Legacy
Gripenstedt is widely seen as one of the most decisive and influential persons in Swedish political history. As a great speaker and with a good sense of political intrigues and tactics, Gripenstedt was successful in almost everything that he took on. He is not only credited as the one who initiated and guided Sweden's transition to a capitalist economy, but also as one of the main architects of the "liberal revolution" of the 1800s. His reforms changed Sweden definitely into a new direction of liberalized economy and free trade. These new policies ultimately paved the way for the Swedish industrialization. The period from 1870 to 1970 is commonly referred to in Swedish history as the "Hundred Years of Growth". During this period Sweden developed from one of the poorest countries in Europe to one of the richest and most prosperous countries in the world.
In the book Historiens 100 viktigaste svenskar ("100 Most Important Swedes in History"), written by Niklas Ekdal and Petter Karlsson, Gripenstedt was ranked as the twelfth most important Swede in history.
Read more about this topic: Johan August Gripenstedt
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)