Editing Birger Nordholm

{{Infobox person
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| name               = Birger Nordholm
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| image              = File:Birger Nordholm and Arthur Haulot.png
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| caption            = Birger Nordholm and [[Arthur Haulot]] under the slogan "Understanding through travel
is the passport to peace" (''"Travel key to Europe"'' in ''[[This Week (magazine)|This Week]]'' magazine, 1952). 
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| birth_date         = {{birth date|1897|06|25}}
| birth_place        = [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]]
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| death_date         = {{death date and age|1989|11|30|1897|06|25}}
| death_place        = [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], [[North Carolina]], [[United States]]
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| citizenship        = [[United States]]<br />[[Sweden]]
| education          = [[Östra Real]]
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| occupation         = [[Director (business)|Director]]
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'''Birger Joseph Nordholm''' (June 25, 1897 – November 30, 1989), was a [[Swedish-American]] founding [[Director (business)|director]] of the Swedish National Tourist Office in [[New York City]], and the first [[Chairman]] of the [[European Travel Commission]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sjrk.se/PDF_SJRUTL/New_York/SJR_NewYork.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040715/http://sjrk.se/PDF_SJRUTL/New_York/SJR_NewYork.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19491002&id=_PtOAAAAIBAJ&pg=2236,2322647&hl=en|title=Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com}}</ref><ref>[http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper4/Binghamton%20NY%20Press%20Grayscale/Binghamton%20NY%20Press%20Grayscale%201951.pdf/Binghamton%20NY%20Press%20Grayscale%201951%20-%202965.pdf Newspaper clipping. Binghamton NY Press Grayscale 1951] fultonhistory.com</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19570113&id=Kw5SAAAAIBAJ&pg=5799,5790254&hl=en|title=St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.52770/page/n387|title = Sweden Model for a World|year = 1949}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Birger Nordholm was born in 1897 in [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]], and grew up in [[Östermalm]] where he studied at [[Östra Real]].

[[File:GE_Building_by_David_Shankbone.JPG|thumb|Under Birger Nordholm's tenure, the Swedish National Tourist Office was established in the [[Rockefeller Center]] in [[New York City]], [[United States]].]]
{{Blockquote|text="Peace and understanding through travel."|author=Birger Nordholm}}

Birger Nordholm devoted his career to the promotion of [[tourism]] and [[international relations]] between [[Sweden]], the [[United States]] and [[Europe]]. During Nordholm's lifetime, [[tourism in Sweden]] expanded into one of the nation's main revenue source, and Nordholm was a keen promoter of its transatlantic development.

Nordholm initiated and headed the Swedish National Tourist Office 1921–1963, located in the [[Rockefeller Center]] in [[New York City]], United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=VEST19570704.1.5|title=Vestkusten 4 July 1957 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}</ref> He went on to serve as [[Managing Director]] for the [[Swedish State Railways]] Travel Information Agency as well as the [[Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce]] in New York City, and was a lifelong member of the [[Scandinavian Travel Commission]].<ref>LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS JOURNAL NOVEMBER 1934</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/vemardet/1933/0628.html|title=628 (Vem är det : Svensk biografisk handbok / 1933)|website=runeberg.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1_UyWdcqrcC&q=nordholm&pg=PA239|title=Cold War Holidays: American Tourism in France|first=Christopher|last=Endy|date=1 October 2018|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press|isbn=9780807855485|via=Google Books}}</ref>

After [[World War II]], as part of the [[Marshall Plan]], Nordholm was appointed the initial [[Chairman]] (1949–1958) of the [[European Travel Commission]] by [[President of the United States|President]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]. In addition, he was appointed President of the Conference of European Railroad Representatives.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=VEST19541216.2.6&srpos=23&e=-------en--20--21--txt-txIN-birger+nordholm-------1|title = Vestkusten 16 December 1954 — California Digital Newspaper Collection}}</ref>
<ref>[http://etc-corporate.org/uploads//ETC%20History%20Book%20_%20HD.pdf EUROPEAN TRAVEL COMMISSION 1948— 2018]</ref>

{{Blockquote|text="The ETC has come to be definitely recognised as the coordinating agency for all these interests and as such is able to attract other European travel advertising and promotion to support its own efforts and thereby present a vastly larger sales story to the American public than is possible with ETC funds alone."|author=Birger Nordholm}}

Following the simplification of visa regulations, customs procedures, and other formalities, as expressed in a 1952 edition of the ''[[This Week (magazine)|This Week]]'' magazine, Birger Nordholm together with [[Arthur Haulot]] foregrounded the "purposeful" and "educational" dimension of "a new type of tourism" that would be "the foundation of lasting peace".<ref>Travel Key to Europe (New York: This Week Magazine, 1952), pp.6–7</ref> This would eventually contribute to the development of the [[OECD]] Tourism Committee.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://etc-corporate.org/70-years/|title = 70 Years of ETC}}</ref>

Nordholm's residences in New York City and [[Weston, Connecticut|Weston]], [[Connecticut]], would become centers of international festivities, including annual [[Midsummer]] celebrations held at his [[country house]] "Tuckaway", attended by [[ambassador]]s, [[Consular assistance|consular heads]], the [[News media|press]], [[Miss Sweden]] and other dignitaries, as well as friends and neighbours, and Nordholm became a well-known international speaker.<ref>''[[The New York Times]]''</ref><ref>''[[The Westport Town Crier]]''</ref><ref>''[[Dagens Nyheter]]''</ref>

He died in 1989 in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], [[Wake County, North Carolina|Wake County]], [[North Carolina]], [[United States]], with ashes buried at his [[country house]] "Tuckaway" in [[Connecticut]].

