10 Facts About Nils Hasselmo

Nils Hasselmo was the thirteenth president of the University of Minnesota, serving from 1988 to 1997.

Nils Hasselmo went on to become the president of the Association of American Universities from 1998 to 2006.

Nils Hasselmo completed undergraduate and graduate degrees in Scandinavian languages and literature at Uppsala University, and did his military service in the Royal Signal Corps, including officer's training.

Nils Hasselmo returned to the University of Minnesota as its 13th president in December 1988.

Nils Hasselmo served as chair of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, the Big Ten Council of Presidents, and the Minnesota Higher Education Advisory Council.

Nils Hasselmo was president of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study and the Swedish-American Historical Society, and chairman of the Swedish Council of America, an umbrella organization with 300 affiliates.

Nils Hasselmo served on the board of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the Universities' Research Association, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the Council on Library and Information Resources, The American-Scandinavian Foundation, and a number of other scholarly, educational, civic, and cultural organizations.

Nils Hasselmo received honors such as the Royal Order of the North Star by the King of Sweden, 1973; King Carl XVI Gustaf's Bicentennial Medal in Gold, 1976; and the Sandburg Medal, 1989; he was selected as Swedish-American of the Year by the Swedish government and the Vasa Order of America in 1991.

Nils Hasselmo died on January 23,2019, after a more than 20-year battle with prostate cancer.

Nils Hasselmo is survived by his second wife, Ann Die Hasselmo, three children, a stepdaughter, nine grandchildren and a great-grandchild.