Jan Guillou
Encyclopedia
Jan Oskar Sverre Lucien Henri Guillou (jɑːn ɡɪjuː; born 17 January 1944) is a Swedish
author and journalist. Among his books are a series of spy fiction
novels about a spy named Carl Hamilton
, and a trilogy of historical fiction
novels about a Knight Templar
, Arn Magnusson. He is the owner of one of the largest publishing companies in Sweden, Piratförlaget (Pirate Publishing), together with Liza Marklund
and his common-law wife, publisher Ann-Marie Skarp.
Guillou's fame in Sweden was established during his time as an investigative journalist. In 1973, he and co-reporter Peter Bratt
exposed a secret intelligence organization in Sweden, Informationsbyrån
(IB). He is still active within journalism as a column writer for the Swedish evening tabloid Aftonbladet
.
In October 2009, the tabloid Expressen
accused Guillou of having been active as an agent of the Soviet spy organization KGB
between 1967 and 1972. Jan Guillou confirmed he had a series of contacts with KGB representatives during this period, he also admits to having received payments from KGB, but maintains that his purpose was to collect information for his journalistic work. The accusation was based on documents released from the Swedish Security Service (Säpo
) and interviews with former KGB Colonel Oleg Gordievsky
. In a later trial Expressen denied having accused Guillou of having been a Soviet spy, claiming that this was a false interpretation of its headlines and reporting.
, Stockholm County
, Sweden. His Breton
/French
father, Charles Guillou, came to Sweden as the son of the janitor
at the French embassy in Stockholm
. His mother, Marianne (née Botolfsen) Guillou, is of Norwegian
descent. Guillou acquired French citizenship at birth and became a Swedish citizen in 1975. When Guillou's grandfather was appointed French Ambassador to Helsinki
, Finland
, his father decided to move with him and settled there. Guillou grew up with his mother and her new husband in Saltsjöbaden
and Näsby Park outside of Stockholm.
, theft
and blackmail
. He then went on to study for two years at the Solbacka boarding school
in Södermanland from where he was also expelled. He finished his studentexamen
(upper-secondary final examination) from the boarding school Viggbyholmsskolan, located in Viggbyholm
, in 1964. Guillou has described his upbringing, with the continuous physical abuse from his sadistic
stepfather and the harsh treatment at the Solbacka school, in the semi-autobiographical
novel Ondskan
(1981). His mother, his sister, his teachers and his friends from the Solbacka school have contested his account and called the book a hoax.
commentator, lives in a civil union
with Sandra Andersson, daughter of film director Roy Andersson
.
Today he lives in a common-law marriage with book publisher Ann-Marie Skarp. He has an apartment in the Östermalm district of Stockholm
, where he has lived for most of his adult life. He also has a country residence in Flybo, Östhammar Municipality
, northern Roslagen
, where he lives when he writes his books.
magazine, at which he worked from 1972 until 1977. He currently writes a column for Aftonbladet and also comments occasionally in other news outlets on current events usually taking the left-wing and the Anti-American side, particularly the conflicts in the Middle East
and miscellaneous domestic issues, including the United States
' War on Terrorism
, Israel
i policy towards the Palestinians
, the Swedish Security Service
, Swedish courtroom procedures and public inquiries.
Guillou has served as the host of several television programmes: Magazinet (1981–1984), Rekordmagazinet (last years together with Göran Skytte) and Grabbarna på Fagerhult (together with Pär Lorentzon and Leif G. W. Persson
), all shown on Sveriges Television
.
He co-authored the crime/drama television series Talismanen (TV4, 2003). In the series, Guillou and co-author Henning Mankell
both play the roles of themselves. Guillou also authored and narrated the history documentary series Arns rike (TV4, 2004) and Häxornas tid (TV4, 2005).
, a left-wing magazine, published a series of articles written by Guillou and Peter Bratt
, revealing a Swedish secret intelligence agency called Informationsbyrån
("The Information Bureau" or IB for short). The articles, based on information initially furnished by former IB employee Håkan Isacson, described the IB as a secret organization that gathered information on Swedish communists
and others deemed to be "security risks". The organization operated outside of the framework of the defense and ordinary intelligence, and was invisible in terms of state budget allocations. The articles in Folket i Bild/Kulturfront accused the IB staff of being engaged in alleged murder, break-ins, wiretapping against foreign embassies in Sweden and spying abroad.
The exposure of the IB in the magazine, which included headshots with names and social security numbers of some of the alleged staff published under the headline "Spies", led to a major domestic political scandal known as the "IB affair" (IB-affären). The activities ascribed to this secret outfit and its alleged ties to the Swedish Social Democratic Party
were denied by Prime Minister Olof Palme
, Defense Minister Sven Andersson and the chief of the Swedish defence forces, Stig Synnergren. However, later investigations by various journalists and by a public commissions, as well as autobiographies by the persons involved, have confirmed some of the activities described by Bratt and Guillou. In 2002, the public commission published a 3,000 page report where research about the IB-affair was included.
Guillou, Peter Bratt and Håkan Isacson were all arrested, tried in camera
and convicted of espionage
. According to Bratt, the verdict required some stretching of established judicial practice on the part of the court since none of them were accused of having acted in collusion with a foreign power. After one appeal Guillou's sentence was lessened from one year to 10 months. Guillou and Bratt served part of their sentence in solitary cells
. Guillou was kept first at Långholmen Prison
in central Stockholm and later at Österåker Prison
north of the capital.
representatives. In October 2009 the Swedish news tabloid Expressen
told this story under the headline "Guillou secret agent
for Soviet Union". The Swedish security service Säpo at the time knew of the contacts from Guillou's colleague Arne Lemberg, who suspected the activities could be illegal.
