A. B. Gekht. Under the scrutiny of criticism: financial and industrial group of the Wallenberg family and public sentiment in Sweden in the 1960s // Petersburg historical journal, no. 3, 2022, pp. 172–184

Abstract:
This article is devoted to the consideration of the diverse public rhetoric in the 1960s towards Sweden’s largest financial and industrial group controlled by the Wallenberg family. Under the influence of the ideology of the “new left”, which was popular in the countries of Western and Northern Europe, the change in value orientations and the general emancipation of Swedish society the Wallenbergs represented by a number of the country’s leading concerns became the object of criticism. In addition to a heated discussion about the role and consequences of the Wallenberg entrepreneurial activities within Sweden itself, which is relevant among supporters of social democratic and communist views, a discussion about the nature of Wallenberg’s activities outside the kingdom, primarily in the developing countries of Latin America and Africa, became especially noticeable. The topic for public controversy was the issue of the connections between the leadership of the financial and industrial group represented by the banker Marcus Wallenberg Jr. and the militaryindustrial complex of the country. Among the consequences of the harsh criticism of the Wallenbergs was the subsequent strengthening of government regulatory measures in the Swedish economy in the late 1960s, which affected the financial sector, which was so important for the financial and industrial group under their control.

Keywords:
Sweden, The Wallenberg dynasty, Wallenberg financial and industrial group, “Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken”, Markus Wallenberg, Saab, Ericsson, Atlas Copco, Stora, SKF, ASEA.

Author:
Gekht, Anton Borisovich — Candidate of Historical Sciences, docent, Head of the Department of History and Regional Studies, Faculty of Social Digital Technologies, The Bonch-Bruevich St. Petersburg State University of Telecommunications.
E-mail: a.geht@yandex.ru

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