The 5th of July Foundation is a Swedish foundation with the right to conduct commerce. It is registered with Länsstyrelsen i Stockholm (Stockholm County Administrative Board) and Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) under the official Swedish name “5 juli-stiftelsen”.
The 5th of July Foundation’s founders have a background from Bahnhof, Sweden’s legendary “Free speech Internet Service Provider”, founded in 1994 as the first independent ISP in the country. Bahnhof was chosen to be main hoster for Wikileaks during its #cablegate release in 2010, since Sweden is one of the best free speech jurisdictions in the world, and since Bahnhof could be expected to never give in to political pressure. Bahnhof didn’t.
The Board of Trustees makes sure that the foundation fulfills the wishes of the founders. The board currently consists of the three founders and two further members, who are appointed in accordance with the statutes of the foundation.
Who we are
The foundation’s backers are spread across countries and generations, but have in common a strong commitment to internet freedom. In addition to our public associates listed below, we work with a small group of dedicated technicians.
Karl Andersson
Executive Director
As a journalist at Swedish daily Aftonbladet and international tech publisher IDG, Mr Andersson has covered freedom of expression issues and maker culture around the globe. He has worked with the foundation since the start, as a web developer, graphic designer, news editor and podcast host. He has a degree in language consultancy from Stockholm University.
Oscar Swartz
Founder and Chairman
Original Founder of Bahnhof. His ideology of free speech and freedom of communication permeated the firm and is proudly carried on by ex-comrade-in-arms Jon Karlung. Mr Swartz left Bahnhof in 2004 to be a writer, columnist, activist, and speaker. He authored papers for think-tank Timbro on the ever-increasing demands for surveillance and blocking of internet traffic. Mr Swartz has a degree from Stockholm School of Economics before entering a PhD program as a Fulbright Fellow at Columbia University in New York.
Jon Karlung
Founder and Board of Trustees
Mr Karlung became the first employed CEO of Bahnhof in 1996. After stints in other functions within the Bahnhof group he is back as CEO. His entrepreneurial spirit makes the firm develop rapidly. Bahnhof has over 100 employees. Karlung turned IT entrepreneur after having worked as a journalist who saw Internet as a new medium very early. He has a B.A. in literature and the humanities and has a passion for data center innovation.
Andreas Norman
Founder and Board of Trustees
Mr Norman was an early Internet entrepreneur in Sweden, founding Dalnet Communications in 1995. Five years later his firm was purchased by Bahnhof. As a technician, Norman has been both CTO and vice CEO of Bahnhof. He now serves as the Chairman of the Board of Bahnhof and is also active in strategic technical areas. Together with Karlung he is a majority owner of Bahnhof via KN Telecom AB, although the stock of Bahnhof is publicly traded today.
Wilhelm Dahlborn
Board of Trustees
Lawyer and member of the Swedish Bar Association. Mr Dahlborn has been legal counsellor to both Swedish and international corporations in the field of IT and privacy law and served as a member of the Board of Directors of several companies, among them Bahnhof. Mr Dahlborn is a graduate of the law program at Stockholm University. And he objects to having his photo plastered all over the internet.
Love Ekenberg
Board of Trustees
Love Ekenberg has a PhD in Computer and Systems Sciences as well as a PhD in Mathematics from Stockholm University. Currently he is a Senior Research Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria. He is also Professor in Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV) at Stockholm University, and was earlier Professor in Societal Planning and Environment at KTH – The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.
Contact
All media and business inquiries should be directed to Karl Andersson:
karl AT 5july.org
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Phone: +4915126370702