View source for Alva Myrdal

{{Short description|Swedish sociologist and politician (1902–1986)}}
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{{More citations needed|date=November 2013}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

{{Infobox person
| name               = Alva Myrdal
| image              = ARB-Alva-Myrdal.jpg
| alt                = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption            = Myrdal in 1968
| birth_name         = Alva Reimer
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=yes|1902|1|31}}
| birth_place        = [[Uppsala]], Sweden
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1986|2|1|1902|1|31}}
| death_place        = [[Danderyd Municipality|Danderyd]], Sweden
| other_names        = 
| occupation         = Politician, sociologist, diplomat
| years_active       = 
| known_for          = 
| notable_works      = 
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Gunnar Myrdal]]|1924}}
| children           = 3, including [[Jan Myrdal]] and [[Sissela Bok]]
| relatives          = [[Hilary Bok]] (granddaughter), [[Stefan Fölster]] (grandson)
}}

'''Alva Myrdal''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɜːr|d|ɑː|l|,_|ˈ|m|ɪər|-}} {{respell|MUR|dahl|,_|MEER|-}}, {{IPA|sv|ˈǎlːva ˈmy̌ːɖɑːl|lang}}; née '''Reimer'''; 31 January 1902 – 1 February 1986) was a Swedish<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1982/myrdal/biographical/ | title=The Nobel Peace Prize 1982 }}</ref> [[sociologist]], diplomat and politician. She was a prominent leader of the [[disarmament]] movement. She, along with [[Alfonso García Robles]], received the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1982. She married [[Gunnar Myrdal]] in 1924; he received the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]] in 1974, making them the [[Nobel Prize#Statistics|fourth ever married couple]] to have won Nobel Prizes, and the first to win independent of each other (versus a shared Nobel Prize by scientist spouses).

==Biography==

=== Early life and studies ===
Alva Myrdal was born in [[Uppsala]] and grew up as the first child of a modest family, the daughter of Albert Reimer and Lowa Jonsson. She had four siblings: Ruth (1904–1980), Folke (1906–1977), May (1909–1941) and Stig (1912–1977). Her father was a socialist and modern liberal. During her childhood the family moved around to different places. For example, they were residents of Eskilstuna, Älvsjö, and Stockholm. Her academic studies involved psychology and family sociology. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Stockholm in 1924.

In 1929, Myrdal and her husband [[Gunnar Myrdal]] had the opportunity to travel to the US as Rockefeller Fellows. Myrdal further deepened her studies in the fields of psychology, education and sociology whilst in the US. She had the special chance to broaden her knowledge of children's education. Myrdal's observation of the great social and economic disparities in the United States also led to an increased political commitment – "radical" was the term that she and her husband came to use to describe their shared political outlook They then moved to Geneva for further studies, where they started to so study the population decline that worried many Europeans during the interwar period.

=== Politics of the family and population issue ===
Myrdal first came to public attention in the 1930s, and was one of the main driving forces in the creation of the Swedish [[welfare state]]. She coauthored the book ''[[Crisis in the Population Question]]'' ({{langx|sv|Kris i befolkningsfrågan}} with Gunnar Myrdal in 1934). The basic premise of ''Crisis in the Population Question'' is to find what social reforms are needed to allow for individual liberty (especially for women) while also promoting child-bearing, and encouraging Swedes to have children. The book also detailed the importance of shared responsibility for children's education both between the parents as well as the community by trained child educators.

Myrdal was highly critical of developments in the operation of preschools for children in Sweden. Consequently, she published the book ''Urban Children'' (1935), where she presented her ideas for a newly reformed Swedish preschool system. She argued that contemporary child care was flawed. The system was [[Political polarization|polarized]] between two extremes – measures of 'poor relief' for the less well-off contrasted with those measures which prepared children from wealthier families for private schools. She stressed that there were material obstacles in the way of being able to access a good education. Therefore, social and economic reforms were needed. Myrdal wanted to combine and integrate the two extremes.

