Peter Englund | |
|---|---|
 Peter Englund in 2013 | |
| Born | (1957-04-04)4 April 1957 (age 68) Boden, Sweden |
| Alma mater | Uppsala University(Ph.D.) |
| Occupation(s) | author and historian; former Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy |
| Children | 5 |
| Awards | August Prize (1993) Selma Lagerlöf Prize for Literature (2002) |
| Member of the Swedish Academy (Seat No. 10) | |
| Assumed office 20 December 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Erik Lönnroth |
| Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy | |
| In office June 2009 – May 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Horace Engdahl |
| Succeeded by | Sara Danius |
| Website | www |
Peter Mikael Englund (born 4 April 1957) is a Swedish author andhistorian. He focuses on writingnon-fiction books and essays, mostly about theSwedish Empire and other historical events. Englund is known for his accessible writing style, which includes narrative details that are often left out in traditional history books. His works have been translated into 20 languages. From 2009 to 2015, Englund served as the permanent secretary of theSwedish Academy, before being succeeded bySara Danius.[1] In January 2019, he and fellow academy memberKjell Espmark announced their return as active members of the Swedish academy,[2] where they had been inactive since April 2018.[3]
Englund was born inBoden and studied a preparatory course for the caring professions for two years and then humanistic subjects for another two years in secondary school. He was then conscripted and served 15 months in theSwedish Army at theNorrbotten Regiment located in Boden. He was politically active in his youth and supported theNational Front for the Liberation of Vietnam.
Englund studiedarchaeology,history, and theoreticalphilosophy atUppsala University, completing abachelor's degree in 1983, after which he began doctoral studies in History. He was awarded his Ph.D. in 1989 for his dissertationDet hotade huset (English title in the dissertation abstract:A House in Peril) (1989), an investigation of the worldview of the 17th-century Swedish nobility. During his period as a doctoral student, he had also worked for some time for theSwedish Military Intelligence and Security Service ("MUST"), and the year before receiving his doctorate he had published the bestsellingPoltava, a detailed description of theBattle of Poltava, where the troops of Swedish kingCharles XII were defeated by the Russian army ofTsar Peter I in 1709.
Englund has received theAugust Prize (1993) and theSelma Lagerlöf Prize for Literature (2002). He was elected a member of theSwedish Academy in 2002. On 1 June 2009, he succeededHorace Engdahl as the permanent secretary of the Academy.
In 2009, Englund "criticized the jury panel as being too 'Eurocentric'" and "told the Associated Press that it was easier for Europeans to relate to European literature". "It’s the result of psychological bias that we really try to be aware of," Englund was quoted as saying.[4] In December 2014, he announced his retirement from the post of secretary of the Swedish Academy.[5] On 1 June 2015,Sara Danius succeeded Peter Englund as permanent secretary.[6]
On 6 April 2018, Englund announced that he would no longer participate in the Academy's work. On the same day,Klas Östergren andKjell Espmark also declared that they would become inactive members of the Academy.[3]
On 10 January 2019, Englund announced on his blog that he and fellow Academy member Kjell Espmark would be returning as active members of the Academy. He stated that continued work to renew the Academy has now reached a point that it must be done from within.[7]
| Cultural offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Swedish Academy, Seat No.10 2002– | Succeeded by incumbent |
"[T]o work for the 'purity, vigour and majesty' of the Swedish language" | ||
| Current members |  | |
