Peter Englund

For the economist and professor of finance at the Stockholm School of Economics, see Peter Englund (economist).
Peter Englund

Peter Englund in 2013
Born (1957-04-04) April 4, 1957
Boden, Sweden
Residence Uppsala, Sweden
Alma mater Uppsala University (Ph.D.)
Occupation author and historian; former Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy
Children 5
Awards August Prize (1993)
Selma Lagerlöf Prize for Literature (2002)
Website www.peterenglund.com
Patrick Modiano and Peter Englund 2014.

Peter Mikael Englund (born 4 April 1957) is a Swedish author and historian. Englund writes non-fiction books and essays, mainly about history, and especially about the Swedish Empire, but also about other historical events. He writes in a very accessible style, providing narrative details usually omitted in typical books about history. His books have gained popularity and are translated into several languages, such as German and Czech. He was the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy from 1 June 2009 to 31 May 2015, when he was succeeded by Sara Danius.[1]

Biography

Englund was born in Boden 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 the Swedish Army at the Norrbotten Regiment located in Boden. He was politically active in his youth and supported the FNL.

Englund studied archaeology, history, and theoretical philosophy at Uppsala University, completing a bachelor's degree in 1983, after which he began doctoral studies in History. He was awarded his Ph.D. in 1989 for his dissertation Det 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 the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service ("MUST"), and the year before receiving his doctorate he had published the bestselling Poltava, a detailed description of the Battle of Poltava, where the troops of Swedish king Charles XII were defeated by the Russian army of Tsar Peter I in 1709.

Englund has received the August Prize (1993) and the Selma Lagerlöf Prize for Literature (2002). He was elected a member of the Swedish Academy in 2002. On 1 June 2009 he succeeded Horace Engdahl as the permanent secretary of the Academy.

In 2009, to perhaps distance himself from Engdahl, the previous Nobel secretary, 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.".[2] In December 2014 he announced his retirement from the post of secretary of the Swedish Academy[3] and was succeeded by Sara Danius May 31, 2015.[1] In April 2015, the Nobel foundation announced that Peter Englund will be the permanent secretary until November 30, 2015. From December 1, 2015, Sara Danius will take Peter Englund's place.[4]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 Jan Arnald (2015). "Peter Englund's Biography at the Website of the Swedish Academy". Stockholm: The Swedish Academy. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  2. ↑ Herta Müller Wins Nobel Prize in Literature. By MOTOKO RICH and NICHOLAS KULISH. Published: 8 October 2009. NY Times
  3. ↑ Lindahl, Charlotte. "Peter Englund slutar som ständig sekreterare i Svenska Akademien" (in Swedish). SVT. Retrieved 2014-12-20.
  4. ↑ http://www.nobelprize.org/press/nobelfoundation/#/pressreleases/favourable-financial-earnings-for-the-nobel-foundation-again-1148373
  5. 1 2 See http://www.boardgamegeek.com/designer/2962

External links

Cultural offices
Preceded by
Erik Lönnroth		 Swedish Academy,
Seat No.10
2002- 		Succeeded by
incumbent
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