Scandal besets prestigious Nobel academy
3 resign amid leaks, claims of sex harassment
Founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, the prestigious Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Literature Prize, claims as its motto “Talent and Taste.”
But events of the past several weeks have left a bad taste in the mouths of many, with the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, invoking his royal powers Wednesday in a bid to resolve a scandal involving alleged sexual and financial improprieties and the alleged leaking of the names of Nobel Literature Prize winners.
The Swedish Academy’s 18 members are elected for life. But last week, three announced that they were vacating their seats in protest at a vote not to expel the poet Katarina Frostenson, whose husband, Jean-Claude Arnault, has been accused of sexual harassment, financial improprieties and leaking the names of at least seven Nobel Prize winners, including Bob Dylan in 2016.
The crisis began in November when, spurred on by the #MeToo movement, 18 women published a letter in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper accusing Arnault of sexually harassing them.
The academy quickly cut all ties and funding to the French photographer and hired the law firm Hammarskiold & Co. to investigate the accusations, which he has denied.
Earlier this spring, Hammarskiold reported that Arnault had leaked the names of seven Nobel Prize winners, claiming the finding was backed by “several witnesses that were trustworthy and independent of one another.”
The firm also reported that among other financial improprieties, he had failed to declare that he was part owner of a private cultural club called The Forum, a venue in Stockholm that was considered a gateway to Swedish cultural life and which received academy funding.
The basement club drew writers, musicians and other artists to perform on its stage.
Two days after the allegations of improprieties became public, the academy severed all ties and funding to Arnault.
According to the law firm’s investigation of Arnault, which was obtained in part by Dagens Nyheter, he began secretly disclosing Nobel Literature Prize winners in advance back in 1996, when he revealed that Wislawa Szymborska, the Polish poet, had won.
The newspaper says the law firm believes he leaked the names of winners in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2014 and 2015.
Sara Danius, the academy’s secretary, said the academy would not report Arnault to the police for the alleged leaks, but on Sunday Swedish police said he had been reported by another group or individual.
On Tuesday, however, the Swedish Economic Crime Authority said it did not plan to launch an investigation.
In addition to deciding on the laureate for the Nobel Prize in literature, the Swedish Academy distributes about $3 million in stipends annually.
But because academy members are elected for life and there is no provision for resignations, the seats of those who quit remain unfilled until their deaths. If one more member walks out — as one has threatened to do — the academy will no longer have the 12-member quorum required to vote in new members.
The King moved Wednesday to break the deadlock, announcing the rare employment of his royal powers and unveiling a plan to allow members to resign.
“It is my conviction that the Monarch has authority over the statutes of the Swedish Academy which my predecessor Gustav III established,” he said in a statement released by the Royal Court. “In the light of recent developments, I am going to consider the need to supplement these statutes, including those concerning the right to exit.”
Changing the statutes would allow the three members who quit to be replaced, and might make it easier for Frostenson herself to resign.
In his statement, the King called on academy members to end their dispute: “It is crucial that all involved now realize their responsibility for the institution and contribute to resolving the conflicts. For members of the academy, responsibility for the institution must always be paramount.”
The academy has also come under sharp criticism from the Nobel Foundation Board. After a board meeting Wednesday, the foundation issued a statement saying “trust in the Swedish Academy has been seriously damaged” and demanding that the group take specific actions to restore that trust.