Editing Swedish Academy (section)

== History ==
[[File:Swedish Academy logo.svg|thumb|right|Official logo of the academy]]
[[File:Svenska akademin 20181006 04.jpg|thumb]]
The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King [[Gustav III of Sweden|Gustav III]]. Modelled after the [[Académie française]], it has 18 members. It is said that Gustaf III originally intended there to be twenty members, half the number of those in the French Academy, but eventually decided on eighteen because the Swedish expression ''De Aderton'' – 'The Eighteen' – had such a fine solemn ring.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://litteraturbanken.se/presentationer/specialomraden/SvenskaAkademien.html | title=Litteraturbanken &#124; Svenska klassiker som e-bok och epub }}</ref> The academy's motto is "Talent and Taste" (''"Snille och Smak"'' in Swedish). The academy's primary purpose is to further the "purity, strength, and sublimity of the [[Swedish language]]" (''"Svenska Språkets renhet, styrka och höghet''") (Walshe, 1965).

The building now known as the [[Stockholm Stock Exchange Building]] was built for the bourgeoisie. The bottom floor was used as a trading exchange (this later became the stock exchange), and the upper floor was used for balls, New Year's Eve parties, etc. When the academy was founded, the ballroom was the biggest room in Stockholm that could be heated and thus used in the winter, so the King asked if he could borrow it.

The academy has had its annual meeting there every year since, attended by members of the Swedish royal family.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kungahuset.se/royalcourt/royalfamily/latestnews/2011/2011/royalattendanceattheformalgatheringoftheswedishacademy.5.70e7de59130bc8da54e800014792.html |title=Royal attendance at the formal gathering of the Swedish Academy |website=Kungahuset.se |publisher=Swedish Royal Court |year=2011 |access-date=10 August 2017}}</ref> However, it was not until 1914 that the academy gained permanent use of the upper floor as their own. It is here that the academy meets and, among other business, announces the names of Nobel Prize laureates. This task arguably makes the academy one of the world's most influential literary bodies.

The Swedish King is the only person who, apart from the members, has the right to attend the meetings of the academy. On 3 March 2022 the Swedish King attended a weekly academy meeting, the first time a Swedish king has done so in over 200 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dn.se/kultur/kungen-dok-upp-pa-akademiens-mote-det-var-nog-200-ar-sedan-det-intraffade/ |title=Kungen dök upp på Akademiens möte: "Det var nog 200 år sedan det inträffade" |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2022-03-07  |website=[[Dagens Nyheter]] |access-date=2022-03-09 |language=Swedish }}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.svenskaakademien.se/press/kungen-deltog-i-sammankomst |title= Kungen deltog i sammankomst |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2022-03-04 |website= Swedish Academy |access-date=2022-03-09 | language=Swedish }}</ref>

===Members===
[[File:GierowOlssonGustavVI.jpg|thumb|Academy members [[Karl Ragnar Gierow]] and [[Henry Olsson]] with the Swedish king [[Gustav VI]], 1966.]] 
Members are elected by a secret ballot in the Academy and before the result is made public it must be submitted to the Academy's Patron, the [[King of Sweden]], for his approval. Members of the Academy include writers, linguists, literary scholars, historians and a prominent jurist. Initially writers were in the minority in the Academy, but during the twentieth century the number of writers grew to represent more than half of The Eighteen. The Swedish Academy have a long history of being a heavily male dominated institution, but the Academy has recently moved towards better equality. Since 20 December 2019 one third of the chairs belong to female Academy members.<ref>[https://www.svenskaakademien.se/en/the-academy The Academy] Swedish Academy</ref>

Prior to 2018 it was not possible for members of the academy to resign; membership was for life, although the academy could decide to exclude members. This happened twice to [[Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt]], who was excluded in 1794, re-elected in 1805 and excluded again in 1811. In 1989, members [[Kerstin Ekman]] and [[Lars Gyllensten]] chose to stop participating in the meetings of the academy, over its refusal to express support for [[Salman Rushdie]] when [[The Satanic Verses controversy|Ayatollah Khomeini condemned him to death for ''The Satanic Verses'']],<ref name="upi">{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/03/13/Two-Swedish-Academy-members-resign-over-Rushdie-affair/3078605768400/ |title=Two Swedish Academy members resign over Rushdie affair |author=Burman, Pal |date=13 March 1989 |publisher=UPI }}</ref> shortly after a third member, [[Werner Aspenström]], also stopped participating in the meetings for unspecified reasons. In 2005, [[Knut Ahnlund]] made the same decision, as a protest against the choice of [[Elfriede Jelinek]] as Nobel laureate for 2004.<ref name=bbcref2>{{Cite news | title=Nobel Judge Steps Down in Protest |work=BBC News | publisher=BBC | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4329962.stm |date=11 October 2005 | access-date=13 October 2007}}</ref><ref name=msnbc1>[[Associated Press]], [https://www.today.com/popculture/who-deserves-nobel-prize-judges-don-t-agree-wbna9665122 "Who Deserves Nobel Prize? Judges Don't Agree"], [[MSNBC]], 11 October 2005. Retrieved 13 October 2007.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/12/books.booksnews|title=Nobel winner's work is violent porn, says juror|last=Harding|first=Luke|date=12 October 2005|work=The Guardian|access-date=24 August 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> On 25 November 2017, [[Lotta Lotass]] said in an interview that she had not participated in the meetings of the academy for more than two years and did not consider herself a member any more.<ref>[http://www.bt.se/kultur/darfor-lamnade-lotta-lotass-svenska-akademien/ Därför lämnade Lotta Lotass Svenska Akademien], 25 November 2017.</ref>

