ABSTRACT
For the Nordic peoples, the establishment of the welfare society model following World War II is a distinguishing feature that engenders great pride. At the societal level, I would argue that since World War II, the Nordic peoples have been able to establish a commitment to ethically responsible civil leadership with a particular emphasis on an ethic of care and caring leadership for all. Th is civil leadership commitment was founded upon a strong “no citizen left behind” societal consensus and thereby created an investment in social stability, which has accumulated and guaranteed economic success in this part of the world, as indicated, for example, by the Human Development Index Country reports of 1980-2013 published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Th is form of societal model emerged as a result of broad political consensus in decision making and visionary thinking among our leaders in the post-World War II decades. Th is was a time when many of the Nordic people were poor and did not even dare to dream about the levels of wealth we are now enjoying.
