Olof Palme assassination scene

On February 28, 1986, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme and his wife Lisbeth made a spontaneous plan to go to the Grand cinema with their son and his fiancée, without calling in their bodyguards. On their way home, an unknown man came up behind Palme, shot him to immediate death with a revolver, and escaped along Tunnelgatan. The street nearby was renamed Olof Palmes gata to commemorate the victim. The police led several failed investigations; as Palme was a well known world leader, known for his pathos for human rights and his harsh criticism against oppression, the suspects included South African spies, the Kurdish resistance movement, and the police themselves. In 1989, the lone criminal Christer Pettersson was found guilty by the Stockholm City court; though the Svea Court of Appeal later found reasonable doubt and acquitted him. During the following decades, the murder has inspired novelists, crime enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists. In June 2020, the police closed the case, presenting their final suspect: graphic designer Stig Engström, dead since 2000. Engström worked for insurance company Skandia in the office building on Sveavägen, and was one of the few witnesses. See Stockholm labour tour for context.

Address

Sveavägen 42