===Assets===
[[File:Backåkra.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Dag Hammarskjöld]]'s farm in [[Backåkra]], used as a retreat for academy members ]]
[[Dag Hammarskjöld]]'s former farm at [[Backåkra]], close to [[Ystad]] in southern Sweden, was bought in 1957 as a summer residence by Hammarskjöld, then Secretary-General of the United Nations (1953–1961). The south wing of the farm is reserved as a summer retreat for the 18 members of the Swedish Academy, of which Hammarskjöld was a member.

On 11 April 2019, the academy published its [[financial statement]]s for the first time in its history.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.svenskaakademien.se/press/svenska-akademiens-verksamhetsberattelse-for-2018 |title=Svenska Akademiens verksamhetsberättelse för 2018 |language=sv |date=11 April 2019}}</ref> According to it, the academy owned financial assets worth 1.58&nbsp;billion [[Swedish krona|Swedish kronor]] at the end of 2018 (equal to $170M, €150M, or £130M).

===Controversies===
==== 1794-1795 Armfelt conspiracy and suspension of the Academy ====
{{Main|Armfelt conspiracy}}
In the wake of the Academy's founder King [[Gustav III]]'s death in 1792, the standing of the Swedish Academy deteriorated. In 1794, member [[Gustav Mauritz Armfelt]] was excluded from the Academy after being sentenced for [[treason]] for a conspiracy against the Swedish government,<ref name="gma">{{cite web|url=https://litteraturbanken.se/f%C3%B6rfattare/ArmfeltGM |title=Gustav Mauritz Armfelt |publisher=Litteraturbanken |lang=Swedish }}</ref> and in 1795 the Academy was suspended altogether for two years on political grounds.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.svenskaakademien.se/en/the-academy/history |title=Historical Overview |publisher=Svenska Akademien}}</ref> Armfelt was eventually reinstated in the Academy in 1805, but after being forced to exile in Russia following the [[coup of 1809]], he was again excluded from the Academy in 1811.<ref name="gma" />

==== 1881 Henning Hamilton affair ====
In 1881, member [[Henning Hamilton]] was excluded from the Academy after being found guilty of [[embezzlement]] through falsifying a relative's signature.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/sfubon/9/0181.html |title=IX. Den sociala och kulturella utvecklingen från Oskar I:s tid till våra dagar samt De politiska förhållandena under Karl XV:s, Oscar II:s och Gustaf V:s regering 1859-1923 |author=Carl Grönberg |publisher= Projekt Runeberg }}</ref>

==== 1989 Rushdie affair ====
Following the Academy meeting on 23 February 1989, members [[Kerstin Ekman]] and [[Lars Gyllensten]] resigned from their seats in protest to the Academy's refusal to condemn Iran's death decree against writer [[Salman Rushdie]] for his novel ''[[The Satanic Verses]]'', which was considered blasphemous by Moslems.<ref name="upi" /> "I am so disappointed and sad that the Academy couldn't choose sides for or against Rushdie," Ekman said. "The academy should have supported Rushdie, it is a question of freedom of speech." Gyllensten said: "Death threats and oppression from Iranian fundamentalists are violations of everything the Academy stands for."<ref name="upi" /> Shortly after, a third member, [[Werner Aspenström]], also left his seat. Aspenström did not reveal his reasons for resigning but indicated support for a stronger statement by the Academy on the Rushdie case.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-26-mn-22408-story.html |title=Werner Aspenstrom; Swedish Poet Who Quit Nobel Group |date=26 January 1997 |publisher=Los Angeles Times }}</ref> At the time it was not possible for a member to formally resign and be replaced, as they were elected for life, so the number of Academy members were reduced following the controversy.<ref name="upi" /> 

