Honorary Doctors
Every year, Karolinska Institutet confers honorary doctorates to individuals for vital scientific achievements or significant contributions to the university or humanity at large. Karolinska Institutet appointed its first Honorary Doctors of Medicine and Odontology in 1910 to 1949 respectively. Between 1910-2024, 325 appointments were made.
Eligible to nominate are all employees of KI, as well as visiting scientists affiliated to KI.
Nominations can be made for:
- scientific achievements, especially those with a relationship to Karolinska Institutet
- significant contributions to the university and its activities
- significant contributions to the world, to Sweden or to society within the areas of interest of Karolinska Institutet.
Who already is a doctor in medicine at a Swedish university, or has been awarded an honorary doctorate in medicine at a Swedish university cannot be appointed honorary doctor in medicine at another Swedish university. Please also note that previous years’ nominations must be renewed.
Only a small number of the nominees will receive honorary doctorates and therefore the proponents should not contact the nominees before the decision is made.
Honorary Doctors 2025 - Margareta Persson och Leif Lundblad
Karolinska Institutet has decided to appoint Margareta Persson, advocate for disability rights, and Leif Lundblad, entrepreneur and research financier, as honorary doctors. They will be conferred at a ceremony in Stockholm City Hall on May 16 this year.
This year, the titles go to Margareta Persson and Leif Lundblad for their social contributions to disability rights and medical innovation.
Margareta Persson has dedicated her professional life to improving the living conditions of people with disabilities, both as an author and as a politician. She has been a driving force in issues of rights, accessibility and equality. She has been chairman of the Swedish Association of the Disabled (today Disability Rights Sweden), project manager for disability history at the Nordic Museum and chair of a parliamentary inquiry into public health. As a Social Democratic Member of Parliament (1983–1991), Margareta Persson worked for improved care, accessible public environments and legal protection for people with disabilities.
Leif Lundblad, is an entrepreneur and inventor with over 400 patents in a number of different areas. He is perhaps best known as the mastermind behind the banknote dispenser for ATMs, which revolutionized cash management globally. He has also founded ESBRI (Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research), donated to the AI project at KI and funded professorships in entrepreneurship and innovation. In addition to his entrepreneurship, Leif Lundblad has been involved in medical research for a long time. Over the years, his generous donations to Karolinska Institutet have enabled research into both pain and Alzheimer's disease.
The new honorary doctors will be conferred at Karolinska Institutet's conferment ceremony at Stockholm City Hall later this spring.