Service as Duty

Abstract

This chapter presents a summary background to the influences Dag Hammarskjöld was exposed to by his family during his upbringing, and the influence his father had as a Prime Minister appointed by the King during World War I. It summarizes his influential role in bringing about the Swedish welfare state as an economist (without a party membership) in the Social Democratic government during the 1930s and 1940s. It explains his internalized value system, which was that of a Swedish civil servant loyal to the public interest and the people, and how he defined and understood his contribution. It stresses his emphasis on integrity and service as a duty of life, views which were inspired by the protestant ethics of Max Weber.