Nils Olof Thorbjörn Fälldin (24 April 1926 – 23 July 2016) was a Swedish politician and farmer who served as the prime minister of Sweden from 1976 to 1978 and again from 1979 to 1982, heading three non-consecutive cabinets.

He was the son of the farmer Nils Johan Fälldin and his wife Hulda (née Olsson),[6] who were involved in agriculturally focused political and civic associations.

[12] During the 1973 general election, Fälldin held a live televised debate against Social Democratic party leader and prime minister Olof Palme, which were in the process of becoming a staple of Swedish politics.

[5] During the campaign, his political opponents praised him for honesty and similarities to rural voters, but criticized his lack of foreign policy experience and his inability to understand English.

[15] He also appointed fellow Centrist Karin Söder to serve as foreign minister, making her the first woman to hold that role.

[16] Two years later, however, the coalition fell apart over the issue of Swedish dependency on nuclear power (with the Centre Party taking a strong anti-nuclear stand),[citation needed] which led to Fälldin's resignation on 18 October, 1978.

[18] Following the 1979 election, Fälldin regained the post of prime minister, despite his party suffering major losses and losing its leading role in the centre-right camp, primarily due to public disenchantment with the Centre Party over its compromise on nuclear power with the nuclear-friendly Moderates, and he again formed a coalition government with the Liberals and the Moderates.

Fälldin continued as prime minister until the election in 1982, when the Social Democrats regained power as the Socialist bloc won a majority in the Riksdag.

[26] During his 27 years as a national politician, Fälldin was generally appreciated in most political camps for his straightforwardness, unpretentiousness, and willingness to listen to all views.

During his years as prime minister, he lived on his own in a small rented apartment in central Stockholm, while his family ran the farm up in northern Sweden.

He did his own cooking and carried out refuse in the morning to the communal dustbins in the backyard, before taking a brisk 15-minute walk to his office, shadowed at a distance by an unmarked police car which had been waiting outside the apartment block; his only concession to the security concerns.

[citation needed] While serving as prime minister during the U 137 crisis in October–November 1981, Fälldin is remembered for the simple answer "Hold the border!"

to the request for instructions from the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces when faced with a suspected Soviet raid to free the stranded submarine.