Abstract
This is a study of the leadership principles employed by Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who went to Budapest in 1944 to intervene on behalf of Hungary's 700,000 Jews who were being deported by the Nazis to extermination camps. This extended case narrative profiles the extraordinary accomplishments of a truly unique leader. The leadership implications addressed herein are timely, because the study of leadership is beginning to overcome decades of intellectual neglect.
Wallenberg is credited with having saved close to 100,000 lives. On 5 October 1981, the President and Congress recognized Wallenberg's contribution to humanity when they named him only the second person ever to be awarded honorary United States citizenship; the other is Winston Churchill. By joint resolution, the United States Congress also designated 5 October 1989 as Raoul Wallenberg Day. In addition, the street in front of the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., has been renamed Raoul Wallenberg Plaza.
Leadership is movement in a resistant medium. Leadership is also the capacity to translate intentions into reality and sustain them. Leaders take charge and make things happen. They create a new reality for the purpose they serve. This case study is intended to demonstrate how Wallenberg exercised leadership and how he refused to be indifferent, complacent, or ignorant of the suffering of others. Wallenberg emerges from a sordid chaper in human history as a courageous and compassionate leader--a symbol of the best mankind has to offer.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.