Leif Svanström

Our old friend and the founder of The International Safe Community Movement, Professor Leif Svanström, has left us in an age of nearly 80 years. 

 

Leif Svanström was a very important person in Social Medicine during many years in Sweden, and community based safety promotion in the world. He was the leading professor and Chair of the Association for Social Medicine. He also was engaged many times by the National Swedish Government and by the Medical experts for the National Board of Health and Welfare as an adviser in medical questions.  

 

He was the chair of the Planning Committee for the First World Conference on Accident and Injury Prevention in Sweden in 1989 and Chair of the safe community movement until 2017 when he left the movement because of health reasons. His collaboration with the world health organisation (WHO) during his leading time has made a great impact on expanding the safe community idea around the world.

We all remember him as a strong and charismatic leader. He always was listening carefully to all arguments and after had taken position he stood fast.