The World - News from June 8, 1988

Swedish Justice Minister Anna-Greta Leijon resigned in an uproar over her authorization of a secret investigation into the slaying of Prime Minister Olof Palme in February, 1986. The resignation forestalled a no-confidence motion in Parliament that Ingvar Carlsson, Palme’s successor, appeared certain to lose. Bypassing official investigators, Leijon authorized a friend, publisher Ebbe Carlsson, no relation to the prime minister, to look into allegations that Iran ordered the killing because Palme had stopped illegal Swedish arms sales to Iran. No results of his efforts have been disclosed. The opposition accused Leijon of defying constitutional procedures in authorizing the probe.