Gustaf Weidel

Swedish diplomat and gymnast

Gustaf Weidel
Gustaf Weidel during his time as a student at Lund University.
Born
Nils Gustaf Johnsson

(1890-03-07)7 March 1890
Malmö, Sweden
Died11 December 1959(1959-12-11) (aged 69)
Haverford, Pennsylvania, USA
NationalitySwedish
OccupationDiplomat
Olympic medal record
Men's Gymnastics
Gold medal – first place 1908 London Gymnastics team

Nils Gustaf Weidel, né Johnsson (7 March 1890 – 11 December 1959) was a Swedish diplomat and gymnast who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics.[1]

Early life

Gustaf Weidel was born as Gustaf Johnsson[2] on 7 March 1890 in Malmö, Sweden as the son of police sergeant (polisöverkonstapel) Nils Johnsson and his wife Kersti Jönsson. Weidel passed mogenhetsexamen in Malmö in 1909 after passing in school in both Sweden and England.[3] As a youngster Weidel was a gymnast and was part of the Swedish team at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, which was able to win the gold medal in the gymnastics men's team event.[4] He was enrolled as a student at Lund University in 1909, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1910 and a Candidate of Law degree in 1914.[3] It was during his time at the university that he changed his last name to Weidel.[4] After this, he studied political economy in Germany and engaged in commercial activities, including serving as the CEO of Continental Trading Company. During this time, he conducted an in-depth study of Sweden's trade relations with the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, as well as certain European countries such as France, England, and Spain, which he traveled through.[3]

Career

In 1921 Weidel became employed by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs as an acting vice consul. He was commercial attaché and commercial counsellor in Washington, D.C., from 1922 to 1933. He was then consul general in New York City from 1933 to 1935 and Sweden's envoy in Rio de Janeiro from 1936 to 1943 and in Lisbon from 1943 to 1951. Weidel was envoy in Cairo, also accredited to Beirut and Damascus, from 1951 to 1955.[5]

Personal life

Gustaf Weidel was from 1921 married to Louisa Pape.[5]

Death

He died on 11 December 1959 in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. He had been ill for an extended period under the care of Dr. S. L. Bartlett, who was the son of Mrs. Weidel from her previous marriage.[6]

Awards and decorations

References

  1. ^ "Gustaf Weidel". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  2. ^ Malmö nation vid universitetet i Lund 1905-1913: porträtt och biografiska uppgifter (in Swedish). Malmö. 1913. p. 60. SELIBR 2203931.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ a b c Dahl, Torsten; Bohman, Nils, eds. (1955). Svenska män och kvinnor: biografisk uppslagsbok. 8 Toffteen-Ö (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier. p. 241. SELIBR 53807.
  4. ^ a b "Gustaf Johnsson" (in Swedish). Swedish Olympic Committee. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  5. ^ a b Burling, Ingeborg, ed. (1956). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1957 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1957] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 1020.
  6. ^ "Gustaf Weidel †". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 12 December 1959. p. A17. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  7. ^ Kungl. Hovstaterna: Kungl. Maj:ts Ordens arkiv, Matriklar (D 1), vol. 12 (1950–1959), p. 118, digital imageing.
  8. ^ a b c d Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1955. p. 308.
  • Profile
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Olof Lamm
 Consul General of Sweden to New York City
1933–1935 		Succeeded by
Martin Kastengren
Preceded by
Johan Paues
 Envoy of Sweden to Brazil
1936–1943 		Succeeded by
Ragnar Kumlin
Preceded by
Johan Beck–Friis
 Envoy of Sweden to Portugal
1943–1951 		Succeeded by
Jan Stenström
as Chargé d'affaires
Preceded by Envoy of Sweden to Egypt
1951–1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Envoy of Sweden to Lebanon
1951–1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Envoy of Sweden to Syria
1951–1955 		Succeeded by
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Olympic Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Men's Team All-Around