Alva Myrdal Quotes

Alva Myrdal was a Swedish sociologist and politician. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982. She married Gunnar Myrdal in 1924. She coauthored the book Crisis in the Population Question. The basic premise of Crisis in the Population Question is to find what social reforms are needed to allow for individual liberty while also promoting child-bearing, and encouraging Swedes to have children. With architect Sven Markelius she designed Stockholm's cooperative Collective House in 1937 with an eye towards developing more domestic liberty for women. 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 1962 she was elected to the Swedish parliament, and in 1962 she was sent as the Swedish delegate to the UN disarmament conference in Geneva, a role she kept until 1973. In 1966 she was also named consultative Cabinet minister for disarmament, an office she held until 1973. A vocal supporter of disarmament, she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982 together with Alfonso Garcia Robles. She is the mother of Jan Myrdal, Sissela Bok and Kaj Fölster.