The author John le Carré is awarded the 2019 Olof Palm Prize

The Cold War was for a long time the playground for acclaimed author John le Carré's novels. He himself was active in the British intelligence service and stationed in West Germany when the Berlin Wall was erected. It was also in connection with what he changed course and decided to start writing full time.

The big breakthrough came with the novel Spionen, which came in from the cold (1963).

On Friday, it was clear that John le Carré was awarded the 2019 Olof Palm Prize " for his engaging and humanist opinion formation in literary form on issues related to the freedom of the individual and the fate of humanity .", The jury writes in its statement.

The jury also writes: " As a writer, he brings recurring world-wide attention and calls us to discussion about the cynical power plays of the major powers, the global big corporations 'plight, corrupt politicians' play with human health and welfare, the growing scale of international crime, the tensions of the Middle East and fascism and fascism. in Europe and the United States. "

John le Carré is clearly affected and has now had the opportunity to immerse himself in the life and work of former Prime Minister Olof Palme.

- I've never stood up and fought for a special thing. I am not an icon of what Palme stood for, but when I read it in fine print, I understood that it is about working in the spirit of Palme and then it became easier to bring in, says John le Carré to the Culture News.

Now the author feels a strong relationship with Palme who raised his voice against the escalation of the great powers.

- It was such a widespread feeling, also in the world I was active in, that there was no voice. We cannot continue to exchange threats and rely on weapons of mass destruction. It was in that atmosphere that Palme stood up and identified as an independent voice, moving from being a representative of the small country of Sweden to becoming a statesman on the world stage.

John le Carré's latest novel came out last year and again it is about the so-known spy world, but now with Brexit as the dominant time marker. Le Carré wrote the novel out of pure anger, he says.

- I am European, passionate and from experience, but now I have wonderful news. In a few weeks I will get an Irish passport. Then at least I can travel as a European.

- My grandmother was from Ireland so I went there, visited her birthplace, lit a candle and sent in my application, says John le Carré.

The Olof Palme Award is presented by the Olof Palme Memorial Fund, which was instituted by the family and the Social Democratic Party after his death. The prize rewards work for peace and human rights and the award ceremony takes place in Stockholm on January 30.