Politics took him to the Swedish Parliament in the 1940’s, but illness forced him to retire from politics after ten years of service. He energetically devoted his last dozen years to a number of cultural projects, including work for the National Arts Council and the East Asian Museum. Ake Wiberg was a man whose determination and personality have apparently moved many of those who knew him.

The Ake Wiberg Foundation was created in 1954, and has since then provided resources for scientific research, primarily in medicine and the humanities. The Foundation has also supported children’s causes and youth care activities, as well as teaching and educational matters. The Ake Wiberg Foundation is among Sweden’s twenty largest research-oriented foundations.

Fifty-five years after his death, Ake Wiberg has five grandchildren and over a dozen great-grandchildren in Scandinavia, Europe, USA, and the Caribbean. Most of them do not read Swedish, the language of this original book. This English version is for them.

Mats Larsson, born in 1953, is Professor of Economic History at Uppsala University and manages the Uppsala Center for Business History. He specializes in research concerning business and finance history, and is the author of two books about The Bonnier Corporation. He wrote all text covering the life of Ake Wiberg in 1998.