According to Jan Guillou his intention was to expose the KGB espionage journalistically through a scoop based on the activities he was being exposed to and the discussions he had with his KGB contact Jevgenij Gergel. One of the journalists who wrote the articles later commented that he believed Guillou's explanation, ”I do not doubt one word of what he has said”.
Guillou received payment from KGB for written reports on Swedish politics, and Expressen points to this fact when defending its choice to refer to Guillou as a secret agent
”. Former KGB Colonel and defector Sergej Tretjakov characterised Guillou as a "classic agent". "Because he accepted money and, worst of all, signed receipts, there's no question about it. The handling of him could be a schoolbook example at the KGB school in Moscow". Espionage prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand wrote to PON that "Agent and spy
are not synonymous ideas .... an agent does not have to commit acts of espionage. An agent can perform assignments for his handler without crossing the line to what is prosecutable."
Säpo at the time was skeptical towards Lemberg's report and commented that it found nothing illegal in a newspaper man writing an article based on public information and delivering it to Jevgenij Gergel. The statute of limitation prevents new charges from being filed today.
The public Ombudsman
of the Swedish Press, Yrsa Stenius, later concluded that Expressens presentation of facts had been an example of irresponsible journalism. According to her, Expressen had not backed up its frontpage assertion, that "Jan Guillou [was a] Secret Soviet Agent", despite the fact that this had caused "massive" damage to Guillou's reputation. Stenius's conclusion caused controversy, and a number of newspaper editorialist demanded that she resign her post.
On 1 June 2010 The Swedish Press Council [PON] acquitted Expressen of wrongdoing. Expressen denies having claimed that Guillou was guilty of the crime of ”espionage
”, and PON agrees. The frontpage and headline assertions (”Guillou Secret Soviet Agent”, ”Confesses KGB mission”, ”Recruited by chief of espionage”) according to PON ”do not have well defined meanings”. PON was also satisfied that the factual details of the story were fully covered in the text of the articles which also included Guillou's own account of the events.
Clarté
association. He was also a member of the Communist Party of Sweden (formerly known as the Communist League Marxists-Leninists), a minor Maoist party active mainly during the 1970s, for six months until he was expelled for refusing to pay the monthly member fee while he was living abroad. Today, he no longer considers himself a Communist or a Maoist, but describes himself as "socialist
" with a position on the political spectrum
"to the left of the Left Party" (a Swedish party formerly known as the "Left Party Communists").
, and he has over the years consistently criticized Israel
. In 1976, he wrote, "Zionism
is in its foundation racist
because the state of Israel is built upon an apartheid system, exactly like South Africa". He has repeatedly taken the stance that Israel is an "apartheid state". In an article published in Svenska Dagbladet
in 1977, Guillou wrote, "I'm an optimist, I believe that Israel will cease to exist prior to Armageddon
".
The book Irak – det nya Arabien (Iraq – The New Arabia), written by Guillou and his then-wife Marina Stagh, was published in 1977. In the book, which deals with Iraq under the Baath Party
before Saddam Hussein's presidency, it is argued that the "European idea of Iraq as a particularly violent country" is simply "a blend of political propaganda and racist fantasies" (p. 91). Guillou and Stagh did the research for the book in 1975 and they assert that, at this time, "the Baath regime is clearly popular and among the most stable in the Arab World
" (pp. 168–169), the freedom of the press
enjoyed in Irak was more extensive than in most other countries in the world (p. 239) and it would come as no surprise to the authors if "well before the year 2000, Iraq will have surpassed European countries in living standards
" (p. 174).
The conditions at the Abu Ghraib prison
, which Guillou claims to have visited as the first Western journalist, are described as excellent and even "better than Swedish prisons" (pp. 249–250). The book was published two years before Saddam Hussein became President of Iraq in 1979. In his 2009 autobiography, Ordets makt och vanmakt (The Power and Powerlessness of the Word), Guillou states that quotes such as the ones cited could be considered true back then. He does however also write that Saddam Hussein, who at the time of publishing was the vice-president under President Ahmed Hassan Al Bakr, was the actual leader of Iraq.
, Guillou caused controversy when he walked out of the Göteborg Book Fair
in the midst of the three minutes of silence
observed throughout Europe to honour the victims of the attacks. In an article in Aftonbladet
, Guillou argued that the event was an act of hypocrisy, stating that "the U.S. is the great mass murderer of our time. The wars against Vietnam and its nearby countries alone claimed
four million lives. Without a minute of silence in Sweden". He also criticised those who said that the attacks were "an attack on us all" by stating that the attacks were only "an attack on U.S. imperialism".
He labeled the media's reaction to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
and the measures taken to avoid havoc at the airports unnecessary since the suspects had already been caught. He argued that the media coverage was sensationalist and driven by profit considerations, and that the British government used the occasion to give an impression of success in the War on Terror
ism. Pointing out that no explosives had been found, he wrote in a column headlined "Don't believe anything written about al-Qaida" that the reactions had resulted in a victimization of the Muslim community.
and the resulting prison sentence for espionage
in 1973, Guillou has been a strong critic of the Swedish Security Service. According to Guillou, the Security Service has listed him as a terrorist
, which has led to problems with security officials when visiting other countries.