The Academy's decision to stay with its traditional policy not to make any political statements in an effort to avoid any accusations of a politicization of the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] was heavily criticized by various commentators in the Swedish press.<ref name="upi" />

In March 2016, the Swedish Academy condemned the death warrant against Salman Rushdie.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.svenskaakademien.se/en/press/press-release-from-the-swedish-academy |title=Press release from the Swedish Academy |date=24 March 2016 |publisher=Swedish Academy }}</ref>

==== 2018 controversies ====
[[File:Katarina Frostenson fra Sverige, nomineret til Nordisk Rads litteraturpris 2012 til litteraturarrangement hos Kulturkontakt Nord i Finland (cropped).jpg|200px|thumb|right|Katarina Frostenson (Seat 18) was accused of leaking classified information from the Nobel Committee's deliberations, and her husband accused of sexual assaults and harassments.]]
In April 2018, three Swedish Academy members ([[Klas Östergren]], [[Kjell Espmark]], and [[Peter Englund]]) resigned in response to a sexual-misconduct investigation involving author [[Jean-Claude Arnault]], who is married to the member [[Katarina Frostenson]].<ref name=canderson>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/world/europe/sara-danius-swedish-nobel-scandal.html |title=In Nobel Scandal, a Man Is Accused of Sexual Misconduct. A Woman Takes the Fall. |work=[[The New York Times]] |author=Christina Anderson |date=12 April 2018 |access-date=13 April 2018}}</ref> Arnault was accused of sexual assault and harassment by at least 18 women. He and his wife were also accused of leaking the names of prize recipients on at least seven occasions so friends could profit from online bets.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/04/opinion/nobel-prize-literature-scandal.html |title=The Nobel Prize for Literature Is a Scandal All by Itself |newspaper=The New York Times |author=Tim Parks |date=4 May 2018 |access-date=5 May 2018}}</ref><ref name=canderson /> He denied all accusations, although he was later convicted of rape and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.<ref name="local">{{cite news |title=Tougher sentence for Jean-Claude Arnault after appeals trial |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20181203/tougher-sentence-for-man-at-centre-of-swedish-academy-scandal-after-appeals-trial |access-date=3 December 2018 |work=[[The Local]] |issue=3 December 2018 }}</ref><ref name="expressen">{{cite news |last1=Malmgren |first1=Kim |last2=Wikström |first2=Mattis |title=Jean-Claude Arnault döms till två års fängelse |trans-title=Jean-Claude Arnault sentenced to two years in prison|url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/brottscentralen/nu-faller-valdtaktsdomen-mot-jean-claude-arnault/ |access-date=1 October 2018 |newspaper=[[Expressen]] |date=1 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="NYTApril20">{{cite news |last1=Andersson|first1=Christina|title=Nobel Panel Admits Inquiry Found Sexual Misconduct, but Nothing Illegal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/world/europe/sweden-nobel-panel-sexual-misconduct.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=20 April 2018}}</ref>  [[Sara Danius]], the permanent secretary, hired a law firm to investigate if Frostenson had violated the Academy's regulations by leaking any confidential information and whether Arnault had any influence on the Academy, but no legal action was taken. The investigation caused a division among the members of the Academy. Following a vote to stop Frostenson's membership, the three members resigned in protest over the decisions made by the Academy.<ref name=canderson /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/world/europe/sexual-misconduct-claim-spurs-nobel-members-to-step-aside-in-protest.html |title=Sexual Misconduct Claim Spurs Nobel Members to Step Aside in Protest |newspaper=The New York Times |agency=Reuters |date=6 April 2018 |access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref> Two former permanent secretaries, [[Sture Allén]] and [[Horace Engdahl]], called Danius a weak leader.<ref name=canderson />

