Swedish American of the Year

Swedish American of the Year (SAY) / Årets Svensk Amerikan is an annual award program of the Vasa Order of America which is run by the two Sweden District Lodges - District 19 and District 20.

Origin

Since 1960, the Vasa Order of America has selected a prominent American citizen of Swedish birth or descent to become Swedish-American of the Year. Every year the two Sweden District Lodges of the Vasa Order of America select an American of Swedish descent to be The Swedish-American of the Year.

Swedish American of the Year Awards

The Swedish-American of the Year is honored during Sweden-America Days in various places in Sweden. A tablet containing the names of all award recipients is kept in the Swedish Emigrant Institute (Swedish: Svenska Emigrantinstitutet) in Växjö, Småland, Sweden.[1]

Recipients are honored with a Golden Plaque, a diploma, and their name added to the commemorative Swedish American of the Year tablet, which is kept in Växjö. They are feted with several celebrations in Sweden, including lunch at the Foreign Office, a reception at Stockholm’s City Hall, activities at Skansen, a dinner hosted by Vasa, and (sometimes) a reception at the American Embassy. (Courtesy Swedish American Council of America).

Anyone is welcome to suggest a candidate, also an organization and welcome suggestions of candidates from the USA/Canada. Recipients can be either Swedish or American by birth, but must have made significant contributions to the relationship between the two countries.

The present year recipient of the award is official in March/April.

Award recipients
  • 1960-1979
  • 1960 Rudolf F. Bannow - President of the American Manufacturers' Association
  • 1961 Amandus Johnson - Contributions to Swedish-American history and raising awareness of the 300 year jubilee of the Delaware Valley's New Sweden Colony
  • 1962 Glenn T. Seaborg (*/**) - Chemist and winner of the 1951 Nobel Prize in nuclear chemistry
  • 1963 Elmer Engstrom - President of the Radio Corporation of America
  • 1964 Werner P. Gullander - President of the National Association of Manufacturers
  • 1965 Rudolph A. Peterson (*) - President of Bank of America
  • 1966 G. Hilmer Lundbeck - Executive Directory of the Swedish American Line
  • 1967 Karl W. Hallden - Head of the industrial firm The Hallden Machine Company
  • 1968 Arleigh Albert Burke - Admiral of the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.[2]
  • 1969 Nils William Olsson (*) - Founder and Director of Swedish Council of America
  • 1970 Edwin Aldrin - the second man to walk on the moon.
  • 1971 Gustav Nyselius - Founder of Mount Vernon Die Casting Company
  • 1972 Gerry Rooth - Publisher of Nordstjernan
  • 1973 Eric C. Bellquist - Professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley
  • 1974 Bertil Winström (**) - Past Grand Master of Vasa Order of America and founder of the Vasa National Archives in Bishop Hill, IL
  • 1975 Wendell R. Anderson - Politician, Minnesota Governor 1970
  • 1976 Ewald B. Nyquist - Head of the University of New York State
  • 1977 Roger Tory Peterson - Ornithologist, artist, environmentalist, and author of A Field Guide to the Birds
  • 1978 Robert O. Anderson - Executive Director of Atlantic Richfield Oil Company, Los Angeles
  • 1979 Nils Y. Wessel (*) - President of Tufts University
  • 1980-1999
  • 1980 Signe Karlström (*) - 1st woman to be named Swedish-American of the Year
  • 1981 Curtis L. Carlson (*) - Head of Carlson Companies (a hospitality and travel company)
  • 1982 Russell Peterson - President of the National Audubon Society
  • 1983 J. Erik Jonsson - Founder of Texas Instruments
  • 1984 Gurli Johnson - Worked for the Salvation Army for 17 years and upheld Swedish traditions through services and radio programs
  • 1985 James R. Thompson - Politician, Governor of Illinois and served on the 9/11 Commission
  • 1986 Franklin S. Forsberg - Publisher of the Yank, Stars & Stripes, Liberty, and Popular Mechanics magazines
  • 1987 Alice L. Carlson (*/**) - Grand Lodge Treasurer, Vice Grand Master, Grand Master for Vasa Order of America
  • 1988 H. Arnold Barton - Swedish-American historian, taught at University of Alberta, University of California, Santa Barbara and Southern Illinois University
  • 1989 Signe Hasso - Actress with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • 1990 Oscar A. Lundin (*) - Vice President of General Motors
  • 1991 Nils Hasselmo - President of the University of Minnesota 1988-1997
  • 1992 John N. Nordstrom - Grandson of Nordstrom's founder John W. Nordstrom
  • 1993 William Rehnquist - Chief Justice of the US Supereme Court
  • 1994 Arne H. Carlson - Politician, Minnesota's 37th Governor
  • 1995 Richard E. Oldenburg - Director of the New York Museum of Modern Art
  • 1996 Siri M. Eliason - Started a Scandinavian furniture business and served as the Honorary Consul General in San Francisco
  • 1997 Arnold Lindberg - Disney career as Technical Director at Disneyworld
  • 1998 Glen E. Brolander (*) - Founding force for Swenson Swedish Immigration Center
  • 1999 Rod Johnson - Swedish woodcarving
  • 2000-2011
  • 2000 Helena Hernmarck - Textile artist
  • 2001 Ann-Margret Olsson - Actress, Performer
  • 2002 Lyndon L. Olson Jr. - US Ambassador to Sweden 1998-2001
  • 2003 Marilyn Carlson Nelson - Head of Carlson Companies
  • 2004 Lars Lerup - Architectural design Author, lecturer and exhibitor.
  • 2005 Jeanne Eriksson Widman (**) Founder of the Scandinavian Accordion Club of New York </
  • 2006 Agneta Nilsson (*) - Founder of Swedish Women's Educational Assn. (SWEA)
  • 2007 E. Jan Hartmann (*) - Chair, President and CEO of Ziebart International Corp.
  • 2008 Barbro Osher - Publisher of Vestkusten
  • 2009 Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey (*/**)
  • 2010 John Norton
  • 2011 Kerstin Lane (*) - Founder Swedish American Museum
  • 2012 Ingvar Wikström - Entrepreneur for Swedish food culture
  • 2013 Martina Arfwidson - Founder FACE Stockholm
  • 2014 C. Fred Bergsten
  • 2015 Emily Tepe - Musician
  • 2016 Nils Lofgren - Musician
  • 2017 Jan Eliasson
  • 2018 Bruce Karstadt
  • 2019 Eric Nelson

(* denotes a member of Swedish Council of America's Board of Directors)

(** denotes a member of Vasa Order of America)

Social Media Sites

Visit us on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/Swedish-American-of-the-Year-SAY-%C3%85rets-Svensk-Amerikan-1541578812774541/

Membership

Membership is available through the Local Lodges of Vasa Order of American. Visit www.vasaorder.org to find a local lodge near you.

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References
  1. About the Swedish-American of the year (Information about the Vasa Order of America) Archived 2008-09-22 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Arleigh Burke#Last years

Swedish Americans of the Year

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