In recent years, Guillou has repeatedly criticised some people and groups within the Swedish radical feminist
movement. However, he rejects being called an "antifeminist
".
Guillou has also attracted controversy over his views on homosexuality
. He has said that "homosexuality is more of a vogue phenomenon than something you're born into. It's something that has come and gone through history" and that "homosexuality didn't exist in the 17th century".
. Guillou's fictional hero was originally drafted and trained to become an attack diver, but was later chosen for special training in California to become a U.S. Navy SEAL. He has a leftist background and was dubbed Coq Rouge by one of his superiors while he was temporarily working for the security police forces (Säkerhetspolisen). The first Coq Rouge
novel came to be followed by another eleven books.
Several characters in the books are based on actual people. Jan Guillou himself is the basis of a character named Erik Ponti, which is also the name Guillou uses in the autobiographical novel Ondskan (literally: The Evil).
The Coq Rouge novels
A partial draft of an eleventh novel, along with Guillou's account on why it could not be completed, was published as Hamlon in 1995. Guillou stated that En medborgare höjd över varje misstanke was the last book and in order to make sure that Hamilton would never return, Guillou "banished" him from Sweden through a life sentence. Since he only intended to write about Sweden, no other book would be possible. However, when he was working on Madame Terror, he realised that he needed Hamilton to fill in a specific role. After Hamilton had been revived as a character, he made another major appearance in Men inte om det gäller din dotter, where his life sentence was lifted. Guillou thereby cleared the way for new appearances by Hamilton in future books.
Film and TV adaptations based on Hamilton
about Arn Magnusson, a fictional Swedish character from the Middle Ages forced to become a Knight Templar
. The series is an account of the life of Arn Magnusson, a fictional character who becomes a witness as well as a catalyst to many important historical events, both in his homeland of Sweden and in the crusades against the Middle East.
The trilogy, dubbed the Crusades trilogy, consists of the following books:
Guillou also wrote a follow-up novel about Birger Jarl
, founder of Stockholm, entitled The Heritage of Arn
(Arvet efter Arn, 2001). In Guillou's fictional universe, Birger Jarl is the grandson of Arn Magnusson.
book about his school years, Ondskan (1981), which also became a film, Evil (2003). The movie was nominated for an Academy Award
in 2003. Guillou, still listed as a terrorist by the USA, was unable to attend. He managed to get a visa, but it was linked to attending the Academy Award ceremony and he was unable to get a ticket. The director Mikael Håfström
gave his ticket to his spouse. Research into the background to the book proved it to be not autobiographical at all but mostly disingenuous fiction.
Guillou was also chairman of the Swedish Publicists' Association
(Publicistklubben) from 2000 to 2004.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
author and journalist. Among his books are a series of spy fiction
Spy fiction
Spy fiction, literature concerning the forms of espionage, was a sub-genre derived from the novel during the nineteenth century, which then evolved into a discrete genre before the First World War , when governments established modern intelligence agencies in the early twentieth century...
novels about a spy named Carl Hamilton
Carl Hamilton (fictional character)
Count Carl Hamilton is a fictional spy created by Jan Guillou and appearing in a number of Guillou's spy novels, as well as film and TV adaptations.-Hamilton's life:...
, and a trilogy of historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
novels about a Knight Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, Arn Magnusson. He is the owner of one of the largest publishing companies in Sweden, Piratförlaget (Pirate Publishing), together with Liza Marklund
Liza Marklund
Eva Elisabeth "Liza" Marklund is a Swedish journalist and crime writer. She was born in Pålmark near Piteå, Norrbotten. Her novels, most of which feature the fictional character Annika Bengtzon, a newspaper journalist, have been published in thirty languages...
and his common-law wife, publisher Ann-Marie Skarp.
Guillou's fame in Sweden was established during his time as an investigative journalist. In 1973, he and co-reporter Peter Bratt
Peter Bratt
Peter Bratt is a Swedish journalist. For many years he worked for the national Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter until he stopped there in 2003. Through he career he has written many critical texts on the Swedish Social Democratic Party....
exposed a secret intelligence organization in Sweden, Informationsbyrån
Informationsbyrån
IB was a secret Swedish intelligence agency within the Swedish Armed Forces. Its two main purposes were to handle liaison with foreign intelligence agencies and to gather information about communists and other individuals who were perceived to be a threat to the nation...
(IB). He is still active within journalism as a column writer for the Swedish evening tabloid Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...
.
In October 2009, the tabloid Expressen
Expressen
Expressen is one of two nationwide evening tabloid newspapers in Sweden, the other being Aftonbladet. Expressen was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and slogans "it stings" or "Expressen to your rescue", always on the reader's side....
accused Guillou of having been active as an agent of the Soviet spy organization KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
between 1967 and 1972. Jan Guillou confirmed he had a series of contacts with KGB representatives during this period, he also admits to having received payments from KGB, but maintains that his purpose was to collect information for his journalistic work. The accusation was based on documents released from the Swedish Security Service (Säpo
SAPO
SAPO , Servidor de Apontadores Portugueses, is a brand and subsidiary company of the Portugal Telecom Group...
) and interviews with former KGB Colonel Oleg Gordievsky
Oleg Gordievsky
Oleg Antonovich Gordievsky , CMG , is a former Colonel of the KGB and KGB Resident-designate and bureau chief in London, who was a secret agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 1974 to 1985.-Early career:Oleg Gordievsky attended the Moscow State Institute of International...
