.[25] The task eventually passed to Lindman, who accepted. His government did not have an overtly right-wing profile; he sought support also among moderate liberals.
Lindman was initially sceptical ofproportional representation in both chambers, but was keen on achieving a settlement.[26] A major constitutional reform was carried through, though only after considerable concessions to radical demands.Universal suffrage for men in Second Chamber elections and the introduction of a 40-degree graduated franchise scale inmunicipal elections were only steps on the road towards fully universal and equal suffrage in both municipal and parliamentary elections.[27]
From the government’s perspective, the main victory lay in having established the proportional electoral system and in warding off the threat to the First Chamber’s equal status with the Second. Conservative critics, however, predicted that the 40-degree scale would soon be abolished and that the ultimate result would be aunicameral parliament with proportional representation, leading to increased party control and rigidpolitical blocs.
The Riksdag of 1907 has been described as "the Riksdag of great decisions".[28] Besides the suffrage question, this referred above all to the agreement concerning theNorrbotten ore fields (LKAB). The Lindman government was active on many fronts: over its five and a half years in office, it submitted more than 1,100government bills, of which remarkably few were rejected.[29] More than 200 committees were appointed, including one onold-age anddisability pensions.[30]
Lindman was said to represent a new type of prime minister. As an industrialist, he was in tune with the major transformations then under way ineconomic policy. Ivar Anderson writes in his biography that, during his first premiership, Lindman "had a certain tendency to regard his colleagues as a business leader sees his department heads".[31][32]
Both principled and personal disagreements lay behind severalministerial reshuffles involvingErik Trolle,Lars Tingsten, and Alfred Petersson. Tingsten and Petersson would later became some of Lindman most fierce opponents. Tensions also existed within the conservative camp. Many conservative members of First Chamber mistrusted Lindman’s willingness to compromise. Among these was the prominentarch-conservative statesmanErnst Trygger, whose election as leader of the Protectionist Party in 1909 had been unsuccessfully opposed by Lindman. Relations between Lindman and Trygger remained cold and strained. Trygger saw him as "dangerously inclined to sacrifice conservative principles", whereas Lindman, in Anderson’s words, was "outgoing, practical, impulsive, and eager to achieve results."
The government resigned after the expected conservative setback in the1911 election. Lindman assumed the role asLeader of the Opposition, while also beginning the work that would become his life’s major political project: the creation of asolid and well-organised Conservative Party.
Lindman subsequently entered the Second Chamber in 1912, where he became chairman of theLantmanna andbourgeois Party (Swedish:Lantmanna- och borgarpartiet) in 1913. In 1917, he briefly served asMinister for Foreign Affairs inCarl Swartz’s cabinet. As a senior conservative figure, Lindman advised theKing on forming theHammarskjöld and Swartz governments, aiming to preventErnst Trygger’s hardline faction from taking power.
From 1913 to 1935, Lindman chaired theGeneral Electoral League (Allmänna valmansförbundet) — the national organization of Sweden’s right-wing parties and the direct predecessor of today’sModerate Party. As party leader, he modernized the conservative movement after the introduction of universal male suffrage in 1918, establishing an effective national structure, pioneering campaign flights and poster advertising, and professionalizing election strategy.
After a bitter election campaign in1928, during which theSocial Democrats suffered heavy losses, Lindman again became prime minister, leading a minority right-wing government. His cabinet promoted industrial peace through a Conference onLabor Relations in 1928 and pursued moderate protectionist policies.
The government resigned in 1930 after theFree-Minded Liberals and Social Democrats blocked a proposal to increasetariffs on grain — meant to support Sweden’s agricultural sector. The interwar years that followed were marked by parliamentary fragmentation and short-lived minority governments.
Arvid Lindman married Annie Almström in 1888. The couple had three children, including Gunnar Lindman, who later became anengineer andindustrialist.
A modern, charismatic campaigner, he was among the first Swedish politicians to address voters directly throughmass meetings and travel. He was also known for his reserved but courteous personality and for his deep sense of duty and moderation in both public and private life.
He also took an early and unequivocal stance againstFascism andNazism. When the party’s youth organization adopted authoritarian sympathies, Lindman expelled it from the movement. Upon his retirement as party leader in 1935, Prime MinisterPer Albin Hansson of the Social Democrats expressed "honest thanks across the battle lines" in tribute to Lindman’s integrity and moderation.