A year later, she was able to put her theory into practice, as she became director of the National Educational Seminar, which she cofounded in 1936. She personally worked there as a teacher and [[Pedagogy|pedagogue]] by training preschool teachers. Myrdal emphasized the lack of recent educational research in regards to preschool teacher training. Her teaching tried to integrate the new discoveries in child psychology in education. Social studies were also emphasized, as was women's personal development.

With architect [[Sven Markelius]], Myrdal designed Stockholm's cooperative ''Collective House'' in 1937, with an eye towards developing more domestic liberty for women. She was a member of the [[Kommittén för ökad kvinnorepresentation|Committee for Increased Women's Representation]], founded in 1937 to increase women's political representation.<ref name="jr">Rönnbäck, Josefin, '"Utan kvinnor inget folkstyre": en historisk exposé över kampen för ökad kvinnorepresentation i Sverige', Tidskrift för genusvetenskap., 2010:3, s. 61-89, 2010</ref>

In 1938, Alva and Gunnar Myrdal moved to the United States. While in the US, Myrdal published the book ''Nation and Family'' (1941) concerning the Swedish family unit and population policy. During World War II, she also periodically lived in Sweden.

=== Postwar career takeoff ===
A long-time prominent member of the [[Swedish Social Democratic Party]], in the late 1940s she became involved in international issues with the United Nations, appointed to head its section on welfare policy in 1949. From 1950 to 1955 she was chairman of [[UNESCO]]'s social science section—the first woman to hold such prominent positions in the UN. In 1955–1956, she served as a Swedish envoy to New Delhi, India, [[Yangon]], Myanmar and [[Colombo]], Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biografie Alva Myrdal|work=50 Klassiker der Soziologie, Universitat Graz|access-date=22 November 2013|url=http://agso.uni-graz.at/lexikon/klassiker/myrdal/36bio.htm|archive-date=7 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507193100/http://agso.uni-graz.at/lexikon/klassiker/myrdal/36bio.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

From 1951 she had collaborated with British-based sociologist [[Viola Klein]] and in 1958 they co-wrote the book ''Women's Two Roles: Home and Work'', supported by the International Federation of University Women "to make an international survey of the needs for social reforms if women are to be put into a position to reconcile family and professional life".<ref>p. IX.</ref>

In 1962, Myrdal was elected to the [[Riksdag]], and in 1962 she was sent as the Swedish delegate to the [[Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament|UN disarmament conference]] in [[Geneva]], a role she kept until 1973. During the negotiations in Geneva, she played an extremely active role, emerging as the leader of the group of [[Non-Aligned Movement|nonaligned]] nations which endeavored to bring pressure to bear on the two superpowers (US and USSR, respectively) to show greater concern for concrete [[disarmament]] measures. Her experiences from the years spent in Geneva found an outlet in her book "The game of disarmament", in which she expresses her disappointment at the reluctance of the US and the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] to disarm.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1982/myrdal-bio.html|title=Nobel Prize Biographical – Alva Myrdal}}</ref>

Myrdal participated in the creation of the [[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]], becoming the first chairman of the governing board in 1966. In 1967 she was also named consultative Cabinet minister for disarmament, an office she held until 1973. Myrdal also wrote the acclaimed book ''The Game of Disarmament,'' originally published in 1976. A vocal supporter of disarmament, Myrdal received the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1982 together with [[Alfonso García Robles]]. In 1983 Myrdal effectively ended the heated controversy over the future of [[Adolf Fredrik's Music School]], "The AF-fight" (Swedish: AF-striden).<ref>{{cite thesis |type=B.A. |url=http://epubl.ltu.se/1402-1773/2006/194/LTU-CUPP-06194-SE.pdf |first=Elisabeth |last=Lutteman |title=Musikklass – ett pedagogiskt spänningsfält |publisher=[[Luleå University of Technology]] |pages=7–8 |year=2006 |issn=1402-1773 |access-date=14 December 2014 |language=sv}}</ref>

