14 Facts About Lennart Geijer

Johan Lennart Geijer was a Swedish politician and lawyer.

Lennart Geijer is mainly remembered for his role in the Geijer affair and for being the Minister for Justice who himself negotiated with the robbers and terrorists in the Norrmalmstorg robbery, the aircraft hijacking at Bulltofta and the bombing of the West German embassy.

Lennart Geijer came from a bourgeois family in Ystad, but was radicalized in the early 1930s, when he studied law in Lund and lived with Waldemar Bulow, August Strindberg's old friend.

Lennart Geijer received a Candidate of Law from Lund University in 1933, Licentiate of Laws in 1957 and Juris Doctor in 1958.

Lennart Geijer did his clerkship in Vemmenhogs, Ljunits and Herrestad's hundred judicial district from 1933 to 1935.

Lennart Geijer was the head of Hyresgastforeningen's legal bureau in 1936 and ombudsman at the Swedish Union of Clerical and Technical Employees in Industry from 1939 to 1957 and lawyer at the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees 1957 to 1966.

Lennart Geijer was then minister without portfolio from 1966 to 1969 and Minister of Justice from 1969 to 1976.

Lennart Geijer was known as an independent and liberal and distrusted deeply the imprisonment educational effect.

Lennart Geijer was throughout his time as minister in conflict with the National Police Commissioner Carl Persson, relying rather on Sapo chief Hans Holmer and his press secretary Ebbe Carlsson, a not entirely successful combination.

Lennart Geijer smoothly slipped away from being held responsible for the IB affair and the Hospital spy affair in Gothenburg - instead his ministerial colleague Carl Lidbom was blamed.

Lennart Geijer was Minister of Justice during the aircraft hijacking at Bulltofta in 1972, the Norrmalmstorg robbery in 1973 and the bombing of the West German embassy in 1975, all of which he himself negotiated with the robbers and terrorists.

Lennart Geijer stepped down as Minister of Justice after the Social Democratic election defeat in 1976.

Lennart Geijer was involved in the political scandal known as the Lennart Geijer affair in the 1970s, which involved exploitation of prostitutes organized by the brothel madam Doris Hopp.

In November 1977, just over a year after Lennart Geijer had left his position as Minister of Justice, the existence of the memorandum was revealed by Peter Bratt in Dagens Nyheter.