
Leif G.W. Persson
Actor · b. 1945 · Stockholm, Stockholm County, Sweden
Leif G.W. Persson, born on March 12, 1945, in Stockholm, is a Swedish criminologist and author, best known for his crime novels and media appearances. He grew up in Gärdet, Stockholm, and later moved to Valhallavägen. After graduating from Norra Real, he studied at Stockholm University from 1965 and earned his Ph.D. in sociology in 1980, focusing on statistical measurement problems in criminology. In 1982, he became an associate professor and, in 1991, a professor of criminology specializing in police methods. Between 1967 and 1977, he worked as an expert for the National Police Board. He was involved in revealing that National Police Commissioner Carl Persson had sent a memo to Prime Minister Olof Palme about Justice Minister Lennart Geijer’s involvement with prostitutes, which became the "Geijeraffären." As a result, Persson lost his job at the National Police Board. His experiences inspired his debut novel, Grisfesten. He taught at Stockholm University and was a full professor in criminology from 1991 to 2012. He also served as an expert for the Ministry of Justice, focusing on smuggling crimes. He supported journalist Per Lindeberg in research that led to the 1999 book Döden är en man, about the 1984 styckmordet i Solna. Persson also created an offender profile for the case. In 2007, he was criticized for not publishing academic research or supervising doctoral students, though he argued that his work had been presented in reports and investigations. In 2008, he announced his resignation from the National Police Board, criticizing the appointment of Bengt Svenson as Rikspolischef. Despite initial resistance, he was later asked to stay on. Persson co-created the TV show Grabbarna på Fagerhult with Jan Guillou and published related cookbooks like Grabbarnas Kokbok. From 1998 to 2010, he appeared as a criminology expert on Efterlyst. He briefly left the show in 2006 but returned the following season. In 2010, he left Efterlyst to co-host Veckans brott on SVT with Camilla Kvartoft. His crime novels, often referred to as En roman om ett brott, feature characters like Evert Bäckström, Bo Jarnebring, and Lars Martin Johansson. In 2012, 20th Century Fox acquired the rights to his books about Evert Bäckström, including Linda – som i Lindamordet and Den som dödar draken. After CBS rejected the pilot, Fox produced Backstrom in 2015, starring Rainn Wilson as a Portland, Oregon, detective. Persson was married to Birgitta Liedstrand (1968–1980), Margareta Jönsson (1987–2002), and since 2003 to Kim Olsson. He lives in Solna and rents a hunting estate near Gnesta. He had his first son at 20, followed by three daughters, including author Malin Persson Giolito.
Series23
TV6.0NewsDocumentaryKulturplatz
2004 · 1 votes
TV5.0Talk ShowSkavlan is a Norwegian-Swedish television talk show hosted by Norwegian journalist Fredrik Skavlan. It premiered in Sweden on Sveriges Television in January 2009, and the first guests to appear on the show were former Prime Minister of Sweden Göran Persson and his wife Anitra Steen. On 8 May 2009, it was announced that Skavlan had been renewed for a second season. It was also announced that the show would no longer only be produced by SVT in Sweden; Skavlan would now be partly produced in Norway by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. The first twelve episodes of Skavlan's second season were produced by SVT in Sweden, and the remaining twelve by NRK in Norway. Skavlan speaks Norwegian and his dialog is therefore subtitled in Swedish in Sweden, even though the two languages are quite similar and mutually intelligible. If the persons being interviewed by Skavlan are Swedish, he often tells them to let him know if they do not understand what he is saying. Swedish novelist Jan Guillou has criticized SVT for subtitling the program, stating "there is no need for that. If the host had been Danish, subtitling would have been necessary, but with a Norwegian host it does not make any sense."
Skavlan
2009 · 10 votes
TVTalk ShowComedyHellenius Hörna
2010
TVRealityTalk ShowTV presenter invites Swedish celebrities and interesting personalities to her summer island in the Stockholm Archipelago for an evening filled with food, drink, laughs and emotion. She interviews her guests about their career, life and dreams, trying to learn new things about them.
