Sigvard Marjasin

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Sigvard Marjasin (November 24, 1929 – January 24, 2021) was a Swedish union leader and public official. He led the Swedish Municipal Workers’ Union for about ten years in the late 1970s and 1980s and then served as governor of Örebro County from 1989 to 1994. Born in Örebro, he left school after seven years of primary education and worked many jobs, including courier, butcher’s helper, sailor, and hotel worker, while doing union work. He later earned a Bachelor of Social Services and worked as the administrator of a union night school. He volunteered for Israel in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In the Municipal Workers’ Union, he rose from ombudsman to education secretary and then to union chairman, becoming known for his outspoken, media-friendly style and his opposition to privatizing childcare. As governor, he led the renovation of Örebro Castle in 1992–1993. After leaving office, he chaired the Granskningskommissionen, a council reviewing the Palme assassination investigation, until 1996. In 1996 he faced charges of breach of trust and fraud related to expenses, but was acquitted; the court found he was not accountable. He died of COVID-19 in Örebro at age 91.