Arvid Olsson
Encyclopedia
Arvid Olsson was a Swedish
politician
and trade union
ist. He was one of the foremost leaders of the Socialist Party
.
family. He became a gunsmith
for the Swedish Navy and a labour activist, living in Ramundeboda outside Laxå
. A delegate at the 1914 congress of the Social Democratic Youth League
, Olsson was thereafter one of the first Swedish communists to undergo political training in Soviet Russia
.
. However, after the sixth Congress of the Communist International the party suffered a factional conflict. Olsson belonged to the same grouping in the Central Committee
as Karl Kilbom
and Nils Flyg
.
In August 1929, Olsson and Kilbom visited Moscow and were given the opportunity to express self-criticism
. In October 1929 the split was final, as Kilbom, Olsson, Flyg and their followers were expelled from the party by the Executive Committee of the Communist International
(through its representative Kullervo Manner
). The expellees regrouped as a separate Communist Party of Sweden, later renamed Socialist Party. Olsson became the spokesperson on trade union affairs of the new party.
(Flyg was accused by others in the party of adopting a too ambivalent line towards the defense of the Spanish Republic
). In 1937, Olsson and communist parliamentarian Knut Senander presented a joint motion to repeal the 1899 Åkarp Law, that was perceived as anti-labour. The motion was passed in both chambers of parliament in 1938. Olsson was one of the two parliamentarians that remained in the Socialist Party until the 1940 election (the other was Flyg).
and the Soviet Union that the party ought to support the right of self-determination of smaller nations.
for a few years.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist. He was one of the foremost leaders of the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (Sweden, 1929)
The Socialist Party , initially known as the Communist Party of Sweden , was a political party in Sweden active from 1929 to 1948. The party was founded in 1929 by the major faction of the Communist Party of Sweden, led by Karl Kilbom and Nils Flyg, as the party split into two parties with the same...
.
Youth
Olsson hailed from a statareStatare
Statare were married agricultural laborers in Sweden who received payment primarily in kind. The system existed mainly in the south of Sweden and reached its maximum extent in the late 19th century. Thereafter the system gradually declined until it was formally abolished in 1945.These agricultural...
family. He became a gunsmith
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
for the Swedish Navy and a labour activist, living in Ramundeboda outside Laxå
Laxå
Laxå is a locality and the seat of Laxå Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with 3,307 inhabitants in 2005.-History:The town was founded in the mid-19th century when the main line railway between Gothenburg and Stockholm was built in 1883. Laxå is situated exactly 226 km from both those...
. A delegate at the 1914 congress of the Social Democratic Youth League
Young Left (Sweden)
Young Left is the youth organization of the Swedish Left Party.-Ideology:It is an organization that organizes the youth of today to fight for socialist and feminist social change. Young Left is a youth organization developed out of the labour movement, with influences from environmentalism, the...
, Olsson was thereafter one of the first Swedish communists to undergo political training in Soviet Russia
Soviet Russia
Soviet Russia usually refers to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union. It may also denote:* Soviet Russia , magazine of the Friends of Soviet Russia in the United States...
.
Communist labour leader
Olsson served as party secretary of the Communist Party. He also presided over the Trade Union Committee of the party and was the trade union affairs editor of Folkets Dagblad PolitikenFolkets Dagblad Politiken
Politiken, later named Folkets Dagblad - Politiken was a Swedish Communist newspaper that existed from April 1916 to August 1940....
. However, after the sixth Congress of the Communist International the party suffered a factional conflict. Olsson belonged to the same grouping in the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
as Karl Kilbom
Karl Kilbom
Karl Kilbom was a Swedish Socialist politician.-Youth:As the son of a blacksmith, Karl Kilbom grew up in a working-class family of Walloon origin in the small town of Österby outside Uppsala, where he started working in the steel mills at an early age.In the year 1900, a socialist agitator visited...
and Nils Flyg
Nils Flyg
Nils Svante Flyg was a Swedish Communist politician who turned pro-Nazi during World War II.Nils Flyg was born and raised in Södermalm, a working-class area of Stockholm. Early on he joined the Swedish Social Democratic Party's youth organization, the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League...
.
In August 1929, Olsson and Kilbom visited Moscow and were given the opportunity to express self-criticism
Self-criticism
Self-criticism refers to the pointing out of things critical/important to one's own beliefs, thoughts, actions, behaviour or results; it can form part of private, personal reflection or a group discussion.-Philosophy:...
. In October 1929 the split was final, as Kilbom, Olsson, Flyg and their followers were expelled from the party by the Executive Committee of the Communist International
Executive Committee of the Communist International
The Executive Committee of the Communist International, commonly known by its acronym, ECCI, was the governing authority of the Comintern between the World Congresses of that body...
(through its representative Kullervo Manner
Kullervo Manner
Kullervo Achilles Manner was a Finnish journalist and politician. He was a member of the Finnish parliament, serving as its Speaker in 1917. He was also chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland between 1917–1918. During the Finnish Civil War, he led the Finnish People's Delegation...
). The expellees regrouped as a separate Communist Party of Sweden, later renamed Socialist Party. Olsson became the spokesperson on trade union affairs of the new party.
In parliament
Olsson became a member of Parliament in 1934, replacing Edoff Andersson (who had died). He was elected to parliament in 1936. In the socialist parliamentary group, Olsson was Flyg's sole supporter in the controversy over the debate on the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
(Flyg was accused by others in the party of adopting a too ambivalent line towards the defense of the Spanish Republic
Spanish Republic
There have been two Spanish Republics:* First Spanish Republic * Second Spanish Republic Spain is not currently a republic, but a constitutional monarchy...
). In 1937, Olsson and communist parliamentarian Knut Senander presented a joint motion to repeal the 1899 Åkarp Law, that was perceived as anti-labour. The motion was passed in both chambers of parliament in 1938. Olsson was one of the two parliamentarians that remained in the Socialist Party until the 1940 election (the other was Flyg).
Editor
When Folkets Dagblad Politiken reappeared in 1942, Olsson was again named editor of trade union affairs of the newspaper. When Flyg died in 1943, Olsson was named as the new chief editor of the newspaper.Political legacy
Olsson was one of the architects of the process of shifting the Socialist Party towards nationalist positions. He employed Marxist terminology to motivate these positions. Olsson argued, such in the case of the war between FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and the Soviet Union that the party ought to support the right of self-determination of smaller nations.
Later life
After the Second World War, Olsson retreated from political life. He worked at the Public Employment Service office in SödermalmSödermalm
Södermalm, often shortened to "Söder", is a district in central Stockholm. It covers the large island formerly called "Åsön". With a population of 99,685, it is one of the most densely populated districts of Scandinavia...
for a few years.