Renées brygga
2015
TVReality
TV8.0CrimeTalk Show"Crime of the Week" - is a crime show featuring criminal expert Leif G.W. Persson. The show discusses and tells stories about both cold cases and current crimes.
Veckans brott
2010 · 3 votes
TV9.0CrimeTalk ShowEfterlyst is a Swedish TV program, equivalent of America's Most Wanted. The show plays security camera footage, reconstructions of crimes, and then takes calls and tips from the Swedish public. Efterlyst has since its start gotten many leads that have led to the arrest of many of Sweden's most noted criminals. In Swedish prisons, Efterlyst is commonly referred to as "Golartimmen", literally meaning "Snitch-hour". The host, Hasse Aro, was, until the season of 2009, assisted by crime-expert Leif G W Persson. From the 2010 season he is assisted by former State Police Chief Tommy Lindström. Since 2011 he is assisted by Jens Lapidus and Thomas Bodström. In the 2012 season only Thomas Bodström will assist as expert commentator.
Efterlyst
1991 · 4 votes
TV6.7ComedyAction & AdventureFilip & Fredrik throw themselves out on a journey across the earth to test the theory that no two people on earth is longer than six people apart. Without using their own contacts, the guys manage to reach a famous person in six steps. Without using their own contacts shall see whether it is possible to get from a stranger in a distant country to a famous person on the six stages - Gordon Ramsay, Buzz Aldrin and Leif GW Persson. The journeys take them to unexpected places, people and meetings that no one would have imagined, least of all themselves. There will be three improbable journeys that take Filip & Fredrik six continents, 32 different locations and a total of three times around the earth.
Jorden runt på 6 steg
2015 · 8 votes
TVDocumentaryCrimeDocumentary series about the robbery of the G4S safe deposit box in Västberga on September 23, 2009. How exactly it happened, who was behind it and who actually carried it out are questions that still do not have a satisfactory answer to this day. Here is a detailed review of the entire case, with voices from investigators, victims, witnesses and the media.
Helikopterrånet
2017
TVDocumentaryThe incredible story of the enormous find of ten kilos of gold and four kilos of platinum in a house that Lucas Simonsson and Carl Déman from the comedy group JLC bought. SVT has followed the drama from the start and the story is told with unique, previously unpublished self-filmed material from the JLC duo. A documentary series in six parts.
Guldtvisten
2025
TV6.0CrimeDramaTwo crime detectives are handled a tricky case to investigate. A prostitute has been brutally murdered in her studio. The landlord runs a brothel.
Profitörerna
1983 · 3 votes
TV8.3CrimeDocumentaryGW:s mord is a Swedish crime program. In the program, Leif G.W. Persson takes a look at well-known criminal cases, which he describes and analyzes in detail.
GW:s mord
2017 · 3 votes
TV7.5DramaCrimeThe story of the fictional evening newspaper Kvällspressen and the journalists who works at its editorial office in Stockholm.
Kvällspressen
1992 · 2 votes
TVDocumentaryCrimeLeif GW Persson embarks on a journey through time and space to take a closer look at some Swedish murders.
Sommarmord
2011
TVDocumentaryCrimeIn "Engelska mord", Leif GW Persson travels to England to take a closer look at some of the most famous murder cases in British criminal history.
Engelska mord
2012
TV7.5ComedyTalk ShowBoston Tea Party is a Swedish infotainment television program is broadcast on Kanal 5 hosted by Fredrik Wikingsson and Filip Hammar.
Boston Tea Party
2007 · 6 votes
TV8.0CrimeTalk ShowCamilla Kvartoft and Leif GW Persson take on the hottest questions and the forgotten cases, with sharp analyses, initiated conversations and exclusive guests.
Veckan med Camilla och Leif GW
2024 · 1 votes
TV10.0RealityTalk ShowLars Lerin is one of Sweden most beloved artists. Now he seeks new friends and meet creative people he honestly wants to get to know.
