Nathan Söderblom

Nathan Söderblom.

Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom (15 January 1866 – 12 July 1931) was a Swedish clergyman, Archbishop of Uppsala in the Church of Sweden, and recipient of the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on July 12.

Söderblom was born on a farm called Trönö, today Söderhamn Municipality, Gävleborg County. His father was a priest and a devoted Christian with a strong personal faith.

He enrolled at Uppsala University in 1883. Although not initially convinced what he wanted to study, he eventually decided to follow in his father's footsteps. On returning from a journey to the U.S., he was ordained priest in 1893.

During the years 1892 and 1893, Söderblom was first vice president and the president of the Uppsala Student Union.

In 1912, he became a professor of Religious studies at Leipzig University. But already in 1914, he was chosen to become archbishop.

His leadership of the Christian "Life and Work" movement in the 1920s has led him to be recognised as one of the principal founders of the ecumenical movement, and he was a close friend of the English ecumenist George Bell.

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Preceded by
Johan August Ekman		 Archbishop of Uppsala
Primate of Sweden
1914-1931		 Succeeded by
Erling Eidem
Preceded by
Waldemar Rudin		 Swedish Academy, Chair No. 16
1921-1932		 Succeeded by
Tor Andræ
Nobel Peace Prize laureates

Aristide Briand / Gustav Stresemann (1926) · Ferdinand Buisson / Ludwig Quidde (1927) · Frank B. Kellogg (1929) · Nathan Söderblom (1930) · Jane Addams / Nicholas Butler (1931) · Norman Angell (1933) · Arthur Henderson (1934) · Carl von Ossietzky (1935) · Carlos Saavedra Lamas (1936) · Robert Cecil (1937) · Nansen International Office for Refugees (1938) · International Red Cross and Red Crescent (1944) · Cordell Hull (1945) · Emily Balch / John Mott (1946) · Friends Service Council / American Friends Service Committee (1947) · John Boyd Orr (1949) · Ralph Bunche (1950)
Complete roster · 1901–1925 · 1926–1950 · 1951–1975 · 1976–2000 · 2001–present