On 10 April, Danius was requested to resign from her position by the Academy, bringing the number of empty seats to four.<ref name="di">{{cite news |last1=Åkerman |first1=Felicia |title=Sara Danius lämnar Svenska Akademien|trans-title=Sara Danius leaves the Swedeish Academy |url=https://www.di.se/nyheter/sara-danius-lamnar-svenska-akademien/ |access-date=4 May 2018 |newspaper=[[Dagens Industri]] |date=12 April 2018}}</ref> Although the Academy voted against removing Katarina Frostenson from the committee,<ref>{{cite web | author = Christopher Hooton | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/nobel-prize-for-literature-2018-no-award-postponed-cancelled-sexual-misconduct-swedish-academy-a8335716.html | title = Nobel Prize in Literature will not be awarded this year after sex abuse allegations | language = en | website = The Independent | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180504101414/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/nobel-prize-for-literature-2018-no-award-postponed-cancelled-sexual-misconduct-swedish-academy-a8335716.html | archive-date = 4 May 2018 | url-status=live| date = 4 May 2018 }}</ref> she voluntarily agreed to withdraw from participating in the academy, bringing the total of withdrawals to five. Because two other seats were still vacant from the [[Satanic Verses controversy|Rushdie affair]], this left only 11 active members. On 4 May 2018, the Swedish Academy announced that the selection would be postponed until 2019, when two laureates would be chosen. It was still technically possible to choose a 2018 laureate, as only eight active members are required to choose a recipient. However, there were concerns that the academy was not in any condition to credibly present the award.<ref name="nobelBBC">{{cite news |title=Nobel Prize for Literature postponed amid Swedish Academy turmoil |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43999240 |access-date=4 May 2018 |date=4 May 2018 |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref name="akademi2018">{{cite web|last1=Press release |title=Svenska Akademien skjuter upp 2018 års Nobelpris i litteratur |url=http://www.svenskaakademien.se/press/svenska-akademien-skjuter-upp-2018-ars-nobelpris-i-litteratur |website=Svenska Akademin |publisher=[[Swedish Academy]] |access-date=4 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="krisen">{{cite news |last=Wixe |first=Susanne |title=Detta har hänt: Krisen i Svenska Akademien – på 3 minuter|trans-title=Previously: The crisis in the Swedish Academy in 3 minutes|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/yvb9We|access-date=4 May 2018 |newspaper=Aftonbladet |date=10 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/europe/nobel-prize-literature.html |title=Why There Won't Be a Nobel Prize in Literature This Year |author1=Christina Anderson|author2=Palko Karasz |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2 May 2018}}</ref>

The scandal was widely seen as damaging to the credibility of the prize and its authority.<ref name=canderson /> As noted by [[Andrew Brown (writer)|Andrew Brown]] in ''[[The Guardian]]'' in a lengthy deconstruction of the scandal: {{blockquote|"The scandal has elements of a tragedy, in which people who set out to serve literature and culture discovered they were only pandering to writers and the people who hang around with them. The pursuit of excellence in art was entangled with the pursuit of social prestige. The academy behaved as if the meals in its clubhouse were as much an accomplishment as the work that got people elected there."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jul/17/the-ugly-scandal-that-cancelled-the-nobel-prize-in-literature |title=The ugly scandal that cancelled the Nobel prize |newspaper=The Guardian |author=Andrew Brown |date=17 July 2018 |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref>}}

King [[Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden#Reign|Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden]] said a reform of the rules may be evaluated, including the introduction of the right to resign in respect of the current lifelong membership of the committee.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-academy-explainer/nobel-prize-awarding-swedish-academy-weighs-reforms-after-controversy-idUSKBN1HK2CG | title = Nobel Prize-awarding Swedish Academy weighs reforms after controversy | work= [[Reuters.com]] | date = 13 April 2018 | location = Stockholm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180413182719/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-academy-explainer/nobel-prize-awarding-swedish-academy-weighs-reforms-after-controversy-idUSKBN1HK2CG | archive-date = 13 April 2018 | url-status=live}}</ref> On 5 March 2019, it was announced that the Nobel Prize in Literature would once again be awarded, and laureates for both 2018 and 2019 would be announced together. The decision came after several changes were made to the structure of the Swedish Academy as well as to the Nobel Committee members selection, to "[restore] trust in the Academy as a prize-awarding institution".<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.nobelprize.org/press/#/publication/5c7e5b45d7332000048d54df/552bd85dccc8e20c00e7f979?&sh=false |title=Nobel Prize in Literature to be awarded again |author=The Nobel Prize |date=5 March 2019 |access-date=16 July 2019}}</ref> On 19 November, the Swedish Academy added five temporary external members to help its five-strong Nobel Committee in their deliberations for the 2019 and 2020 awards: author and literary translator Gun-Britt Sundstrom; publisher Henrik Petersen; and literary critics Mikaela Blomqvist, Rebecka Karde and Kristoffer Leandoer.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gulf-times.com/story/613459/swedish-academy-names-new-jury-members-for-nobel-prize-in-literature|title=Swedish Academy names new jury members for Nobel Prize in literature|date=19 November 2018|access-date=19 November 2018|website=[[Gulf Times]]}}</ref> Just after two weeks, two of the newly added external members, Sundstrom and Leandoer, left the committee, with the latter saying the work to reform the scandal-hit Swedish Academy was taking too long. "I leave my job in the Nobel Committee because I have neither the patience nor the time to wait for the result of the work to change that has been started," Leandoer said.<ref name=reuter>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/nobel-prize-literature-idUSL8N28C2OW|title=Two members leave Nobel literature committee, lamenting slow pace of change|date=2 December 2019|access-date=3 December 2019|website=Reuters.com}}</ref>