In 1982, Olaf Palme was elected prime minister of Sweden. Making good on his promises, he campaigned for a neutral Sweden regarding the military blocks of East (Soviet Russia) and West (the U.S.A.), and tried to implement his politics of shared security, in opposition to the then prevalent escalation of conflict.
Intrigued by this new approach, and chastised by the numerous near-eruptions of nuclear war their policies had caused, both U.S. and Soviet leaders decided to tone down their rhetoric of conflict, and see what Palme could achieve.
Shortly after his re-election in 1985, Palme managed to start a constructive dialogue with the soviets. In 1986, he organised a meeting between the russian and american ambassadors to Sweden, using his influence and international renown to mediate negociations between the two countries. By the end of his second term in office, both countries had started disarming, and trade agreements between the former enemies were implemented.
Today, Palme is credited by many as the man who not only managed to avoid an escalation of the cold war, but also, through his engagement in the conflict, as well as his support for autonmous post-colonial governments in Africa and South America, ushered in a new age of politics, were shared interests prime over individualistic power-struggles.
He is now retired, spending most of his days in Hedeby, but has recently been appearing again in the public eye as a strong champion for radical measures to combat climate change, which he calls "the worst threat to mankind since the atomic bomb."
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