== Charities ==
[[File:Östra Reals gymnasium.jpg|thumb|[[Östra Real]] (2011) in [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]].]]
Birger Nordholm promoted [[philanthropy]] to various international [[charitable organization|charities]], such as to the [[humanitarian aid]] organization [[Finnish Relief Fund]] with purpose to [[Foreign support of Finland in the Winter War|assist]] [[civilians]] of [[Finland]] during the [[Winter War]] of [[World War II]].<ref>[http://pdf.oac.cdlib.org/pdf/hoover/finrelfu.pdf Hoover]cdlib.org {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092650/http://pdf.oac.cdlib.org/pdf/hoover/finrelfu.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }}</ref> He assisted cultural institutions such as the [[American Museum of Natural History]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://lbry-web-003.amnh.org/museum/annual_reports/source/R1924.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2019-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926003221/http://lbry-web-003.amnh.org/museum/annual_reports/source/R1924.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and was a member of the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm/ref/collection/npu_sahq/id/2934|title=Members of the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society :: Swedish-American Historical Quarterly (North Park University)|website=collections.carli.illinois.edu}}</ref> and the American Swedish Historical Foundation behind the [[American Swedish Historical Museum]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gQoA9nmqEF8C&q=American+Swedish+Historical+Museum+birger+nordholm&pg=PA113|title=American Swedish Historical Museum: Yearbook 1947|publisher=American Swedish Hist Museum|isbn=9781437950038|via=Google Books}}</ref>

Nordholm was also a "Founding Father" and "skålleage" of the North American [[charter]] of the [[Skål International]] in New York City on 1 April 1938, with the objective to "develop true friendship and common purpose among members of the [[tourist industry]]; through tourism, to promote mutual understanding and foster goodwill between the peoples of the world."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nyskal.com/our-history/|title=Our History - NY SKAL -|publisher=}}</ref>

The ''Birger Nordholm Foundation'' ([[Swedish language|Swedish]]: ''Birger Nordholms stiftelse'') was posthumously established at his former [[secondary school]] [[Östra Real]] in Östermalm, Stockholm. Maintained by the Alumni Association of the school of which Nordholm was a lifelong member, it awards students who have "demonstrated a good and exemplary companionship or else by significant efforts have shown great interest in the school and its activities."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ostrarealsgymnasium.stockholm.se/sites/default/files/vor_282003.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-11-14 |archive-date=2015-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117063754/http://ostrarealsgymnasium.stockholm.se/sites/default/files/vor_282003.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Distinctions ==
* {{Flagicon|Sweden}} [[Knight]] of the [[Order of the Polar Star]] (1952)
* {{Flagicon|Sweden}} Knight 1st class of the [[Order of Vasa]] (1939)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=VEST19390511.2.11&srpos=17&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-birger+nordholm-------1|title = Vestkusten 11 May 1939 — California Digital Newspaper Collection}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon|Denmark}} Knight of the [[Order of the Dannebrog]] (1955)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=VEST19550825.2.5&srpos=1&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-birger+nordholm-------1|title=Vestkusten 25 August 1955 — California Digital Newspaper Collection}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon|Finland}} Knight of the [[Order of the White Rose of Finland]]
* {{Flagicon|France}} [[National Order of Merit (France)|Order of Merit of Tourism]] (1959)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=VEST19590723.2.47&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1|title = Vestkusten 23 July 1959 — California Digital Newspaper Collection}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon|Norway}} [[St. Olav's Medal]]
* {{Flagicon|New York City}} [[Key to the City]] of [[New York City]] (1987)
* {{Flagicon|Connecticut}} Nordholm Drive, road to his country house in [[Weston, Connecticut|Weston]], [[Connecticut]] (1950s)

== External links ==
* [http://www.etc-corporate.org European Travel Commission] 
* [http://www.saccny.org Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordholm, Birger}}
[[Category:1897 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Swedish businesspeople]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Stockholm]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from New York City]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Connecticut]]
[[Category:People from Weston, Connecticut]]
[[Category:20th-century American philanthropists]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:American transportation businesspeople]]
[[Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople]]
[[Category:Swedish emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:American chief executives of travel and tourism industry companies]]
[[Category:American chief operating officers]]
[[Category:American railroad executives]]
[[Category:20th-century Swedish civil servants]]
[[Category:Chairpersons of non-governmental organizations]]
[[Category:Swedish public relations people]]
[[Category:20th-century Swedish philanthropists]]
[[Category:Tourism in Sweden]]
[[Category:Knights of the Order of the Polar Star]]
[[Category:Knights of the Order of Vasa]]
[[Category:Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog]]
[[Category:Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal]]