Sweden's anti-nuclear weapons legacy: An interview with Maj Britt Theorin

Josefin Lind of Swedish Physicians Against Nuclear Weapons (SLMK) talks to Maj Britt Theorin, Swedish disarmament expert, about the longstanding opposition to nuclear weapons in Sweden.
 
 
Renowned disarmament expert, Maj Britt Theorin (pictured), was head of the Swedish commission for disarmament between 1982 and 1991.

I met her one rainy summer’s day at a cafe in central Stockholm. 

I wanted to ask her about her life, her involvement with Swedish politics and Sweden’s history as a nation promoting disarmament.

Not that it was always like that- Swedish plans for an atomic bomb were far advanced in the 1950s. So why had Sweden refrained from producing nuclear weapons?
 
 
For and against the bomb
 

Theorin describes how, after World War Two, both Swedish politicians and the military favoured the development of an atom bomb "in order not to have poorer weapons than the enemy." Thankfully, Theorin recalls, there were far more who were strongly against such a development.

Many opponents of nuclear weapons were organised within the youth wing of the Social Democratic Party, via direct action groups and women's organizations.

For example, Inga Thorsson, chair of the Social Democratic Women's Federation, was an outspoken critic of a Swedish atom bomb and when the Social Democratic Party finally decided against getting the bomb in 1959, no other political party revived the idea.

In answer to my question about whether it was US pressure on the Swedish government and a promise to provide cheaper fissile materials that ended Sweden’s nuclear weapon ambitions, Theorin replies “definitely not”.
 
Instead, she emphasises that public opposition to a Swedish atom bomb was absolutely crucial.

Was the Swedish 'no' considered a sign of weakness internationally? “Not at all”, says Theorin, “the Swedish 'no' gave us a big advantage in diplomacy because of Alva Myrdal1 and Inga Thorson's2 immense knowledge. Their experience lent Sweden great credibility in international negotiations.”
 
 
Progressive Sweden
 

From the early 1960s to the 1990s, Sweden developed into a nation widely respected for its work promoting peace and disarmament. Sweden also took a clear position against colonialism, earning it the trust and admiration of the Third World.

Theorin explains that whilst Sweden’s far-reaching nuclear bomb program was shut down, it retained extensive technical knowledge and was home to many internationally-recognised nuclear experts.
 
Many of these experts turned their skills towards disarmament. Also, for many years the Swedish government prioritised the issue and appointed competent people to lead disarmament initiatives. Theorin points out that, at that time, each disarmament resolution tabled by Sweden at the United Nations was passed with an overwhelming majority.

I asked Theorin what it was like to be a disarmament ambassador at a time when Sweden was an outspoken advocate for a nuclear weapons-free world?

Theorin describes how she tried to sustain Sweden’s international diplomatic credibility when she was in office, although she admits that there were many men who expressed difficulty in working with a woman in charge.
 
 
On Myrdal and Thorsson
 

Of course, Theorin is part of a long line of Swedish women who’ve worked on nuclear weapons issues. Alva Myrdal was a skilled diplomat and came close to pushing through a comprehensive test ban treaty.
 
Her initiative was only stopped at the last moment by opposition from British Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home, a position supported by Home’s Swedish counterpart Tage Erlander.

Instead the world got the partial test ban treaty, which Myrdal referred to as an environmental treaty, rather than a treaty for disarmament. 
 
Thereafter, Myrdal founded SIPRI, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, now a world famous research institute, which produces an important yearbook on global military spending.

Theorin also highlights the work of Inga Thorsson, who she describes as a confident negotiator with a firm hand, who was able to push through progressive disarmament initiatives.

In 1982 the then Prime Minister Olof Palme appointed Theorin as an Ambassador for disarmament to succeed Thorsson. 
 
 
Dedication to disarmament
 
 
In that capacity, Theorin helped establish the prohibition on chemical weapons, campaigned on using military property for environmental purposes and brought attention to the issue of small arms at the UN. But her work primarily focused on nuclear issues and how to bring about a nuclear weapon-free zone in Europe.

Theorin left her post as ambassador for disarmament in 1991, as a new government came to power in Sweden. The Conservative government did not appoint a successor to Theorin and when Sweden joined the EU in 1995 the Swedish disarmament voice was itself disarmed- no replacement ambassador has been appointed since.

Mrs Theorin urges us all to continue working for a ban on nuclear weapons, describing it is as both absolutely necessary and possible. “It is important that we all work hard and are dedicated to this subject. Or, as Alva Myrdal said, "it is not worthy of a human being to give up”.
 
 
Notes:

 
1 Swedish disarmament ambassador, 1962 to 1973
 
2 Swedish disarmament ambassador, 1974 to 1982
 
 
Biography

 
Maj Britt Theorin was head of the Swedish commission for disarmament between 1982 and 1991.
 
She was a district councillor for the Social Democrats in Stockholm in the sixties, MP between 1971 and 1995 and MEP between 1995 and 2004.
 
From 1992-2000 Maj Britt was the chairperson of the International Peace Bureau (IPB), a member of the Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and head of the UN Commission of Experts on Nuclear Weapons (1989-1990).
 
Today she sits on the board of UN Women Sweden and is the chairperson for the umbrella organization Operation 1325.