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Petrus & Augusta Hedlunds Foundation
Jan Björklund chairs the Petrus & Augusta Hedlunds Foundation, funding PhD medical research in Stockholm from a 1962 steel-fortune endowment.
Petrus & Augusta Hedlunds Foundation
Petrus Emanuel Hedlund and his wife Augusta Josefina Qviding established the foundation in 1962, channeling wealth generated by his steel construction firm, Bröderna Hedlund. The foundation maintains a tight geographic focus: it exclusively supports researchers based at universities and colleges within Stockholm County. The Rector of Karolinska Institutet—Sweden's preeminent medical university—holds a permanent board seat, embedding the foundation directly into the region's academic infrastructure. The foundation awards grants to PhD researchers in two designated disease areas: brain diseases, including psychiatry, and infectious and chronic inflammatory diseases. Funding is strictly operational, covering researcher salaries and direct project costs. Grants run for one year initially, with a maximum three-year funding cycle upon successful renewed application. This structure creates a pipeline of predictable support for early-stage academic research that rarely attracts commercial funding. Governance bridges Swedish civil society and the Hedlund family. Chairman Jan Björklund, the former Education Minister and Liberal Party leader, is joined by Jan Lindman—CFO of the Royal Court of Sweden—and Andreas Holmberg, the Bishop of Stockholm. The Hedlund family retains direct board representation through Ann and Håkan Hedlund. The foundation does not participate in markets, manage external capital, or accept donations; it operates solely as a disbursement vehicle for its existing endowment. Unlike endowed research charities that function as passive grant-writers, the foundation's structural differentiator is its formalized seat at Karolinska Institutet's table. The rector's board presence creates a direct feedback loop between the foundation's funding priorities and Sweden's leading medical research institution, reducing the friction that typically separates donors from scientific directors.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1962
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Sweden
City
Vallingby
Corporate office
Vallingby, Sweden
Principals
Jan Björklund
Chairman of the Board
Jan Lindman
Board Member, Treasurer
Andreas Holmberg
Board Member, Bishop of Stockholm
Ann Hedlund
Board Member, Family Representative
Håkan Hedlund
Board Member, Family Representative
Maria Schultz
Board Member, Assistant Secretary General at WWF Sweden
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is the relationship between the foundation and Karolinska Institutet?
The foundation operates as a major donor to Karolinska Institutet (KI), and the relationship is structurally embedded. The Rector of KI holds a permanent seat on the foundation's board, ensuring that funding priorities align directly with the institute's research needs. This governance link makes the foundation an unusually integrated funder within Stockholm's medical research ecosystem.
Does the foundation invest its endowment in external funds or markets?
There is no public evidence that the foundation operates as an active investor deploying capital into markets, private funds, or external managers. It functions as a disbursing entity, distributing grants from its existing endowment to individual researchers. It does not solicit or accept outside donations.
Who runs the foundation on a day-to-day basis?
Governance rests with a board chaired by Jan Björklund, the former Swedish Liberal Party leader and education minister. Other board members include Jan Lindman, the CFO of Sweden's Royal Court, and Bishop Andreas Holmberg. The Hedlund family retains representation through Ann and Håkan Hedlund, preserving the founding family's oversight of the endowment.
What types of research does the foundation fund?
The foundation concentrates exclusively on two defined areas: brain diseases, which includes psychiatric research, and infectious and chronic inflammatory diseases. Funding is directed solely to PhD researchers at Stockholm County institutions, with grants typically approved for one year and renewable up to a maximum of three years upon re-application.
Where did the foundation's wealth originate?
The endowment was established from the fortune of Petrus Emanuel Hedlund and his wife Augusta Josefina Qviding. The wealth originated from Bröderna Hedlund, Petrus Hedlund's steel construction firm. The foundation has operated since 1962 as a grantmaking vehicle rather than a family office or investment entity.
Is the foundation open to receiving grant applications from outside Stockholm?
No. The foundation's statutes restrict funding to researchers at universities and colleges within Stockholm County. It operates with a deliberately narrow geographic mandate, focusing resources on a single region's academic institutions rather than distributing smaller grants across a wider area.
Does the foundation have any relationship with the Swedish government?
The foundation is an independent entity, not a government body. However, its board includes prominent figures from Sweden's public and civil institutions—including a former government minister as chair, the CFO of the Royal Court, and the Bishop of Stockholm—creating deep informal connections to Swedish institutional life without formal state affiliation.
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