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The Cato Institute is pleased to announce the addition of Johan Norberg as a senior fellow. Norberg is a Swedish writer who focuses on globalization, enterpreneurship, and individual liberty.

Norberg is the author and editor of several books exploring liberal themes, including a history of liberal pioneers in Swedish history. His book In Defense of Global Capitalism, originally published in Swedish in 2001, has been published in over twenty different countries. The U.S. edition was published by the Cato Institute in 2003. In Defense of Global Capitalism was awarded the Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award in 2002, and Norberg received a gold medal from the Friedrich August von Hayek Stiftung in Germany. The book also served as the basis for a television documentary on UK Channel 4 called “Globalization is good.”

His articles and opinion pieces appear regularly in both Swedish and international newspapers, and he is a regular commentator and contributor on television and radio around the world discussing globalization and free trade.

“Johan Norberg is a talented writer and communicator, and a passionate defender of globalization and individual liberty, so we’re delighted he’s decided to affiliate with Cato,” said Cato president Edward Crane. “We’ve worked with Johan on many occasions in the past, including publishing the English language edition of his book In Defense of Global Capitalism, so we’re really excited about making our relationship a formal and ongoing one.” 

Norberg was born in Stockholm in 1973, and was originally attracted to anarchism. “Then I discovered liberalism,” he later wrote, “which took freedom seriously.” Norberg received his master’s degree from Stockholm University in the history of ideas.

Prior to joining Cato, Norberg was head of political ideas at Timbro, a Swedish free-market think tank, from 2003 to 2005. He then served as a senior fellow for the Brussels-based Centre for a New Europe during 2006.

His most recent book is an analysis of entrepreneurship and innovation entitled När människan skapade världen (“When Man Created the World”). Published in Sweden in 2006, the book is now being translated into English.