When Franklin Forsberg passed away in March 2002—in his 97th year— he was living a very active life with numerous assignments, traveling more or less on a daily basis from his residence in Greenwich to his office in the Helmsley Building near Grand Central Station in New York City.

 

In addition to various professional and personal commitments he had also initiated two book projects, which he monitored very closely. One of them was about the magazine “Yank” which Col. Forsberg helped launch during World War II, under the name “The Army Weekly”. In 2004, the book was published under the name “Yank – The Army Weekly”.

 

Forsberg’s other book project focused on the Swedish Monarchy from a historic perspective. It was published this past summer, titled “All the Best…from the Kingdom of Sweden.”

 

Göran Blomé, author and publisher of “All the Best…from the Kingdom of Sweden”, shares his experience with us:

 

“I met Franklin Forsberg for the first time in 1984, when I had just completed a two-year assignment as Veckans Affärer’s New York correspondent. I was just starting the process of becoming my own publisher and writer, focusing on writing a book about some of the most influential Swedish-Americans in the United States, inspired by Olle Wijkström, former President of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce in New York and Executive Director of the umbrella organization SACC-USA.

 

This resulted in the book “Twelve Ways to the Top – Swedish American Success Stories”, published in 1985. Among the 12 people or families that were represented were: Rand Araskog, then Chairman of ITT; Curtis Carlson; Erik Jonsson, co-founder of Texas Instruments; Roy Anderson, then Chairman of Lockheed; The Nordstroms and Rudy Peterson, then Chairman at Bank of America.

 

Franklin Forsberg had been appointed U.S Ambassador to Sweden in 1981—the first Swedish-American ever to hold this position. I definitely wanted to have this unique ambassador involved in my book. He had already become a very popular, well respected and accomplished Ambassador in Sweden thanks to his work on improving Swedish-American relations after the Vietnam War.

 

After some time corresponding and exchanging phone calls, I had the opportunity to meet Ambassador Forsberg in person at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm. His first words to me were: “Göran, you’re a persistent young man. And that’s good.” Perhaps this first impression that I had made on Forsberg resulted in the confidence that he put in me years later when he revealed his plan about a book focusing on Sweden and its Monarchy. This happened after a lunch arranged by SACC New York. I had begun working on a series of books about Swedes and Swedish corporations’ representation in different parts of the world. “On location… Images of Swedish Entrepreneurship in North America” had just come out, coordinated with the Emigrant exhibition on Ellis Island, inaugurated by His Majesty Carl Gustav XVI and Her Majesty Queen Silvia. Franklin Forsberg, who was represented in the book, came up to me and expressed his appreciation. And then he said to me: “Göran, I have a project that I think suits you.”

 

It became the starting point for several meetings, often at Franklin Forsberg’s favorite table at “Bull & Bear at the Waldorf Astoria.” He told me about how he as a Swedish-American saw a need for a book that could feature the Swedish development as a nation—from an international perspective. He did not think that the Swedish people had a complete picture of the extent of commitment of the Royal Family. He wanted to show how the monarchy’s role had evolved after the implementation of democracy.

 

I could also contribute with my professional experience from the business world and how that had evolved over time. However, my historic expertise was limited. Researching the entire history of Sweden and writing my view of it would not only take a lot of time but also be very costly. And since I had to eat and pay my bills…

 

I continued working on my “On Location-books.” I finished Latin America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. When I was in Singapore, starting the process of writing “On location in South East Asia,” I received a call from Franklin Forsberg. He wanted me to meet with Claes Björk, at the time president of Skanska, who had shown interest in sponsoring the project.

 

This gave me the opportunity to gather material; recently published books as well as older books from second-hand book shops. I laid them out on a big table and started to read, write and search for the theme that would show how our country’s destiny had been formed from within the borders and from outside influences. Skanska’s sponsorship would cover costs until I had enough compelling material to present the book in its infancy to new potential investors.

 

The years passed. 9/11 paralyzed the world. The IT-crash urged many companies to keep their costs under control. By the time Franklin Forsberg passed away in 2002 I felt a need to prioritize the South East Asia book. Forsberg had seen the logic in this since a Swedish Royal visit to Thailand was being discussed. It took place in 2003 and was followed by visits to Vietnam and Brunei the year after. “On location in South East Asia” was very well timed.

 

After Franklin Forsberg’s death, his widow Ann took on the role as a “catalyst” for my book. I was now working full-time with “All the best…” and there were moments of both hope and despair. The biggest issue was financial. As the book was developing the costs increased. Franklin Forsberg had in an early stage expressed his appreciation of the fact that I was not at his door continuously asking for more money. I was determined to hold that line. In a dark moment I nearly gave up, but thought to myself: “What to do when the ‘history of Sweden’ is at stake? What can I learn from history?”

 

Following in King Gustav Vasa’s footsteps from 1520, I went to Mora to look for answers and to learn from history. This resulted in a meeting with the organization behind the skiing competition Vasaloppet which in turn resulted in sponsorships from several companies. My journey then continued to companies in the Småland region that also decided to contribute resources.

 

The book project was back on track again and in August of this year, the book was finally published. Consisting of 312 pages with nearly 1,000 pictures, the book is available in both Swedish and English editions. When the first copies were given to the King, the Queen and the Crown Princess, Ann Forsberg and their son Lars were present. Yet another dream of Ambassador Forsberg’s had come true.

 

 

P.S. My last memory of Ann Forsberg is from Grand Hôtel in Stockholm after the audience at the Royal Palace. She was vibrantly happy and shared how she as a young successful fashion model had met her future husband.  She had come to New York as the winner of a competition for the part as Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the Wind.”  Instead of becoming Ms. Scarlet, she became Mrs. Forsberg. On October 21, 2007, the same day her husband would have turned 102, she passed away. Franklin and Ann Forsberg now rest together at Arlington National Cemetery.

 

Note: If you would like to order “All the Best…from the Kingdom of Sweden, you can do so through SACC-USA. Please contact us by sending e-mail to info@sacc-usa.org or dial 703-836-6560.