Lars Werner



Lars Helge Werner (25 July 1935 – 11 January 2013) was a Swedish socialist politician.

Werner was born in Stockholm. He was a member of the Riksdag from 1965 to 1994. A construction worker by profession, he was elected vice chairman of the Vänsterpartiet Kommunisterna (VPK) ("the Left Party - Communists") in 1967, and became party chairman in 1975. During his time as party leader, he worked to distance the party from the Soviet Union, a process that had been started by his predecessor as party leader, C.-H. Hermansson. In 1990, VPK changed its name to Vänsterpartiet ("the Left Party"), removing the term "Communists". Werner resigned as party leader in 1993, and was succeeded by Gudrun Schyman.

Werner died from a heart condition in 2013, at the age of 77.