Vänligen: Lars Lerin
2016 · 3 votes
TV6.5DocumentaryLeif G.W. Persson is a seasoned hunter, while Lotta Lundgren has never held a weapon before. He wants to teach her to be a good hunter and she wants to understand what the hunt, the weapon and the hunting culture say about our time. The program is about, among other things, learning to shoot, skin, cut, store and cook game. It also covers hunting dogs, weapon handling and equipment. In between there will be meal breaks.
På jakt med Lotta och Leif
2014 · 2 votes
TVCrimeTalk ShowLeif GW Persson and Jenny Strömstedt investigate notable current crime cases and the nature of crime in new perspectives.
Brottsjournalen
2018
TV1.0DocumentaryNo one compares to Ulf Lundell when it comes to productivity and versatility. For almost half a century, he has been relevant both as an artist, songwriter and as a writer.
Ulf Lundell - friheten och ensamheten
2020 · 2 votes
TV10.0DocumentaryDocumentary about Leif GW Persson, told by Jens Lind. The story spans over seven decades, from Leifs birth at the end of world war II in march 1945, until now when the working class kid has become one of Swedens most appreciated writers and tv-personalities.
Leif GW Persson - Min klassresa
2015 · 2 votes
TV10.0DocumentaryLeif Silbersky has been a defender in many of Sweden's most media-acclaimed trials over the past fifty years. And in this three-part documentary, he tells himself about how it has been.
Silbersky
2019 · 3 votes
Movies22
Movie6.3CrimeDramaA true and captivating story about the biggest legal scandal in Swedish history, the story about the reporter who questioned an entire legal system. Hannes Råstam was dedicated to proving the innocence of Thomas Quick and unmask the legal chaos which sentenced Quick to a life in psychiatric prison.
MovieDocumentarySwedish tourists Urban and Heidi disappeared in New Zealand in 1989. Now, the conviction of the man identified as their killer has been overturned, and the mystery remains unsolved.
Movie7.8DocumentaryA documentary dealing with the publisher Ebbe Carlsson's decision to start his own investigation on the murder of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme
Ebbe - The Movie: Mannen, Myten, Affären
2009 · 9 votes
MovieDocumentaryHermann Göring has gone down in history as one of the world's absolute worst war criminals. Less well known is his marriage to the Swedish noblewoman Carin von Kantzow and his close relationship with her relatives. Leif GW Persson tells the story of a Swedish family that sits on the front row when German Nazism grows in the 1920s, when it takes over Germany in the 1930s and drives the world to disaster in the 1940s.
Movie3.0DocumentaryCrimeOn June 10, 2020, the 34-year-old Palme Inquiry was closed down because the investigators could not "get around" Skandiaman, Stig Engström. Here, the prosecutor's accusations and allegations about Stig Engström are examined.
Palmemördaren
2021 · 3 votes
MovieDocumentaryCriminologist Leif GW Persson reviews and analyzes the week’s most high-profile criminal cases, delivering his trademark blunt and outspoken commentary.
MovieDocumentaryCrimeLeif GW Persson takes a closer look at the case of the murder suspect Peder Madsen, which is one of the most high-profile criminal cases in the Nordics. He analyzes evidence, motives and the psychology surrounding Madsen's actions. The presenter is also Soraya Lavasani.
MovieDocumentaryPreviously believed to have been a serial killer, having confessed to more than 30 murders while incarcerated in a mental institution for personality disorders. Convicted of eight of these murders. TV3 aired a documentary that exposed serious flaws with the Quick investigation.
Thomas Quick
2002
MovieDocumentaryMarks the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme. Leif GW Persson discusses the lead that has dominated the investigation more than any other: Christer Pettersson. Leif has also received a tip regarding new bullets, and this time he decides to conduct his own investigation.
Movie5.0DocumentaryThe whole story of how the books about Martin Beck came to be is told here. It's a love story. A young couple wanted to talk about the injustices in society. Thus was born the modern detective story. It has been over 50 years since the first book in the series came out and it would only be in the fall of the age that Sjöwall Wahlöö was celebrated as the creator of the entire modern detective genre.