. In a later trial Expressen denied having accused Guillou of having been a Soviet spy, claiming that this was a false interpretation of its headlines and reporting.
Life and career
Guillou was born in SödertäljeSödertälje
Södertälje is a city and the seat of Södertälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 86,069 inhabitants in 2010.The industrial city, about south of Stockholm, is the home to truck maker Scania AB and a top 10 pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca....
, Stockholm County
Stockholm County
Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
, Sweden. His Breton
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
/French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
father, Charles Guillou, came to Sweden as the son of the janitor
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
at the French embassy in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. His mother, Marianne (née Botolfsen) Guillou, is of Norwegian
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
descent. Guillou acquired French citizenship at birth and became a Swedish citizen in 1975. When Guillou's grandfather was appointed French Ambassador to Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, his father decided to move with him and settled there. Guillou grew up with his mother and her new husband in Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden is a locality situated in Nacka Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 8,937 inhabitants in 2005. It is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea.- History :...
and Näsby Park outside of Stockholm.
Education
He studied at Vasa Real in Stockholm but was expelled from the school because of his bad behaviour; including physical abusePhysical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
, theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
and blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
. He then went on to study for two years at the Solbacka boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Södermanland from where he was also expelled. He finished his studentexamen
Studentexamen
Studentexamen is the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century until 1968, during the period 1862–1968 taken as a final written and oral exam on graduation from gymnasium...
(upper-secondary final examination) from the boarding school Viggbyholmsskolan, located in Viggbyholm
Viggbyholm
Viggbyholm is a neighbourhood in the municipality of Täby, north of Stockholm, Sweden. It is located in the northeast of the municipality, bordering Stora Värtan, an inlet of the Baltic Sea. To the north it borders on the neighbourhood of Hägernäs, to the west the neighbourhood of Gribbylund and to...
, in 1964. Guillou has described his upbringing, with the continuous physical abuse from his sadistic
Sadistic personality disorder
Sadistic personality disorder is a diagnosis which appeared only in an appendix of the revised third edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . The current version of the DSM does not include it, so it is no longer considered a valid...
stepfather and the harsh treatment at the Solbacka school, in the semi-autobiographical
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
novel Ondskan
Ondskan (novel)
Ondskan is a Swedish novel by Jan Guillou.-Plot summary:Erik Ponti is a fourteen year old boy living in the 1950s Stockholm lower middle class. His sadistic stepfather beats him every day after dinner and on random occasions, his mother seemingly afraid to protest and his six year old brother...
(1981). His mother, his sister, his teachers and his friends from the Solbacka school have contested his account and called the book a hoax.
Family
Guillou was married first to the author and translator Marina Stagh, with whom he has the children Dan (born 1970) and Ann-Linn (born 1972) Guillou. His daughter Ann-Linn, a journalist and feministFeminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
commentator, lives in a civil union
Civil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
with Sandra Andersson, daughter of film director Roy Andersson
Roy Andersson
Roy Andersson is a Swedish film director, best known for his films A Swedish Love Story and Songs from the Second Floor. More than any other, Songs from the Second Floor succeeded in cementing his personal style — a style characterized by long takes, absurdist comedy, stiff caricaturing of...
.
Today he lives in a common-law marriage with book publisher Ann-Marie Skarp. He has an apartment in the Östermalm district of Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, where he has lived for most of his adult life. He also has a country residence in Flybo, Östhammar Municipality
Östhammar Municipality
Östhammar Municipality is a municipality in Uppsala County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Östhammar....
, northern Roslagen
Roslagen
Roslagen is the name of the coastal areas of Uppland province in Sweden, which also constitutes the northern part of the Stockholm archipelago....
, where he lives when he writes his books.
Employment
Guillou started his career as a journalist writing for the magazine FIB aktuellt from 1966 to 1967. He later co-founded the Folket i Bild/KulturfrontFolket i Bild/Kulturfront
Folket i Bild/Kulturfront is a Swedish magazine for reports, art, literature, debate and culture. It is published by the organization of the same name.- Purpose :The stated aims of the magazine are:...
magazine, at which he worked from 1972 until 1977. He currently writes a column for Aftonbladet and also comments occasionally in other news outlets on current events usually taking the left-wing and the Anti-American side, particularly the conflicts in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and miscellaneous domestic issues, including the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i policy towards the Palestinians
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
, the Swedish Security Service
Swedish Security Service
The Swedish Security Service , former name Rikspolisstyrelsens säkerhetsavdelning , is the security service of Sweden, belonging to the Swedish National Police Board....
, Swedish courtroom procedures and public inquiries.
Guillou has served as the host of several television programmes: Magazinet (1981–1984), Rekordmagazinet (last years together with Göran Skytte) and Grabbarna på Fagerhult (together with Pär Lorentzon and Leif G. W. Persson
Leif G. W. Persson
Leif Gustav Willy Persson is a Swedish criminologist and novelist. He was a professor in criminology at the Swedish National Police Board from 1992 to 2008. He is known for his crime fiction novels and for his regular appearances as an expert commentator on notable crime cases in television and...
), all shown on Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
.
He co-authored the crime/drama television series Talismanen (TV4, 2003). In the series, Guillou and co-author Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell is a Swedish crime writer, children's author, leftist activist and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most famous creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander.-Life and career:...
both play the roles of themselves. Guillou also authored and narrated the history documentary series Arns rike (TV4, 2004) and Häxornas tid (TV4, 2005).
