{{Short description|Swedish politician (1923–2006)}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = Sten Andersson SPA.jpg | caption = Sten Andersson in 1970 | office = President of the Nordic Council | term_start = 1 January 1994 | term_end = 1 October 1994 | predecessor = Jan P. Syse | successor = Per Olof Håkansson | office2 = Minister for Foreign Affairs | term_start2 = 17 October 1985 | term_end2 = 4 October 1991 | prime_minister2 = Olof Palme <br> Ingvar Carlsson | predecessor2 = Lennart Bodström | successor2 = Margaretha af Ugglas | office3 = Minister for Social Affairs | term_start3 = 8 October 1982 | term_end3 = 17 October 1985 | prime_minister3 = Olof Palme | predecessor3 = Karin Söder | successor3 = Gertrud Sigurdsen | office4 = Party Secretary of the Swedish Social Democratic Party | term_start4 = 1962 | term_end4 = 8 October 1982 | leader4 = Tage Erlander <br> Olof Palme | predecessor4 = Sven Aspling | successor4 = Bo Toresson | birth_name = Sten Sture Andersson | birth_date = {{birth date|1923|4|20|df=y}} | birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden | death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|9|16|1923|4|23|df=y}} | death_place = Haninge, Sweden | spouse = {{marriage|Eivor Atling|1950|1970|end=her death}}<br/>{{marriage|Britta Holmberg|1974}} | children = 6 | party = Swedish Social Democratic Party }}
'''Sten Sture Andersson''' (20 April 1923 – 16 September 2006) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician. He served as Minister for Social Affairs from 1982 to 1985 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1991. He was also President of the Nordic Council in 1994.
== Biography == Andersson was born into a working-class family in the Södermalm district of Stockholm. When he was two-three years old, his carpenter-working father took the opportunity to build a house in Enskede for his family, a house where Sten would live for most of his whole life. He started working as a mailman in 1940 while attending evening gymnasium courses, and received his students' degree in 1944. Andersson then began studying economics and political science at Stockholm University College, but did not graduate.<ref name="svtidsk">{{cite news |last1=Unger |first1=Gunnar |title=Namn att minnas: Sten Andersson |url=https://www.svensktidskrift.se/arkiv100/1962/85%20Namn%20att%20minnas%20-%20Sten%20Andersson.pdf |access-date=24 February 2025 |work=Svensk Tidskrift |date=31 December 1962 |language=sv}}</ref> In 1942 Andersson joined the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League, of which he chaired the local chapter from 1945 to 1948.<ref name="svtidsk"/> He was elected a member of the Stockholm city council from 1951 to 1962. From 1953 he worked for the Stockholm labour commune, first as an ombudsman, and then served as its secretary from 1958 to 1962.<ref name="salander">{{cite book |editor1-last=Salander Mortensen |editor1-first=Jill |title=Vem är det: Svensk biografisk handbok 1997 |date=1996 |publisher=Norstedts |location=Stockholm |page=60 |url=https://runeberg.org/vemardet/1997/0060.html |access-date=24 February 2025 |language=sv}}</ref>
Andersson was party secretary of the Social Democratic Party from 1962 until 1982, and a member of the Riksdag from 1966 to 1994 (of the First Chamber until 1970). Between 1982 and 1985 he was Minister of Social Affairs, and between 1985 and 1991 Minister of Foreign Affairs.<ref name="salander"/> As Foreign Minister, Andersson worked strongly for peace in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and took initiatives for dialogue between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. After his ministerial career ended, he served as President of the Nordic Council in 1994 and as Chairman of the Olof Palme International Center until 1999. His memoirs were published in 1993.<ref name="svtny">{{cite news |title=Sten Andersson är död |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/stockholm/sten-andersson-ar-dod |access-date=24 February 2025 |work=SVT Nyheter |date=16 September 2006 |language=sv}}</ref>
===Personal life=== Andersson was married twice, first to Eivor Atling (1930–1970) in 1950. After her death in 1970, he married Britta Holmberg (1941–). He had three children with Atling, and three with Holmberg.<ref name="salander"/> Andersson died from a heart attack in 2006.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/nyheter/story/0,2789,888626,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717050700/http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/nyheter/story/0,2789,888626,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 July 2012|title=Sten Andersson död|author=Triches, Robert|access-date=3 October 2006|work=Aftonbladet|publisher=Aftonbladet|language=sv}}</ref>
==Honours and awards== ===National honours and awards=== *Illis quorum, 1995<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2006 |title=Regeringens belöningsmedaljer och regeringens utmärkelse: Professors namn |url=https://www.regeringen.se/contentassets/61bab671f59a46af81cb11ee99e0d0eb/regeringens-beloningsmedaljer-och-regeringens-utmarkelse-professors-namn |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102152834/https://www.regeringen.se/contentassets/61bab671f59a46af81cb11ee99e0d0eb/regeringens-beloningsmedaljer-och-regeringens-utmarkelse-professors-namn |archive-date=2021-11-02 |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=Regeringskansliet |language=sv}}</ref>
===Foreign honours and awards=== *{{flagicon|Portugal}} 50px Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry, 13 January 1987<ref>{{cite web |title=Entidades estrangeiras agraciadas com ordens portuguesas |url=https://www.ordens.presidencia.pt/?idc=154 |website=Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas |publisher=Presidency of the Portuguese Republic |access-date=24 February 2025 |language=pt}}</ref> *{{flagicon|Italy}} 50px Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, 8 April 1991<ref>{{cite web |title=Andersson S.E. Sten |url=https://www.quirinale.it/onorificenze/insigniti/10851 |publisher=Presidency of the Italian Republic |access-date=24 February 2025 |language=it}}</ref> *{{flagicon|State of Palestine}} 50px Star of Jerusalem of the Order of Jerusalem, 2010 (posthumously)<ref>{{cite news |title=Palestinamedalj till Sten Andersson |url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/palestinamedalj-till-sten-andersson/ |access-date=24 February 2025 |work=Dagens Nyheter |date=2 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103203720/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/palestinamedalj-till-sten-andersson-1.1201074 |archive-date=3 November 2010 |language=sv}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commons-inline}}
{{s-start}} {{s-gov}} {{succession box|before=Lennart Bodström|title=Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs|years=1985–1991|after=Margaretha af Ugglas}} {{s-end}}
{{Presidents of the Nordic Council}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersson, Sten}} Category:1923 births Category:2006 deaths Category:Politicians from Stockholm Category:Members of the Riksdag from the Social Democrats Category:Ministers for foreign affairs of Sweden Category:Ministers for social affairs of Sweden Category:Members of the Första kammaren Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Category:Recipients of the Illis quorum