Per Wästberg

Per Erik Wästberg (born 20 November 1933) is a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy since 1997.

Wästberg was born in , son of Erik Wästberg and his wife Greta née Hirsch, and holds a degree in literature from Uppsala University. He was editor-in-chief of Sweden's largest daily newspaper, Dagens Nyheter 1976–1982, and has been a contributor since 1953. He is an older brother of Olle Wästberg.

Wästberg has campaigned extensively for human rights. He was President of the PEN International from 1979 until 1986 and founder of the Swedish section of Amnesty International (1963). In connection with this, he was involved in the anti-colonial movement. He was especially active in the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa, where he became a close friend of Nadine Gordimer.

He was expelled by the government in Rhodesia in 1959, and after publication of his anti-Apartheid book På Svarta Listan (On the Black List) in 1960, he was banned from entering both Rhodesia and South Africa. He returned to South Africa only in 1990, after the release from jail of Nelson Mandela.

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