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In Memoriam: Dr. Sigvard Eklund

In Memoriam: Dr. Sigvard Eklund

Dr. Eklund

Sigvard Eklund

Dr. Sigvard Eklund, a distinguished Swedish scientist, was first appointed IAEA Director General in 1961. He was reappointed four more times in 1965, 1969, 1974 and 1977, holding the post for twenty consecutive years until he retired and was named Director General Emeritus. During his tenure the main scientific and technical programmes, including supporting research and analytical laboratories, were established and developed.

Sigvard Arne Eklund was born in 1911 in Kiruna, Sweden. In 1937, he was named assistant scientist at the Nobel Institute of Physics. He obtained his Master of Science in 1936 and Doctorate of Science in 1946 from Uppsala University. In the meantime, he was promoted to senior scientist and remained with the Nobel Institute until 1945. Following his studies, Mr. Eklund served as a Senior Scientist for the Research Institute for National Defence in Stockholm. For ten years, from 1946 to 1956, he served as Assistant Professor of Nuclear Physics at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. During the 1950s, he was the Deputy to the Managing Director of AB Atomenergi, and Director of the Reactor Development Division at AB Atomenergi. From 1957, he served as Director of Research at the Swedish Atomic Energy Company (AB Atomenergi, Stockholm).

Prior to his appointment as IAEA Director General, Mr. Eklund was elected the Secretary General for the Second International United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy held in 1957.

During his tenure, Director General Eklund's major accomplishments included an agreement with the IAEA laboratories in Monaco, expanding the scope of its research to study the effects of radioactivity on life in the sea, as well as the expansion of the IAEA's laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria. After his long service with the Agency, Mr. Eklund retired to become Director General Emeritus, residing in Vienna, Austria until he passed away in 2000.

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