Myrdal promoted reforms in child care and later became a government commission on women's work and chair of the Federation of Business and Professional Women.<ref>Myrdal, Alva. (2016). In Helicon (Ed.), ''The Hutchinson unabridged encyclopedia with atlas and weather guide''. Abington, UK: Helicon. Retrieved from http://cordproxy.mnpals.net/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/heliconhe/myrdal_alva/0?institutionId=4015</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Alva and Gunnar Myrdal at desk (edited).jpg|thumb|upright|Alva and Gunnar Myrdal circa 1980]]
In 1924, she married Professor [[Gunnar Myrdal]]. Together they had children [[Jan Myrdal]] (born 1927), [[Sissela Bok]] (born 1934) and Kaj Fölster (born 1936).<ref name="Harnesk (1962), p. 935">{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemarvem/sthlm62/0959.html |editor1-last=Harnesk |editor1-first=Paul |date=1962 |title=Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm |trans-title=Who's Who? 1, Greater Stockholm |edition=2nd |location=Stockholm |publisher=Vem är vem |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|53509}} |page=935}}</ref>

Her grandchildren include [[Hilary Bok]] and [[Stefan Fölster]].

==Death==
She died the day after her 84th birthday.

==Awards and honours==
*West German Peace Prize (1970; jointly with her husband [[Gunnar Myrdal]])<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/>
*[[Wateler Peace Prize]] (1973)<ref name="Price Davis & Selvidge (2016), p. 133"/>
*[[KTH Royal Institute of Technology|Royal Institute of Technology]]'s Great Prize (1975)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kth.se/aktuellt/akademiska-hogtider/fame/kths-stora-pris/samtliga-pristagare-av-kth-s-stora-pris-1.3972 |publisher=[[KTH Royal Institute of Technology]] |title=Samtliga pristagare av KTH:s stora pris |access-date=23 September 2020 |language=sv |archive-date=21 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021024434/https://www.kth.se/aktuellt/akademiska-hogtider/fame/kths-stora-pris/samtliga-pristagare-av-kth-s-stora-pris-1.3972 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[Monismanien Prize]] (1976)<ref name="Price Davis & Selvidge (2016), p. 133"/>
*[[Albert Einstein Peace Prize]] (1980)<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica"/>
*[[Jawaharlal Nehru Award|Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding]] (1981)<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alva-Reimer-Myrdal |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |title=Alva Reimer Myrdal |access-date=23 September 2020}}</ref>
*[[Nobel Peace Prize]] (1982; jointly with [[Alfonso García Robles]])<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1982/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012070902/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1982/index.html |publisher=[[Nobel Foundation]] |title=The Nobel Peace Prize 1982 |access-date=2008-11-12 |archive-date=2008-10-12 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Honorary degrees===
*[[Mount Holyoke College]] (1950)<ref name="Vem är det (1984), p. 785">{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemardet/1985/0785.html |title=Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1985 |trans-title=Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1985 |year=1984 |location=Stockholm |publisher=Norstedt |language=sv |isbn=91-1-843222-0 |id={{SELIBR|3681527}} |page=785}}</ref>
*[[University of Leeds]], Doctor of Letters (1962)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leeds.ac.uk/download/77/honorary_graduates |publisher=[[University of Leeds]] |title=Honorary Graduates 1904–2019 |page=8 |access-date=23 September 2020}}</ref>
*[[University of Edinburgh]] (1964)<ref name="Vem är det (1984), p. 785"/>
*[[Columbia University]], Doctor of Humane Letters (1965)<ref name="Price Davis & Selvidge (2016), p. 133">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H54hCwAAQBAJ&q=%22University+of+East+Anglia%22+%22alva+myrdal%22&pg=PA133 |title=Women Nobel Peace Prize Winners |first1=Anita |last1=Price Davis |first2=Marla J. |last2=Selvidge |year=2016 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |edition=2nd |page=133 |isbn=9780786499175}}</ref>
*[[Temple University]], Doctor of Humane Letters (1968)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.temple.edu/about/history-traditions/honorary-degrees/past-honorary-degree-recipients |publisher=[[Temple University]] |title=Past Honorary Degree Recipients |access-date=23 September 2020}}</ref>
*[[Gustavus Adolphus College]], Doctor of Divinity (1971)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://libguides.gustavus.edu/CAMC097 |publisher=[[Gustavus Adolphus College]] |title=Myrdal, Gunnar. Selected Works by Gunnar Myrdal, 1965-1972. CAMC Collection 97. 1 Hollinger box. |date=14 May 2020 |access-date=23 September 2020}}</ref>
*[[Brandeis University]], Doctor of Laws (19 May 1974)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brandeis.edu/trustees/hdr/recipients.html |publisher=[[Brandeis University]] |title=HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENTS |access-date=23 September 2020}}</ref>
*[[University of Gothenburg]], Doctor of Philosophy (1975)<ref>{{cite book |url=https://medarbetarportalen.gu.se/digitalAssets/1724/1724622_1410942_hd_vid_gu_1907-2007.pdf |last=Olsson |first=Claes-Olof |title=Hedersdoktorer vid Göteborgs universitet under 100 år: 1907-2007 |year=2007 |publisher=University of Gothenburg |location=Gothenburg |language=sv |isbn=9789173603546 |id={{SELIBR|10624901}} |page=72}}</ref>
*[[University of East Anglia]] (1976)<ref name="Vem är det (1984), p. 785"/>
*[[University of Helsinki]] (1980)<ref name="Vem är det (1984), p. 785"/>
*[[University of Oslo]] (1981)<ref name="Vem är det (1984), p. 785"/>
*[[Linköping University]], Doctor of Medicine (1982)<ref name="Vem är det (1984), p. 785"/>

