GALLERY
My mother, Fylgia Zadig, was an actress. in the 50s she worked at Uppsala Stadsteater and after that mostly at Riksteatern. Her greatest success was as “Maria Stuart” at Malmö Stadsteater, but she also enjoyed playing minor parts in a number of TV plays, such as “Hemsöborna”. She passed away in 1994.
My father, the actor Bengt Eklund, dressed up as “The Old Man” (Den Gamle) – the head of Swedish military intelligence – in the thriller “Coq Rouge”. He was an actor at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm in the 1950s and 60s, before a heated argument with director Ingmar Bergman caused him to leave the stage. After that he spent most of his time in the movies and the radio. To most Swedes he is best known as Tjorven’s father in Astrid Lindgren’s “Saltkråkan” from the 1960s. He died in 1998.
My family in 1957. In the picture is also my little sister Lena. When the picture was taken, we lived in the Old Town (Gamla Stan) in Stockholm. In those days – before reconstruction and modernization – the Old Town was still almost like a medieval town, without any modern amenities.
I did my military service at the Swedish Army School of Interpreters, where I studied Russian – to be able to interrogate Russian prisoners of war. I did learn the language but must admit I forgot most of it except some military terminology…
During the 1980:s I worked in the Ministry of Finance as Head of Planning, and in the Prime Minister’s Office as speechwriter and policy adviser. Here I am with PM Olof Palme at a debate during the election campaign of 1985.
Celebrating my 50th birthday with sons Sigge (author and web entrepreneur) and Fredrik (real estate developer in NY City and Miami. Sigge has written a novel about his childhood and our sometimes wonderful, sometimes frustrating father-son relationship. He has also written a stage play about my parents; “Bolero”, which was set up in Stockholm in 2025.
Old friends from my teenage days – Olle Zetterberg, Nils Kärrlander and Henrik Axiö. Once a year we go on a trip to consume culture and beer. Sometimes we stay in Sweden, sometimes we go abroad.This picture is taken in the spring of 1990, in Berlin, where we helped demolish the wall.
During the early 2000s, my ex-wife and I lived at a stud farm in Southern Sweden. A beautiful place, but too much work and travel – and loss-making business breeding horses. Here I am on my Irish dapple-gray gelding Dalton.
My wife Jenny and I were married in 2017. Here a picture from the wedding, with sons and partners and oldest grandson Viggo.
At the wedding party, Sigge and Fredrik produced this picture, which indicates how they view the relation between Jenny and me…
When Jenny and I were married, I also got two bonus daughters, Nina and Elin; here are the three women in my life, pictured on our first night out after the pandemic restrictions were lifted in 2020. To move on from two grown sons to two teenage daughters was a sobering experience!
Beloved family members are our dog Svea and the cat Mio. I am a dog man; Svea is my seventh. But Jenny has also made me a cat man. The pets go fairly well together, although the cat loves to tease the dog – and the dog chases the cat, wildly…
Finally, some present-day downloadable portraits, for press and conference organisers:
