Leif G.W. Persson

Born: 1945-03-12

Leif Gustav Willy Persson (born 12 March 1945), is a Swedish criminologist and writer, best known for his detective stories and appearances in television and newspapers. In 1977, while working at the Swedish National Police Board, Persson was the whistleblower who worked with journalist Peter Bratt in the so-called Geijer Scandal when he confirmed a classified memo sent by then National Police Commissioner Carl Persson to Prime Minister Olof Palme about the alleged ties of the Minister of Justice, Lennart Geijer, to a prostitution ring in Stockholm. Following this affair he was fired from the National Police Board. The string of events almost drove Persson to suicide, but he soon returned as lecturer at Stockholm University. The prostitution ring affair inspired him to write his first novel, Grisfesten. He returned to the National Police Board as a professor in 1992. Persson was a professor in criminology at the Swedish National Police Board from 1992 to 2012. He is well known in Sweden for his crime fiction novels and for his regular appearances as an expert commentator on notable crime cases on television and in newspapers. In 1990, Persson together with Jan Guillou and Pär Lorentzon appeared in a SVT program Grabbarna på Fagerhult, indulging in hunting, fishing, and other traditionally male leisure activities. As the 1990s went on, Leif GW Persson emerged as one of Sweden's most acclaimed media personalities, and his popularity continued to grow through the 2000s. Often referred to simply as "GW", he frequently appears on television, radio, and in other media as a commentator on crime and criminology. Among other things, he is a noted expert on the unsolved 1986 assassination of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme, and has been harshly critical of police and prosecutors. He also holds forth on other issues, including politics, literature, and wine, etc, and is well known for his great interest in hunting. He takes an irreverent attitude to authorities, regularly dismissing officials as incompetent or lazy. Persson's disheveled appearance, biting wit, and characteristic manner of speech, replete with mumbling and grunting, has made him a cult figure often lovingly parodied in the media. His extraordinary media stardom has in recent years been the theme of several journalistic investigations; at one point, Swedish public radio asked "How much Leif GW Persson can Sweden handle?". Persson, who is overweight and has at times been very obese, has also struggled with his food intake. In the early 2000s, he was forced to abandon a habit of "food orgies" – regular bouts of extremely lavish, high-end gourmet dining and drinking – with his friend, the media mogul Jan Stenbeck, after his physician warned that his heart could not take another year of it. According to Persson, it was Stenbeck's refusal to cut back on the gourmandizing that led to his death in 2002.


Placeholder

The Perfect Patient

as Leif G.W. Persson (voice)
Released: 2019-09-20

A true and captivating story about the biggest legal scandal in Swedish history, the story about...

Movie page

Inspector Späck

as Leif G.W. Persson
Released: 2010-06-04

A dead body is found, and police detective Mårten Späck draws the conclusion that a serial...

Movie page

Sven Melander - Ta hand om er och glöm inte att skratta

as Self
Released: 2022-08-08

In the spring of 2022, the comedian, actor and journalist Sven Melander passed away after a long...

Movie page

Ebbe - The Movie: Mannen, Myten, Affären

as Self
Released: 2009-02-27

A documentary dealing with the publisher Ebbe Carlsson's decision to start his own investigation...

Movie page

Revolver-Harry - enligt Leif GW Persson

as Self
Released: 2018-01-03

"He was larger than life itself". This is how Leif GW Persson begins the portrait of the man who...

Movie page

Leif GW - nyhetsspecial om Madsen

as Self
Released: 2018-04-24

Leif GW Persson takes a closer look at the case of the murder suspect Peder Madsen, which is one...

Movie page

Leif GW om: Blattarna som byggde Sverige

as Self
Released: 2020-03-02

Leif GW om: Blattarna som byggde Sverige is about the labor immigration initiated by the state...

Movie page

Sjöwall & Wahlöö - Berättelsen om ett brott

as Self
Released: 2016-01-04

The whole story of how the books about Martin Beck came to be is told here. It's a love story. A...

Movie page

Astrid

as Self
Released: 2014-12-25

This a documentary in three parts by Astrid Lindgren. Whose stories and characters have traveled...

Movie page

Leif GW: Fallet Tove

as Self
Released: 2023-06-13

One October night in 2022, 21-year-old Tove disappears after an evening at the pub. She never...

Movie page

Thomas Quick: Seriemördare eller mytoman?

as Self
Released: 1995-10-01

During the 1990s, Thomas Quick confessed to one unsolved murder after another, becoming, in the...

Movie page

Palmemördaren

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2021-01-11

On June 10, 2020, the 34-year-old Palme Inquiry was closed down because the investigators could...

Movie page

På jakt med Lotta och Leif

as Self
Released: 2014-04-23

Leif G.W. Persson is a seasoned hunter, while Lotta Lundgren has never held a weapon before. He...

Movie page

Leif GW och vargen

as Self
Released: 2023-11-19

In this documentary, GW will get to the bottom of all the conflicts surrounding the Swedish...

Movie page

Makten Och Sanningen

as Self
Released: 2007-09-24

"The Power and the Truth" - depicts the Geijer-affair or the Brothel-affair in 1977 where...

Movie page

Thomas Quick

as Self
Released: 2002-07-18

Previously believed to have been a serial killer, having confessed to more than 30 murders while...

Movie page

Bordellaffären

as Self
Released: 2007-04-01

"The Brothel Event" - A shady story about teenage prostitution, concealing intimate sexual...

Movie page

Helénmannen: Ulf Olsson

as Self
Released: 2005-01-20

For 15 years, one of Sweden's most notorious and cruel crimes was unsolved. The bestial murders...

Movie page

Dubbelsvindlarna

as Eliasson
Released: 1982-01-01

Principal Bertilsson live a peaceful small-town life in Kalmar. No one knows that in his...

Movie page

Skavlan

as Self - Guest
First aired: 2009-01-16

Skavlan is a Norwegian-Swedish television talk show hosted by Norwegian journalist Fredrik...

TV Show page

Renées brygga

as Himself
First aired: 2015-02-18

TV presenter invites Swedish celebrities and interesting personalities to her summer island in...

TV Show page

Kulturplatz

as Self
First aired: 2004-09-01

TV Show page

Veckans brott

as uncredited
First aired: 2010-10-19

"Crime of the Week" - is a crime show featuring criminal expert Leif G.W. Persson. The show...

TV Show page

Veckans brott

as Himself
First aired: 2010-10-19

"Crime of the Week" - is a crime show featuring criminal expert Leif G.W. Persson. The show...

TV Show page

Hellenius Hörna

as Self - Guest
First aired: 2010-10-07

TV Show page

Boston Tea Party

as uncredited
First aired: 2007-09-24

Boston Tea Party is a Swedish infotainment television program is broadcast on Kanal 5 hosted by...

TV Show page

Jorden runt på 6 steg

as uncredited
First aired: 2015-09-16

Filip & Fredrik throw themselves out on a journey across the earth to test the theory that no...

TV Show page

Vänligen: Lars Lerin

as Self
First aired: 2016-01-13

Lars Lerin is one of Sweden most beloved artists. Now he seeks new friends and meet creative...

TV Show page

Leif GW Persson - Min klassresa

as Self
First aired: 2015-12-29

Documentary about Leif GW Persson, told by Jens Lind. The story spans over seven decades, from...

TV Show page

Veckan med Camilla och Leif GW

as Self
First aired: 2024-08-14

Camilla Kvartoft and Leif GW Persson take on the hottest questions and the forgotten cases, with...

TV Show page

På jakt med Lotta och Leif

as Himself
First aired: 2014-09-29

TV Show page

En smak på livet

as Self
First aired: 2021-08-29

TV Show page

Ulf Lundell - friheten och ensamheten

as Self
First aired: 2020-12-30

No one compares to Ulf Lundell when it comes to productivity and versatility. For almost half a...

TV Show page

Kvällspressen

as Kriminologen
First aired: 1992-03-30

The story of the fictional evening newspaper Kvällspressen and the journalists who works at its...

TV Show page

Astrid

as Self
First aired: 2014-12-25

TV Show page

Den överlägsne journalisten

as Self
First aired: 2021-02-14

With the IB revelation in the 70s, Jan Guillou made the Swedish scoop of the century, was...

TV Show page

Profitörerna

as Police investigator
First aired: 1983-11-22

Two crime detectives are handled a tricky case to investigate. A prostitute has been brutally...

TV Show page

The Helicopter Robbery

as Self
First aired: 2017-10-08

Documentary series about the robbery of the G4S safe deposit box in Västberga on September 23,...

TV Show page

Silbersky

as Kriminolog
First aired: 2019-02-19

TV Show page

Leif GW about

as Self
First aired: 2020-03-23

A sequel miniserie to "Leif GW om: Blattarna som byggde Sverige". In three episodes touches down...

TV Show page

The Kings Inner Circle

as Self
First aired: 2023-08-29

Life as a king is not only glamour, but also bordered by duty and a life in public space. Hear...

TV Show page

Grabbarna på Fagerhult

as Self
First aired: 1990-10-07

The Boys at Fagerhult was a TV program on Sveriges Television that aired in 1990–1991. In the...

TV Show page

Sommarmord

as Self
First aired: 2011-07-06

Leif GW Persson embarks on a journey through time and space to take a closer look at some...

TV Show page

Leif GW Persson om Mordutredningen

as Self
First aired: 2016-10-18

Leif GW Persson and Camilla Kvartoft from Veckans crime discuss the British series...

TV Show page