Lasse Diding

Lasse Gunnar Diding,[1] originally Lars Gunnar Diding,[2] (born April 24, 1953, in Varberg),[2] is a Swedish hotelier, entrepreneur, and celebrity.[3] He operated Hotell Gästis (1987–2018) and Hotell Havanna (2013–2018) in Varberg.[4] In 2007, Diding was named Entrepreneur of the Year in Varberg.[5] He is well-known in Sweden due to his frequent use of Vladimir Lenin in naming things: in addition to opening the Lenin Spa at Hotell Gästis and being the founder of the Lenin Award,[6] Diding has proposed to name a football stadium and a public park in Varberg after Lenin.[7][8] In 2017, he was a part of the documentary Revolution: 100 years young by the Russian television network RT.[9]

Lasse Diding
Born
Lars Gunnar Diding

(1953-04-24) April 24, 1953
Varberg
NationalitySwedish
OccupationHotel entrepreneur
Awards"Entrepreneur of the year" in Varberg 2007

The Lenin Award and Jan Myrdal

Each year, Diding gives out the Lenin Award of 100,000 SEK to "an author or artist in Sweden, who operates with social criticism and in a rebellious leftist tradition" and the Robespierre Prize of 10,000 SEK to "a young Swedish writer or artist, who operates in a critical spirit". The awards originally also bore the name of Jan Myrdal and were given out by the Jan Myrdal Society, but since 2017 Diding is the only sponsor of the awards.[10]

Diding was the founder of the Jan Myrdal Society in 2008 and later, in collaboration with Henning Mankell, made a building in Varberg available to house the large private library which Myrdal donated to the society. The Jan Myrdal Library was officially opened in 2015.[11]

With the handbag as a weapon

Diding bought Susanna Arwin's statue "With the handbag as a weapon" (based on the 1985 photo A Woman Hitting a Neo-Nazi With Her Handbag) in 2015 before donating it to Varberg Municipality the following year to be placed in Brunnsparken (the centre of Varberg).[12] The statue was the centre of much dispute, and after extensive debate in the local press, the municipality decided not to accept the donation.[13] Diding chose to donate the statue to the Halland Museum of Cultural History at Varberg Fortress instead and in September 2016, the Halland County Museum's Foundation unanimously decided to receive the statue.[14] The statue is currently placed in the garden of Diding's Villa Wäring in Varberg, where passersby can view the artwork.[15]

Name dispute

Diding tried to name his son "Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116" (pronounced Albin) but was denied at both the Tax Authority and when the case was brought to court.[16] He and his partner decided not to register any official name for their son as an act of protest against the naming law, and did not do so until they were sentenced by the County Administrative Court in Halland County to pay a fine of SEK 5,000 after failing to register a name on the boy's fifth birthday. However, the long name was not approved by the authorities. They later wanted to spell the name "A" which was also denied by the authorities.[17]

See also

References
  1. Sveriges befolkning 1990 [Elektronisk resurs]. Ramsele: Svensk arkivinformation. 1990. ISBN 978-91-88366-91-7.
  2. Sveriges befolkning 1970 [Elektronisk resurs]. Stockholm: Sveriges släktforskarförbund. 2002. ISBN 9187676311.
  3. Thunberg, Karin (June 1, 2012). "Röd direktör". Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  4. Wagersten, Estrid (January 2, 2018). "Lasse Diding varvar ner – lämnar Gästis och Havanna". Sveriges Radio P4 Halland.
  5. Christensen, Bengt (November 16, 2007). "Lasse Diding blev Årets företagare". Hallands Nyheter.
  6. "The Lenin Spa". Hotell Gästis. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  7. Bohman, Per (February 9, 2020). "Förslaget till Varberg: Leninstadion". Aftonbladet. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  8. Berg, Anders (January 24, 2012). "Leninpark i Varberg?". Göteborgs-Posten. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  9. "Lasse Diding i Revolution: 100 years young". Youtube. November 16, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  10. "The Lenin Award". Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  11. "Jan Myrdalsällskapet". Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  12. Stiller, Kristoffer (March 15, 2016). "Diding skänker bort omdiskuterad skulptur". Hallands Nyheter. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  13. Lyxell, Lena (April 28, 2016). "Nej till staty i Brunnsparken". Hallands Nyheter. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  14. Johansson, Christian (September 9, 2016). "Länsmuseet tar emot väskstatyn". Hallands Nyheter. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  15. Kvint, Rebecka (May 22, 2017). "Omdiskuterad staty kom på plats". Hallands Nyheter. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  16. Bletchly, Rachael; Manger, Warren (February 19, 2015). "If you thought Brooklyn Beckham was a wacky name just take a look at these". mirror. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  17. "Baby named Metallica rocks Sweden". BBC News. April 4, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
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