Assassination of Olof Palme

On Friday, 28 February 1986, at 23:21 CET (22:21 UTC), Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden, was shot and killed while walking home from a cinema with his wife, Lisbet on the central Stockholm street Sveavägen.The investigation committee report (1999:88), p. 173   (PDF)  Lisbet Palme was minor wounded by a second single shot. The couple did not have bodyguards at the time.

Christer Pettersson was convicted of the murder in 1988 after having been identified as the killer by Palme's wife. However, he was acquitted. Pettersson died in late-September 2004.

The case remains unsolved and has given rise to a number of conspiracy theories. On February 18 2020 the Swedish chief prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Krister Petersson, announced that a likely assassin had been identified. They will announce more information before summer 2020. He also announced that if they cannot prosecute the suspect then they will end the investigation.

Hours after the assassination, Deputy Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson was sworn-in as the new Swedish Prime Minister.

Aftermath
 The cost of the investigation stands at SEK 350 million, €38 million or US$45 million as of 25 February 2006.
 The total number of pages accumulated during the investigation is around 700,000. According to criminologist Leif G. W. Persson, the investigation is "the largest in global police history".
 The reward for solving the murder is SEK 50 million (approximately €5 million or US$7 million.)

References

Other websites

 Swedish prime minister assassinated
 Experts doubt Palme case to reopen

Category:1986 in Europe
Category:1980s in Sweden
Category:Assassinations in Europe
Category:Unsolved murders