Tage Erlander

Tage Erlander

Tage Fritiof Erlander (13 June 1901 – 21 June 1985) was a Swedish politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1946 to 1969. He was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and his uninterrupted tenure of 23 years as head of government is a record for parliamentary democracies, with the popular expression "Sweden's longest Prime Minister" referring to both his physical stature and tenure (the Swedish word lång meaning both long and tall).

Ascending to the World War II coalition government in 1944, Erlander rose unexpectedly to leadership upon the death of Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson in October 1946, cementing the position of the Social Democratic Party as the virtual government of Sweden. Known for his moderation, pragmatism and self-irony, Erlander constantly sought approval from the liberal-conservative opposition for his policies, de facto dropping all pretences of wide-scale nationalizations whilst introducing reforms such as universal health insurance, pension additions and a growing public sector while stopping short of raising tax levels above the average OECD levels at the time. In 1951-1957, he espoused a coalition government with Peasants' League chairman Gunnar Hedlund in order to secure majority and stability, led by himself.

In foreign policy, he initially sought an alliance of Nordic countries, but without success, instead maintaining strict neutrality while building up among the most impressive armed forces in the world (surpassed only by the United States, the Soviet Union and Israel in terms of per-capita spending), making the Swedish Air Force the third largest in the world, while ultimately rejecting nuclear capability, signing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty in 1968. Erlander's mandate coincided with the post-World War II economic expansion, in Sweden known as the record years, in which Sweden saw its economy grow to one of the ten strongest in the world, and subsequently joined of the G10.

Resigning after the Swedish general election, 1968, his seventh and most successful election in which the Social Democrats surpassed all four opposition parties in terms of seats, Erlander was succeeded, in the midst of constitutional reforms, by his long-time novice and friend Olof Palme. Dying on June 21, 1985 at age 84, Erlander's funeral procession crossed the country from Stockholm to his home town of Ransäter in triumph for his final interment.