The IB affair
In 1973, Folket i Bild/KulturfrontFolket i Bild/Kulturfront
Folket i Bild/Kulturfront is a Swedish magazine for reports, art, literature, debate and culture. It is published by the organization of the same name.- Purpose :The stated aims of the magazine are:...
, a left-wing magazine, published a series of articles written by Guillou and Peter Bratt
Peter Bratt
Peter Bratt is a Swedish journalist. For many years he worked for the national Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter until he stopped there in 2003. Through he career he has written many critical texts on the Swedish Social Democratic Party....
, revealing a Swedish secret intelligence agency called Informationsbyrån
Informationsbyrån
IB was a secret Swedish intelligence agency within the Swedish Armed Forces. Its two main purposes were to handle liaison with foreign intelligence agencies and to gather information about communists and other individuals who were perceived to be a threat to the nation...
("The Information Bureau" or IB for short). The articles, based on information initially furnished by former IB employee Håkan Isacson, described the IB as a secret organization that gathered information on Swedish communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and others deemed to be "security risks". The organization operated outside of the framework of the defense and ordinary intelligence, and was invisible in terms of state budget allocations. The articles in Folket i Bild/Kulturfront accused the IB staff of being engaged in alleged murder, break-ins, wiretapping against foreign embassies in Sweden and spying abroad.
The exposure of the IB in the magazine, which included headshots with names and social security numbers of some of the alleged staff published under the headline "Spies", led to a major domestic political scandal known as the "IB affair" (IB-affären). The activities ascribed to this secret outfit and its alleged ties to the Swedish Social Democratic Party
Swedish Social Democratic Party
The Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party, , contesting elections as 'the Workers' Party – the Social Democrats' , or sometimes referred to just as 'the Social Democrats' and most commonly as Sossarna ; is the oldest and largest political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1889...
were denied by Prime Minister Olof Palme
Olof Palme
Sven Olof Joachim Palme was a Swedish politician. A long-time protegé of Prime Minister Tage Erlander, Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 to his assassination, and was a two-term Prime Minister of Sweden, heading a Privy Council Government from 1969 to 1976 and a cabinet...
, Defense Minister Sven Andersson and the chief of the Swedish defence forces, Stig Synnergren. However, later investigations by various journalists and by a public commissions, as well as autobiographies by the persons involved, have confirmed some of the activities described by Bratt and Guillou. In 2002, the public commission published a 3,000 page report where research about the IB-affair was included.
Guillou, Peter Bratt and Håkan Isacson were all arrested, tried in camera
In camera
In camera is a legal term meaning "in private". It is also sometimes termed in chambers or in curia.In camera describes court cases that the public and press are not admitted to...
and convicted of espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
. According to Bratt, the verdict required some stretching of established judicial practice on the part of the court since none of them were accused of having acted in collusion with a foreign power. After one appeal Guillou's sentence was lessened from one year to 10 months. Guillou and Bratt served part of their sentence in solitary cells
Solitude
Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation .Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one...
. Guillou was kept first at Långholmen Prison
Långholmen prison
Långholmen Prison, officially Långholmen Central Prison , was historically one of the biggest prison facilities in Sweden with more than 500 cells, located on the island of Långholmen in Stockholm. It was built 1874-1880 as the central prison of Sweden, and was in use until 1975...
in central Stockholm and later at Österåker Prison
Österåker Prison
The Österåker Prison is a prison located in Österåker Municipality, thirty kilometers north of Stockholm, Sweden. It is a Class C-security prison with a capacity for 146 inmates. The facility also contains a remand prison with the capacity for 80 inmates....
north of the capital.
Swedish tabloid naming Guillou a "secret agent for the Soviet"
During a five-year period starting at 1967 Jan Guillou had a series of meetings with KGBKGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
representatives. In October 2009 the Swedish news tabloid Expressen
Expressen
Expressen is one of two nationwide evening tabloid newspapers in Sweden, the other being Aftonbladet. Expressen was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and slogans "it stings" or "Expressen to your rescue", always on the reader's side....
told this story under the headline "Guillou secret agent
Secret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
for Soviet Union". The Swedish security service Säpo at the time knew of the contacts from Guillou's colleague Arne Lemberg, who suspected the activities could be illegal.
According to Jan Guillou his intention was to expose the KGB espionage journalistically through a scoop based on the activities he was being exposed to and the discussions he had with his KGB contact Jevgenij Gergel. One of the journalists who wrote the articles later commented that he believed Guillou's explanation, ”I do not doubt one word of what he has said”.
Guillou received payment from KGB for written reports on Swedish politics, and Expressen points to this fact when defending its choice to refer to Guillou as a secret agent
Secret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
”. Former KGB Colonel and defector Sergej Tretjakov characterised Guillou as a "classic agent". "Because he accepted money and, worst of all, signed receipts, there's no question about it. The handling of him could be a schoolbook example at the KGB school in Moscow". Espionage prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand wrote to PON that "Agent and spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
are not synonymous ideas .... an agent does not have to commit acts of espionage. An agent can perform assignments for his handler without crossing the line to what is prosecutable."
Säpo at the time was skeptical towards Lemberg's report and commented that it found nothing illegal in a newspaper man writing an article based on public information and delivering it to Jevgenij Gergel. The statute of limitation prevents new charges from being filed today.
The public Ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
of the Swedish Press, Yrsa Stenius, later concluded that Expressens presentation of facts had been an example of irresponsible journalism. According to her, Expressen had not backed up its frontpage assertion, that "Jan Guillou [was a] Secret Soviet Agent", despite the fact that this had caused "massive" damage to Guillou's reputation. Stenius's conclusion caused controversy, and a number of newspaper editorialist demanded that she resign her post.
