Alva Myrdal

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Alva Reimer Myrdal (January 31, 1902 – February 1, 1986) received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982. Myrdal was a Swedish diplomat, politician and writer. She married Gunnar Myrdal in 1924.

Born in Uppsala, she first came to public notice in the 1930s, coauthoring a book entitled Crisis in the Population Question and was one of the main driving forces in the creation of the Swedish welfare state. The basic premise of Crisis in the Population Question is to find what social reforms are needed to allow for individual liberty (especially for women) while also promoting child-bearing. While heralding many sweeping social reforms seen as positive for Sweden, the book also incorporated some of the zeitgeist of the 1930s, in its promotion of the idea of positive eugenics. A long-time prominent member of the Social Democrat party of Sweden, in the late 1940s she became involved in international issues with the United Nations, appointed to head its section on welfare policy in 1949 and 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 entered 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 made consultative Cabinet minister for disarmament, which she also held until 1973. It was as a vocal supporter of disarmament that she in 1982 received the Nobel Peace Prize together with Alfonso Garcia Robles.

The relationship between Alva Myrdal and her husband, Gunnar, is debated. As an example, Gunnar Myrdal headed the Population Commission appointed by the Swedish government, her area of expertise, and when he sat in parliament, she wrote most of the bills^[1]. This would suggest that Alva Myrdal at least in part used Gunnar as the tool to drive through her ambitions, something that would be difficult for her as a woman during that time.

She is the mother of Jan Myrdal.