Lars-Gunnar Eriksson
 Lars-Gunnar Eriksson    (politician) | |
|---|---|
| Born | Carl Lars-Gunnar Eriksson 19 April 1942 Stockholm |
| Died | 27 December 1990 (Age 48) |
Lars-Gunnar Eriksson was a Swedish student politician who made a career in the student movement in the 1960s. He was editor of Gaudeamus magazine in 1964,[1] and then became international secretary at Sveriges Förenade Studentkårer (the United Student Unions of Sweden).
In 1966, Eriksson succeeded Öystein Opdahl as head of the largely Scandanavian-funded anti-apartheid organisation International University Exchange Fund (IUEF).[2]
Employing an apartheid spy
In early 1977, Eriksson employed South African agent Craig Williamson, who claimed to be the National Union of SA Students (Nusas) representative, at the IUEF office in Geneva first as an Information Officer and then as Deputy Director.
Williamson fled the field in December 1979, after he had been revealed as a spy for South Africa's security police by The Observer newspaper in London.[3]
Eriksson revealed the spy affair at a news conference in Stockholm in January 1980. He subsequently resigned from IUEF, formally in June 1980, and later worked at the Immigration Service in Sweden.
Operation Daisy
Operation Daisy was perhaps the most lucrative and efficient of the undercover operations conducted by the apartheid state’s security police (SB). It began in 1976 when the police spy and National Union of SA Students (NUSAS) executive member, Craig Williamson met in Botswana with Lars Gunnar Eriksson, the head of the International University Exchange Fund (IUEF). The IUEF was a major funder of anti-apartheid groups in South Africa and the apartheid government was in the process of clamping down on such foreign funding.
In Gaborone, Williamson outlined his plans. Because of the government clampdown that included funding to assist the victims of the apartheid system, he said he had devised a series of trusts, which would be able to circumvent the new rules. These were cunningly disguised in that they had as a sole trustee a highly reputable university professor who could not in any way be linked to any political organisation. Money, supposedly belonging to the professor, could be channelled to the trusts, which could then disburse it as local funding. Another channel was through the Danish Confectionery, a bakery and confectionery shop in Johannesburg’s Smal Street, owned by members of Williamson’s network, the Asmussen/Deans family, through whom he had met his wife. Williamson’s own sister, Lisa, would act as administrator of the trusts.
Eriksson agreed immediately. He also thought it imperative that Williamson leave the country and go into exile. This was exactly what Williamson’a boss, General Johan Coetzee, also wanted.[4]
Death
Lars-Gunnar Eriksson died on 27 December 1990 and is buried in the Northern Cemetery at Solna near Stockholm.
References
This page imported content from Wikipedia on 12 February 2025.Wikipedia is not affiliated with Wikispooks. Original page source here