On 1 June 2010 The Swedish Press Council [PON] acquitted Expressen of wrongdoing. Expressen denies having claimed that Guillou was guilty of the crime of ”espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
”, and PON agrees. The frontpage and headline assertions (”Guillou Secret Soviet Agent”, ”Confesses KGB mission”, ”Recruited by chief of espionage”) according to PON ”do not have well defined meanings”. PON was also satisfied that the factual details of the story were fully covered in the text of the articles which also included Guillou's own account of the events.
Political views
During the 1960s and early 1970s, Guillou was associated with the MaoistMaoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
Clarté
Clarté
Clarté is a non-partisan socialist students' organisation in Sweden. It publishes a periodical with the same name. Clarté was established in 1921, and was in its first years notable for its resolute opposition to Fascism...
association. He was also a member of the Communist Party of Sweden (formerly known as the Communist League Marxists-Leninists), a minor Maoist party active mainly during the 1970s, for six months until he was expelled for refusing to pay the monthly member fee while he was living abroad. Today, he no longer considers himself a Communist or a Maoist, but describes himself as "socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
" with a position on the political spectrum
Political spectrum
A political spectrum is a way of modeling different political positions by placing them upon one or more geometric axes symbolizing independent political dimensions....
"to the left of the Left Party" (a Swedish party formerly known as the "Left Party Communists").
On the Middle East
Guillou is known for his support of the Palestinian peoplePalestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
, and he has over the years consistently criticized Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. In 1976, he wrote, "Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
is in its foundation racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
because the state of Israel is built upon an apartheid system, exactly like South Africa". He has repeatedly taken the stance that Israel is an "apartheid state". In an article published in Svenska Dagbladet
Svenska Dagbladet
Svenska Dagbladet is a daily newspaper in Sweden. The first issue appeared on 18 December 1884. Svenska Dagbladet is published in Stockholm and provides coverage of national and international news as well as local coverage of the Greater Stockholm region...
in 1977, Guillou wrote, "I'm an optimist, I believe that Israel will cease to exist prior to Armageddon
Armageddon
Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
".
The book Irak – det nya Arabien (Iraq – The New Arabia), written by Guillou and his then-wife Marina Stagh, was published in 1977. In the book, which deals with Iraq under the Baath Party
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...
before Saddam Hussein's presidency, it is argued that the "European idea of Iraq as a particularly violent country" is simply "a blend of political propaganda and racist fantasies" (p. 91). Guillou and Stagh did the research for the book in 1975 and they assert that, at this time, "the Baath regime is clearly popular and among the most stable in the Arab World
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
" (pp. 168–169), the freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
enjoyed in Irak was more extensive than in most other countries in the world (p. 239) and it would come as no surprise to the authors if "well before the year 2000, Iraq will have surpassed European countries in living standards
Standard of living
Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
" (p. 174).
The conditions at the Abu Ghraib prison
Abu Ghraib prison
The Baghdad Central Prison, formerly known as Abu Ghraib prison is in Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi city 32 km west of Baghdad. It was built by British contractors in the 1950s....
, which Guillou claims to have visited as the first Western journalist, are described as excellent and even "better than Swedish prisons" (pp. 249–250). The book was published two years before Saddam Hussein became President of Iraq in 1979. In his 2009 autobiography, Ordets makt och vanmakt (The Power and Powerlessness of the Word), Guillou states that quotes such as the ones cited could be considered true back then. He does however also write that Saddam Hussein, who at the time of publishing was the vice-president under President Ahmed Hassan Al Bakr, was the actual leader of Iraq.
On the United States
Immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, Guillou caused controversy when he walked out of the Göteborg Book Fair
Göteborg Book Fair
The Göteborg Book Fair is an annual event held in Gothenburg, Sweden, since 1985. It started primarily as a trade fair but is now the biggest literary festival in Scandinavia and the second biggest book fair in Europe after the Frankfurt Book Fair. The book fair usually takes place in the last...
in the midst of the three minutes of silence
Moment of silence
A moment of silence is the expression for a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of respect, particularly in mourning for those who have recently died or as part of a commemoration ceremony...
observed throughout Europe to honour the victims of the attacks. In an article in Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...
, Guillou argued that the event was an act of hypocrisy, stating that "the U.S. is the great mass murderer of our time. The wars against Vietnam and its nearby countries alone claimed
Vietnam War casualties
The Vietnam War began in 1955 and did not end until 1975, two years after all US and allied personnel had withdrawn, when North Vietnamese forces finally conquered Saigon...
four million lives. Without a minute of silence in Sweden". He also criticised those who said that the attacks were "an attack on us all" by stating that the attacks were only "an attack on U.S. imperialism".
He labeled the media's reaction to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
The 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board at least 10 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada...
and the measures taken to avoid havoc at the airports unnecessary since the suspects had already been caught. He argued that the media coverage was sensationalist and driven by profit considerations, and that the British government used the occasion to give an impression of success in the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
ism. Pointing out that no explosives had been found, he wrote in a column headlined "Don't believe anything written about al-Qaida" that the reactions had resulted in a victimization of the Muslim community.
