Thorbjörn Fälldin was a Swedish politician and farmer, who served as the former prime minister of Sweden, for three non-consecutive cabinets. He was the first non-Social Democrat Prime Minister, who served for 40 successive years. He was known for his humble character, accepting different views, and for advocating for sustainability, opposing nuclear warfare.
Thorbjörn Fälldin sets as the leading character in Henrik Jansson-Schweizer's Whiskey on the Rocks. The Swedish series is a satire based on the story he wrote in collaboration with Jonas Jonasson. The series is inspired by real-life events, which took place during the Cold War.
The series narrates a real-life incident, where the Soviet submarine S-363 was grounded by the Swedish army. With a set of 6 episodes, Whiskey on the Rocks made its release on January 22, 2025, both on Hulu and Disney Plus. The official synopsis of the movie reads,
Inspired by the events of the 11-day standoff in 1981 between Sweden and the U.S.S.R. when a Soviet U-137 'Whiskey'-class submarine ran aground on rocks deep inside Swedish territorial waters.
What is the story of Thorbjörn Fälldin?
Born on April 24, 1926, Thorbjörn Fälldin was the son of a farmer named Nils Johan Fälldin. As per The New York Times article, published on September 21, 1976, his father was connected to political associations, focusing on agricultural communities. Fälldin spent his childhood, growing up on their farm in Ramvik, Västernorrland County, Sweden.
According to The New York Times article, it was in 1956, when Thorbjörn Fälldin got married and considered taking over the farm and using it for production. However, considering the size of the land, the farming authorities declined his proposal. As a way of showing his rebellion, he joined an agrarian party named Farmers' League, which later became the famous Centre Party in 1958.
In the same year, Thorbjörn Fälldin climbed to Swedish national politics after he was elected to the Second Chamber of the Swedish Riksdag. His activism was mainly dedicated to spreading ideology among the young generation. He eventually gained a seat in the First Chamber in 1966, and then again took his Second Chamber, two years later.
It was in 1967 when Thorbjörn Fälldin became a Member of Parliament. As per The New York Times, he soon started advocating on issues including sustainability, rural development, and opposing nuclear warfare. Fälldin went on to become the leader of the Center Party and began emphasizing the distribution of power, and the need for local governance.
He stood clearly against the ideals of the Social Democratic Party. As per a Popular Historia article, published on September 20, 2006, back in 1973, he arranged a debate live on television in which he criticized the party and the politics surrounding then-prime minister Olof Palme. He again competed against Palme, in the 1976 national elections. This time, he went on to criticize the nuclear power program, which Palme's government increasingly favored.
Thorbjörn Fälldin was deeply connected to his agrarian roots and promoted the need for sustainable development. He succeeded in gaining the favor of the citizens this time but was opposed by his competitors pointing out his lack of knowledge of foreign politics, and inability to converse in English. Palme eventually lost his post, and the Centre Party, along with the Conservative Moderate Party, and the Liberal Party went on to form a government in collaboration.
The Centre Party was the largest among them, and Thorbjörn Fälldin the leader, was elected prime minister. However, in the next two years, the coalition government began to collapse, and on October 18, 1978, Fälldin signed his resignation from the post. He came back to his post again in 1979 and again went on to form a coalition government with the previous parties.
As per a KSL article, published on July 24, 2016, Fälldin served his position on the seat till the next elections in 1982 when the Social Democrats regained their authority. The Centre Party again went on to lose the election of 1985. Thorbjörn Fälldin began to face criticism from the party members, and on December 5, 1985, he resigned from his position as the party leader. Thorbjörn Fälldin went back to his farm and continued working as a farmer, until his death on August 11, 2016.
Who is the actor playing the role of Thorbjörn Fälldin in Whiskey on the Rocks?
The role of Thorbjörn Fälldin, who serves as the lead actor in Whiskey on the Rocks, is played by the Swedish actor Rolf Holger Lassgård. He is mostly known for his roles, in crime drama series. Born on March 29, 1995, in Östersund, Jämtland, he started his acting career playing roles in theater.
He eventually started playing small roles in films and went on to receive recognition in the movie Min Store Tjocke Far. Released in 1992, he went on to receive the Guldbagge Award, the same year for the best male actor. Lassgård went on to play the role of Guncald Lrsson in several movies, based on Martin Beck's detective novels during the 1990s.
He played the role of a crime psychologist in the 2010 Swedish procedural drama titled Sebastian Bergman. Lassgård made guest occasional appearances in the comedy-drama series Dag from 2011 to 2015. His notable screen role came in 2015 when he went on to play the titular character of Ove in the Swedish comedy-drama movie A Man Called Ove.
The movie is based on Frederick Backman's 2012 novel of the same name, which won him another Guldbagge Award for best male actor. Some of Lassgård's other notable works include After the Wedding (2006), De Gales Hus (2008), Storm (2009), The Death of a Pilgrim (2013), Another Time, Another Life (2014), The Lion Woman (2016), Downsizing (2017), and My Father Marianne (2020).
Check our other articles for recommendations for more political dramas like Whiskey on the Rocks.