Chair no. 1 - Eric M. Runesson

Jurist.
Inducted: 2018.

Eric M. Runesson was born in Stockholm 1960 and grew up in a southern suburb called Farsta. In his youth he saw a future for himself as a historian within in the research field History of Science and Ideas. Apart from this subject he also attended courses in languages, literature and art. One reason for turning to law studies was that it seemed more prosperous in terms of earning yourself a living. Soon enough, however, he developed a deep and genuin interest and decided that this was going to be his career. In 1986 he took a Master of Laws at Stockholm University and at the same time started working for the District Court of Stockholm (”Tingsrätten”). 

During the years 1987-1988 he studied at Handelshögskolan in Stockholm, followed by a year at Harvard Law School. After returning from USA he sought after ways to combine his theoretical studies with practical experience and found the answer in working at a law firm. It was then – conceptually inspired by his working experiences  – that his own research picked up momentum. In the year 1996 he became a doctor of law by defending his thesis Rekonstruktion av ofullständiga avtal : särskilt om köplagens reglering av risken för ökade prestationskostnader  (”Reconstruction of incomplete deals : particularly regarding CISG risk regulations on increasing performance costs”). In the same year he became a part owner of the law firm Sandart & Partners, which he had been employed by since 1993.

From the year 1999 until 2014 Eric M. Runesson was a chair member of The Arbitration Institute at Stockholm Chamber of Commerce 1999-2014. In the year 2000 he was appointed Docent at Stockholm School of Economics. He was Adjunct Professor in commercial law at Lund University 2003–09 and in law of contract at Stockholm University 2016–18. Alongside this he has published a number of books and articles. They have mainly focused on property law, procedural law and mediation.

In the year 2018 he was elected to chair No. 1 in the Swedish Academy, as successor to the author Lotta Lotass.