Sjöwall & Wahlöö - Berättelsen om ett brott
2016 · 1 votes
MovieDocumentaryCriminologist, professor, and author Leif GW Persson appears on the program. The conversation will cover the police, Leif GW Persson’s books, and the crimes that have shaken Sweden.
MovieDocumentaryA woman survives against all odds after being thrown down a mine shaft. A story of violence, survival, and the pursuit of justice.
MovieDocumentaryCrimeAfter 34 years, the police may now have answers to who murdered Olof Palme. Here, preliminary investigation leader Krister Petersson talks about the police's latest announcement. Leif GW Persson and Hasse Aro are on hand to comment on developments in Sweden's biggest murder mystery.
MovieDocumentary"He was larger than life itself". This is how Leif GW Persson begins the portrait of the man who has never ceased to fascinate him: Harry Söderman, also known as Revolver-Harry. During his lifetime known as the world's best detective, celebrated as a war hero, admired as an adventurer. Then a major player on the world stage, but now strangely forgotten. In the film about Revolver-Harry, Leif GW Persson tells us about a life so full of events at the center of history that it almost seems improbable.
MovieDocumentaryBordellaffären "The Brothel Event" - A shady story about teenage prostitution, concealing intimate sexual matters and political power explodes in Sweden 1977.
Bordellaffären
2007
Movie7.0DocumentaryCrimeThe morning calm is broken in Skultuna and Rönnby in Västerås when a VMA is sent out and residents are asked to stay indoors. The police are hunting a 38-year-old suspect after two brutal violent crimes. A child calls 112 and says that his mother is being attacked. Shortly afterwards, a woman is found dead in her home. Leif GW Persson examines the case and the legal process.
GW:s mord – Skultunamordet
2026 · 1 votes
MovieDocumentaryCrimeTwo people are searching for an injured deer at Gysinge bruk when they find a suitcase and plastic bags with dismembered body parts frozen in the ice. The victim is identified as a 23-year-old rock musician. Suspicion falls on the band's manager, who gives contradictory information. Leif GW Persson examines the murder, the investigation and the legal process.
MovieDocumentaryDuring the 1990s, Thomas Quick confessed to one unsolved murder after another, becoming, in the words of the father of one of his alleged victims, "a ghost who ran through Scandinavia killing more than 30 people".
MovieDocumentaryA hard-hitting documentary about us - humans. Why do we sometimes become aggressive, feel offended, resort to violence or oppress other people? This film provides the answers. While most similar documentaries deal with a minority - psychopaths - this film deals with the rest of us. Director and producer Staffan J Thorsell shines a bright light on the origins of violence, racism and hatred.
Movie7.0DocumentaryCrimeA 26-year-old taxi driver drives towards the Hjälstaviken nature reserve and never comes home. A week later, the police make a macabre discovery: he is found dead, hanging from a tree. Suspicions are directed at five young people who were in the area. A 15-year-old girl had previously reported him for rape. Leif GW Persson examines the case and the legal proceedings.
GW:s mord – Taximordet i Hjälstaviken
2026 · 1 votes
Movie7.0Documentary"Makten och sanningen" - depicts the Geijer-affair or the Brothel-affair in 1977 where journalist Peter Bratt was forced to publish an apology in the newspaper Dagens Nyheter even though it turned out that everything he had previously written in the case was true. The Swedish Minister of Justice Lennart Geijer was accused of using under age escort girls provided by the Madam Doris Hopp in Stockholm. Geijer denied the charges..
Peter Bratt - En undersökare
2007 · 2 votes
MovieDocumentaryMalou and Leif have known each other for thirty years and now they meet in an open-hearted conversation. Among other things, Malou wonders how Leif’s constant exploration of evil and humanity’s darkest sides has affected him. Leif is currently appearing in the new documentary series "GW:s mord" where he dives into the investigations of Sweden’s six most talked-about murders, most of which are still unsolved.