Swedish Academy statutes to be clarified with respect to resignation

NordenBladet — The Academy’s statutes do not include any rules on the conditions for resigning from a seat. Up to now, the Academy has considered that this prevents the election of new members to replace those who no longer participate in its work.

It is natural to assume that a member who no longer wishes to keep their seat should be able to resign. The number of members no longer actively participating in the Academy’s work is now so great as to jeopardise the Academy’s possibilities to carry out its important duties.

The current interpretation of the possibilities to elect new members in this situation thus prevents a necessary reconstruction of the Swedish Academy.

Statement by His Majesty The King
“It is my intention to supplement the statutes of the Swedish Academy in a way that makes it clear that it is possible to resign from the Academy. Furthermore, any member who has not participated in the work of the Academy for a period of more than two years will be considered to have left the Academy, even if that member has not formally submitted their resignation.
It is a given premise of Swedish and international law that any person who no longer wishes to be a member of an organisation must be allowed to leave. This premise should also apply to the Swedish Academy.

I have initiated a consultation with the Swedish Academy on the specific details of the statutes with respect to resignation.”

Source: Swedish Royal Court
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