Harriet Jakobsson (b. 1926) passed away just after she had celebrated her 84th birthday, and could look back on a long and interesting career. She gained a degree in social work from the Social Policy Institute in Stockholm in 1949, and completed the Erica Foundation's programme in child psychotherapy in 1956. Harriet Jakobsson received numerous awards for her contributions to the field of social work. In 1987, she was awarded an honorary fellowship by the Central Union for Social Work (CSA) in Sweden. In 2000, she received the Katherine Kendall Award in Montreal, Canada. The prize was awarded for:

In an interview after the nomination, she says that she ‘was surprised, humbled, and gladdened when I received the news’ (Josefsson, 2000, see Selected Publications). The following year, she was granted an honorary doctorate in social work at Örebro University, Sweden.

Activities of major importance for her professional development and career

Harriet Jakobsson worked as a lecturer on social work methods in the social work programmes at Lund and Örebro from 1964-91. She was recruited to Örebro in 1967 to establish the fifth school of social work in Sweden. The work was done from the ground up. When teaching materials were lacking, she translated British and US texts and gathered materials from the social work institutes in other Nordic countries.

During the years 1975-6, Harriet Jakobsson worked as assistant professor in Social Work at Trondheim University, Norway and took part in the development of a masters and doctoral programme in social work.

In interviews, Harriet Jakobsson emphasized three important areas of her activity:

• • the voluntary sector (NGOs)

• • training social workers

• • her own practical work in the field

She described the importance of being curious, creative, and persevering. She enjoyed facing challenges, even if she sometimes doubted her own ability.