On other issues
Ever since the IB affairInformationsbyrån
IB was a secret Swedish intelligence agency within the Swedish Armed Forces. Its two main purposes were to handle liaison with foreign intelligence agencies and to gather information about communists and other individuals who were perceived to be a threat to the nation...
and the resulting prison sentence for espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
in 1973, Guillou has been a strong critic of the Swedish Security Service. According to Guillou, the Security Service has listed him as a terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, which has led to problems with security officials when visiting other countries.
In recent years, Guillou has repeatedly criticised some people and groups within the Swedish radical feminist
Radical feminism
Radical feminism is a current theoretical perspective within feminism that focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes society into a complex of relationships based on an assumption that "male supremacy" oppresses women...
movement. However, he rejects being called an "antifeminist
Antifeminism
Antifeminism is opposition to feminism in some or all of its forms. Modern antifeminists say that the feminist movement has achieved its aims and now seeks higher status for women than for men.-History:...
".
Guillou has also attracted controversy over his views on homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. He has said that "homosexuality is more of a vogue phenomenon than something you're born into. It's something that has come and gone through history" and that "homosexuality didn't exist in the 17th century".
Hamilton
In 1986 Guillou published a novel about the fictional Swedish military spy Carl HamiltonCarl Hamilton (fictional character)
Count Carl Hamilton is a fictional spy created by Jan Guillou and appearing in a number of Guillou's spy novels, as well as film and TV adaptations.-Hamilton's life:...
. Guillou's fictional hero was originally drafted and trained to become an attack diver, but was later chosen for special training in California to become a U.S. Navy SEAL. He has a leftist background and was dubbed Coq Rouge by one of his superiors while he was temporarily working for the security police forces (Säkerhetspolisen). The first Coq Rouge
Coq Rouge (novel)
Coq Rouge is a 1986 spy novel by Swedish author Jan Guillou, the first book featuring the fictional spy Carl Hamilton.- Background :Carl Hamilton was created by Jan Guillou after he had been sentenced to prison for espionage - for exposing an illegal spy organization inside the Swedish military...
novel came to be followed by another eleven books.
Several characters in the books are based on actual people. Jan Guillou himself is the basis of a character named Erik Ponti, which is also the name Guillou uses in the autobiographical novel Ondskan (literally: The Evil).
The Coq Rouge novels
- Coq RougeCoq Rouge (novel)Coq Rouge is a 1986 spy novel by Swedish author Jan Guillou, the first book featuring the fictional spy Carl Hamilton.- Background :Carl Hamilton was created by Jan Guillou after he had been sentenced to prison for espionage - for exposing an illegal spy organization inside the Swedish military...
– berättelsen om en svensk spion (1986) (literally: Coq Rouge – the story of a Swedish spy) - Den demokratiske terroristen (1987) (English translation: The Democratic TerroristThe Democratic TerroristThe Democratic Terrorist is a 1987 spy novel by Swedish author Jan Guillou, the second book featuring the fictional spy Carl Hamilton.-Plot summary:...
) - I nationens intresse (1988) (English translation: In the interest of the nation)
- Fiendens fiende (1989; English translation Enemy's Enemy by Thomas Keeland published 1992)
- Den hedervärde mördaren (1990) (English translation: The honourable murderer)
- Vendetta (1991)
- Ingen mans land (1992) (English translation: No man's land)
- Den enda segern (1993) (English translation: The only victory)
- I hennes majestäts tjänst (1994) (English translation: In Her Majesty's service) Note that the feminine "hennes majestät" in this case refers to the queen of Britain.
- En medborgare höjd över varje misstanke (1995) (English translation: A citizen raised above every suspicion)
- Hamlon (1996)
- Madame TerrorMadame TerrorMadame Terror is a 2006 novel by Jan Guillou, featuring the fictional Swedish spy Carl Hamilton. It is a thriller novel about the relations between the US and the Arab world...
(2006) - Men inte om det gäller din dotter (2008) (English translation: But not if it concerns your daughter)
A partial draft of an eleventh novel, along with Guillou's account on why it could not be completed, was published as Hamlon in 1995. Guillou stated that En medborgare höjd över varje misstanke was the last book and in order to make sure that Hamilton would never return, Guillou "banished" him from Sweden through a life sentence. Since he only intended to write about Sweden, no other book would be possible. However, when he was working on Madame Terror, he realised that he needed Hamilton to fill in a specific role. After Hamilton had been revived as a character, he made another major appearance in Men inte om det gäller din dotter, where his life sentence was lifted. Guillou thereby cleared the way for new appearances by Hamilton in future books.
Film and TV adaptations based on Hamilton
- Code Name Coq Rouge, portrayed by Stellan SkarsgårdStellan SkarsgårdStellan John Skarsgård is a Swedish actor, known internationally for his film roles in Angels & Demons, Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Ronin, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist,...
(1989) - Förhöret, portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård (Television, 1989) (English translation: The interrogation)
- Enemy's Enemy, portrayed by Peter HaberPeter HaberPeter Alexander Haber is a Swedish actor. He grew up in Södertälje and in Remscheid, Germany. In 1987 he was hired by the Stockholm City Theatre where he was active until 1994....
(Television miniseries 1990) - The Democratic Terrorist, portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård (1992)
- VendettaVendetta (1995 film)Vendetta is a 1995 film directed by Mikael Håfström. It stars Stefan Sauk and Pasquale Anselmo.-Cast:*Stefan Sauk as Carl Hamilton*Pasquale Anselmo as Enrico*Carlo Barsotti as Don Giovanni*Renato Carpentieri as Alda*Leonardo De Carmine as Roberto...
