Head of Nobel-awarding Swedish Academy resigns

Mats Malm announces the winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, South Korean writer Han Kang, at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024.

The Swedish Academy said Saturday its permanent secretary, Mats Malm, is stepping down after seven years of heading the prestigious institution that awards the annual Nobel literature prize.

As of June 1, 2026, Academy member Ingrid Carlberg, an author and journalist, will take over as permanent secretary.

“He (Malm) has held the position for seven years and now wants to pass it on to Ingrid Carlberg,” Academy spokeswoman Louise Hedberg told AFP.

“It has been a privilege to work for the Academy as Permanent Secretary. Seven years is a reasonable term of office, and as part of my assignment, I have therefore prepared a handover of the role,” Malm said in a statement.

Literary historian Malm took over the role in June 2019, at a time when the Academy -- which dates back to 1786 -- was reeling from a scandal that exposed scheming, conflicts of interest, harassment and a culture of silence among its 18 members.

Long considered the country’s guardians of culture, the Academy’s woes began in November 2017 when it disagreed about how to manage its close ties to Frenchman Jean-Claude Arnault, accused and later convicted of rape.

Arnault is married to Katarina Frostenson, a member of the Academy who later resigned over the scandal at the height of the #MeToo movement against harassment of women.

Left in tatters by the debacle, the Academy postponed the 2018 prize until the following year -- the first delay in 70 years.

Ultimately, seven members quit the Academy, including then permanent secretary Sara Danius.

The Academy’s members are appointed for life and cannot technically resign, but they can choose not to participate in its meetings and decisions.

Malm then took over the reins with the daunting task of repairing the literary body’s image.

The Academy was then revamped with new members and statutes, and the institution vowed to broaden the prize, both geographically and linguistically.

“I am extremely honoured by the great trust that the Academy has shown in me. Being its Permanent Secretary is a responsibility that I take on with joy and a large slice of humility,” Carlberg said in a statement.