1961
Left bloc · SDag Hammarskjöld killed in the Congo and Sweden navigates Cold War neutrality.
1961 infographic: UN mission, non-alignment, and television
AI-generated infographic using the page's 1961 anchors.
Highlights
- Hammarskjöld's death: On 18 September 1961 UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia, while mediating the Congo Crisis. He was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize — the only person to receive it posthumously.
- Sweden outside the blocs: Prime Minister Erlander reaffirmed Swedish non-alignment, declining EEC membership and positioning Sweden as an independent voice between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.
- Television goes mainstream: By 1961 TV ownership had spread widely across Sweden, fuelled by the 1958 World Cup broadcasts; SVT expanded programming and began reshaping Swedish public discourse.