, portrayed by Stefan SaukStefan SaukStefan Sauk is a Swedish actor and comedian, born on June 6, 1955, in Stockholm.Sauk has not only worked in films, he has also worked a lot on television...
(1995) - Tribunal, portrayed by Stefan Sauk (Television, 1995)
- HamiltonHamilton (film)Hamilton is a 1998 Swedish action film directed by Harald Zwart, starring Peter Stormare, Mark Hamill and Lena Olin. The film was edited with additional scenes into a 6 hour long TV-series in 2001...
, portrayed by Peter StormarePeter Stormareis a Swedish film, stage, voice and television actor as well as a theatrical director, playwright and musician.- Early life :...
(1998, television miniseries 2001)
Crusades trilogy
After finishing the Coq Rouge series, Guillou wrote a trilogyThe Knight Templar (Crusades trilogy)
The Knight Templar is a series of books about the fictional character of Arn Magnusson. The series is written by Swedish author and journalist Jan Guillou....
about Arn Magnusson, a fictional Swedish character from the Middle Ages forced to become a Knight Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
. The series is an account of the life of Arn Magnusson, a fictional character who becomes a witness as well as a catalyst to many important historical events, both in his homeland of Sweden and in the crusades against the Middle East.
The trilogy, dubbed the Crusades trilogy, consists of the following books:
- The Road to JerusalemThe Road to JerusalemThe Road to Jerusalem is the first book in Jan Guillou's The Knight Templar book series. The book follows the fictional character of Arn Magnusson from his birth and until he sets off to Jerusalem....
, originally Vägen till Jerusalem (1998) - The Knight TemplarThe Knight TemplarThe Knight Templar is the second book in Jan Guillou's The Knight Templar book series. This book follows the fictional character of Arn Magnusson as a Knight Templar in the kingdom of Jerusalem...
, originally Tempelriddaren (1999), ISBN 0-7528-4650-7 - The Kingdom at the End of the RoadThe Kingdom at the End of the RoadThe Kingdom at the End of the Road is the third book in Jan Guillou's The Knight Templar book series. This book follows the fictional character of Arn Magnusson as he returns home to Sweden after 20 years as a Knight Templar....
, originally Riket vid vägens slut (2000)
Guillou also wrote a follow-up novel about Birger Jarl
Birger jarl
, or Birger Magnusson, was a Swedish statesman, Jarl of Sweden and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, which established Swedish rule in Finland. Additionally, he is traditionally attributed to have...
, founder of Stockholm, entitled The Heritage of Arn
The Heritage of Arn
The Heritage of Arn is a follow-up to The Knight Templar by Jan Guillou about Birger jarl, the founder of Stockholm - fictionalized to be Arn Magnusson's grandson....
(Arvet efter Arn, 2001). In Guillou's fictional universe, Birger Jarl is the grandson of Arn Magnusson.
Ondskan
Guillou has also written an autobiographicalAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
book about his school years, Ondskan (1981), which also became a film, Evil (2003). The movie was nominated for an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
in 2003. Guillou, still listed as a terrorist by the USA, was unable to attend. He managed to get a visa, but it was linked to attending the Academy Award ceremony and he was unable to get a ticket. The director Mikael Håfström
Mikael Håfström
Jan Mikael Håfström , known as Mikael Håfström, is a Swedish screenwriter and director.-Biography:Håfström directed the exorcism thriller The Rite, which is based on a novel from Matt Baglio.- Filmography :...
gave his ticket to his spouse. Research into the background to the book proved it to be not autobiographical at all but mostly disingenuous fiction.
Awards and honours
- 1984 – Stora JournalistprisetStora JournalistprisetStora Journalistpriset is an annual Swedish award, founded in 1966 by Bonnier AB, given to "promote good professional achievements in the field of journalism".The prize money is SEK 100,000 and is awarded in four categories:...
("Great Journalist Award"), for his writings in the Keith Cederholm-case - 1984 – Aftonbladets TV-pris ("AftonbladetAftonbladetAftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...
TV Award"), in the category "Male Television Person of the Year" - 1988 – Bästa svenska kriminalroman ("Best Swedish Crime Novel") from the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers, for I nationens intresse
- 1990 – Prix France Culture ("France Culture Award") from France CultureFrance CultureFrance Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. Its programming encompasses a wide variety of features on historical, philosophical, sociopolitical, and scientific themes , as well as literary readings, radio plays, and experimental productions...
, for OndskanOndskan (novel)Ondskan is a Swedish novel by Jan Guillou.-Plot summary:Erik Ponti is a fourteen year old boy living in the 1950s Stockholm lower middle class. His sadistic stepfather beats him every day after dinner and on random occasions, his mother seemingly afraid to protest and his six year old brother...
(awarded as best novel translated into French) - 1998 – Årets författare ("Author of the Year") from the Swedish Union of Local Government OfficersSwedish Union of Local Government OfficersThe Swedish Union of Local Government Officers is a trade union in Sweden. It represents workers in municipalities, county councils and churches....
- 2000 – Årets bok ("Book of the Year") from Månadens Bok, for Riket vid vägens slut
Guillou was also chairman of the Swedish Publicists' Association
Swedish Publicists' Association
The Swedish Publicists' Association is a Swedish organisation devoted to promoting freedom of the press and free speech in journalism....
(Publicistklubben) from 2000 to 2004.
External links
- Piratförlaget - Jan Guillou , presentation at book publisher's website
- Jan Guillou's column in Aftonbladet
- Group Yahoo fangroup
- The Salomonsson Agency