We are extremely sad to learn of the death of our valued colleague Johnny Munkhammar, a member of the Swedish parliament who was a wonderful friend of freedom and free markets.
Johnny had a rare form of cancer that he had been battling for several years. He died on Monday just short of his 38th birthday. We grieve for his dear wife and two young daughters, ages 3 and 6.
He was a shining star in Europe and around the world, explaining the essential value of personal liberty, a free economy, open borders, and limited government. He spoke often and with great praise about his political models in the battle for liberty, Lady Margaret Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan.
Johnny represented a district in Stockholm in the Swedish parliament, published books with Swedish think tank Timbro, and worked at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise. He spoke at several events sponsored by the Galen Institute and our sister think tanks in the United States, often warning us of the dangerous trajectory of economies over-burdened by social welfare programs that rob citizens of economic freedom and give more and more power to government. He cited example after example of how this leads to more and more regulation and higher and higher taxes, depleting prosperity, blocking upward mobility, and robbing citizens of their individual freedom. Government social engineering winds up deepening the very crises that politicians are trying to fix.
His words of wisdom will live on in his work. It’s just so tragic to lose his clear and passionate voice for freedom. Our prayers are with his family for the loss of this fine man.
Take a few minutes to watch these YouTube videos of this extraordinary and extraordinarily gifted leader. Rest in peace, Johnny.