=== Memberships ===
*Member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] (1982)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Alva+Myrdal&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |website=search.amphilsoc.org |publisher=[[American Philosophical Society]] |title=APS Member History |access-date=2022-06-06}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of female Nobel laureates]]
* [[Social engineering (political science)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

*{{cite book |last=Bok |first=Sissela |author-link=Sissela Bok |title=Alva: ett kvinnoliv |year=1987 |publisher=Bonnier |location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=9100474223 |id={{SELIBR|7147538}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Bok |first=Sissela |author-link=Sissela Bok |title=Alva: ett kvinnoliv |edition=New |series=Bonnier pocket, 99-0307595-2 |year=1988 |publisher=Bonnier |location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=9100474843 |id={{SELIBR|7147582}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Bok |first=Sissela |author-link=Sissela Bok |title=Alva Myrdal: a daughter's memoir |series=A [[Merloyd Lawrence Books]]/Radcliffe biography series |year=1991 |publisher=Addison-Wesley |location=Reading, Mass. |isbn=0-201-57086-6 |id={{SELIBR|4705292}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Etzemüller |first=Thomas |translator-last1=Skinner |translator-first1=Alex |title=Alva and Gunnar Myrdal: social engineering in the modern world |year=2014 |publisher=Lexington Books |location=Lanham |isbn=9780739188743 |id={{SELIBR|19433840}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Gröning |first=Lotta |title=Kvinnans plats: min bok om Alva Myrdal |year=2006 |publisher=Bonnier |location=Stockholm |language=sv 
|isbn=9100111341 |id={{SELIBR|10136283}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Hederberg |first=Hans |title=Sanningen, inget annat än sanningen: sex decennier ur Alva & Gunnar Myrdals liv |year=2004 |publisher=Atlantis |location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=9173530026 |id={{SELIBR|9471839}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Hirdman |first=Yvonne |author-link=Yvonne Hirdman |title=Det tänkande hjärtat: boken om Alva Myrdal |year=2006 |publisher=Ordfront |location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=9170372667 |id={{SELIBR|10141468}}}}
*{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/alvamyrdalpassio00hird |url-access=registration |last=Hirdman |first=Yvonne |author-link=Yvonne Hirdman |title=Alva Myrdal: the passionate mind |year=2008 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington IN |isbn=9780253351326 |id={{SELIBR|10703302}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Lindholm |first=Margareta |title=Elin Wägner och Alva Myrdal: en dialog om kvinnorna och samhället |edition=1st |year=1992 |publisher=Anamma |location=Gothenburg |language=sv |isbn=9187894017 |id={{SELIBR|8381198}}}}
*{{cite book |last1=Lindskog |first1=Lars G. |last2=Myrdal |first2=Alva |title=Alva Myrdal: "Förnuftet måste segra!" |year=1981 |publisher=Sveriges radio
|location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=915221608X |id={{SELIBR|7409602}}}}
*{{cite book |last1=Lindskog |first1=Lars G. |last2=Myrdal |first2=Alva |title=Alva Myrdal: "Förnuftet måste segra!" |edition=2nd |year=1986 |publisher=Sveriges radio |location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=9152216535 |id={{SELIBR|7409624}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Mral |first=Brigitte |title="Den nya kvinnan": Alva Myrdal och medierna på 30-talet |series=Arbetarrörelsen och språket, 99-1326861-3; 1994:3 |year=1994 |publisher=Univ. Litteraturvetenskapliga institutionen. Avd. för retorik |location=Uppsala |language=sv |isbn=9188300331 |id={{SELIBR|7770477}}}}
*{{cite book |last1=Myrdal |first1=Alva |last2=Buttimer |first2=Anne |title=Alva Myrdal: former Swedish Cabinet minister, ambassador, and member of Parliament |series=Transcript series / Dialogue Project, 99-0834765-9; C 3 |year=1984 |publisher=Dialogue project |location=Lund |id={{SELIBR|2179900}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Nilsson |first=Jan Olof |title=Alva Myrdal: en virvel i den moderna strömmen |series=Kulturhistoriskt/Kulturvetenskapligt bibliotek |year=1994 |publisher=B. Östlings bokförl. Symposion |location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=9171392165 |id={{SELIBR|7607522}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Terling |first=Barbro |title=Alva Myrdal: kommenterad bibliografi : 1932–1961 |trans-title=Alva Myrdal : an annotated bibliography : 1932–1961 |year=1987 |publisher=Alva och Gunnar Myrdals stift. |location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=9187396092 |id={{SELIBR|7764484}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Vinterhed |first=Kerstin |title=Kärlek i tjugonde seklet: en biografi över Alva och Gunnar Myrdal |year=2003 |publisher=Atlas |location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=9173891061 |id={{SELIBR|8888148}}}}
*{{cite book |last1=Åkerman |first1=Brita |last2=Pehrsson |first2=Kajsa |title=Alva Myrdal: från storbarnkammare till fredspris |year=1997 |publisher=Cordia
|location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=9170851867 |id={{SELIBR|7600087}}}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Alva Myrdal}}
*{{Nobelprize}}
*{{OL author}}
* [https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=8622&forceOrdinarySite=true Alva Myrdal] at ''[[Svenskt biografiskt lexikon]]'' {{lang in|sv}}
* {{SKBL | name=Alva Myrdal}}

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{{succession box |before=Per Wijkman |title=[[List of ambassadors of Sweden to India|Ambassador of Sweden to India]] |years=1955–1961 |after=[[Klas Böök]]}}
{{succession box |before=None |title=Ambassador of Sweden to Burma |years=1955–1959 |after=[[Tord Hagen]]}}
{{succession box |before=None |title=Ambassador of Sweden to Nepal |years=1960–1961 |after=?}}
{{succession box |before=Per Wijkman |title={{no wrap|Ambassador of Sweden to Sri Lanka}} |years=1960–1961 |after=[[Klas Böök]]}}
{{s-end}}

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[[Category:1902 births]]
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[[Category:Ambassadors of Sweden to Nepal]]
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