Outside of politics, he was active in business associations andcharitable causes connected to education and naval affairs. He was also a keen traveller.
Lindman died on 9 December 1936 ina plane crash nearCroydon Airport,London, when aDouglas DC-2 aircraft struck houses shortly after takeoff in thick fog. He was 74 years old.
Lindman is remembered as apragmatic conservative and skilled conciliator, known for combining firmness withcompromise. He sought to bridge divides between labor and business and between conservatives and liberals.
"Amiralen", som han nu allmänt kallades
På hösten kom han in vid [sjökrigsskolan] … där han fick kamrater som skulle visa sig betydelsefulla för honom senare i livet, bl a Marcus Wallenberg och prins Oskar.
… vid sjökrigsskolan, där han blev kamrat och god vän med sedermera statsministern Arvid Lindman. Båda deltog i fregatten Vanadis jordenruntsegling 1883—85 …
L gick ut kadettskolan med högsta betyg och ansågs som en mycket lovande sjöofficer.
Som nyutexaminerad sjöofficer deltog L i fregatten Vanadis' uppmärksammade världsomsegling dec 1883-april 85.
Han gick in vid flottan redan vid tretton års ålder, blev underlöjtnant 1882 och deltog i fregatten Vanadis världsomsegling 1883-85, varefter han blev löjtnant 1887 och kapten 1892.
"Amiralen", som han nu allmänt kallades
Efter att ha lämnat flottan 1889 gick han i tjänst vid Iggesunds bruk, där hans far då var disponent.
År 1892 blev han verkställande direktör för Iggesunds bruk, en befattning han innehade till 1903.
1892 blev L VD för Iggesunds bruk, en befattning som han innehade till 1903, då bruket såldes till Hudiksvalls Trävaru AB genom L:s försorg.
Därvid undantogs Strömbacka och Hedvigsfors, och L förblev chef för Strömbacka bruks AB till 1923, då företaget såldes till AB Iggesunds bruk.
L, som var landstingsman i Gävleborg sedan 1892, avböjde redan 1897 ett anbud att kandidera till FK.
Likaledes avböjde han 1902 ett försök från E. G. Boström att enrollera honom som finansminister.
Så invaldes han av Gävleborgs läns landsting i FK och var då kammarens yngste ledamot.
Arvid Lindman valdes 1904 som riksdagsman för Gävleborgs län i första kammaren …
I augusti 1905 utnämndes Lindman till sjöminister i Christian Lundebergs samlingsregering …
Som sådan [sjöförsvarsminister] skulle han ha en militär grad och befordrades till kommendör; två år senare blev han konteramiral i reserven.
Om L fått som han önskat, hade han i stället blivit civilminister och då näppeligen fått amiralstiteln.
Redan då regeringen Lundeberg avgick 1905, fanns vissa planer på en högerregering eller moderatliberal regering med L som chef. K. Staaff erbjöd senare under hösten L ministerposten i London, men denne avböjde av ekonomiska skäl.
Karl Staaffs regering föll sedan den försökt driva igenom en rösträttsreform med majoritetsval i riksdagens båda kammare.
Då staaffska regeringen avgick i maj 1906, anmodades i första hand P. att bilda ministär på programmet rösträttsfrågans lösning med dubbel-proportionalistiskt valsätt. Han avböjde emellertid...
Till en början var han skeptisk mot dubbel-proportionalismen, d.v.s. proportionella val till båda kamrarna, men var samtidigt angelägen att nå resultat.
Konservativa kritiker förutspådde dock, att den 40-gradiga skalan snart skulle elimineras och resultatet bli ett enkammarsystem med proportionalism, som skulle leda till ett ökat partivälde med fastlåsta positioner.
Artikeln behandlar 1907 års riksdag och betecknar den som "de stora beslutens riksdag".
Under sina 5 1/2 år avlämnade ministären Lindman mer än 1 100 propositioner, som rönte anmärkningsvärt få bakslag.
Över 200 kommittéer tillsattes, bl.a. för utredning av ålderdoms- och invaliditetspensionering.
Arvid Lindman was an industrial leader and a prominent conservative politician in the early 1900s.
Media related toArvid Lindman at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister for Naval Affairs 1905–1905 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Sweden 1906–1911 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Foreign Affairs 1917–1917 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Sweden 1928–1930 | Succeeded by |
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