list_text=          Gunnar Mansson was not only Disney's representative in the Nordic countries including Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden, but he was its most eligible bachelor.
          As his wife, Yvette Mansson said, "When we married, Gunnar was a 64-year-old bachelor! The company's co-founder Roy Disney Sr. used to always ask 'Why aren't you married, yet?' And Gunnar, who was very good looking and had gorgeous girlfriends, would reply, 'Why do you want me to be married?' Roy answered because you're the only one of our company representatives who isn't married and we can't keep tabs on you!'"
          Born July 17, 1927, in Stockholm, Sweden, to a merchant and an administrative secretary, Gunnar studied commerce at the University of Stockholm. In 1947, he  enlisted with the Swedish Air Force, as part of compulsory national service, and served as a pilot outside of Stockholm.
          He joined the Phillips Company in Stockholm, in 1949. During his four years with the Dutch company, he marketed such products as records, radios and record players.
          Then, in 1953, he won a position with Kellogg's in Copenhagen, marketing its line of breakfast cereals in Sweden and Norway. While there, he became personally acquainted with the Disney company. Kellogg's was one of its character licensees, developing free Disney-themed prizes for children, hidden in cereal boxes, as well as character cut-outs featured on the back of boxes.  
          Ten years later, Gunnar received an unexpected invitation to join Disney from its then head of merchandising, O.B. Johnston. And so he became manager of Disney's Stockholm office, which moved to Copenhagen a year later, where he was promoted to managing director.
          In that position, Gunnar juggled many areas of responsibility, including merchandising, promotions, character licensing, music, educational materials and publishing, in all five Nordic countries. Among his contributions, he oversaw publication of a popular 32-page "Donald Duck" magazine (known as "Anders Anka" in Danish and "Kalle Anka" in Swedish), which was published by Gutenberghus beginning in the late 1960s. The magazine, which featured Disney comics, as well as promotions for the Company's films, toys, records and other products, quickly grew to a combined circulation of one million readers per week.
          Gunnar recalled, "The magazine was directed toward children, but many adults read it too. I guess, you could say, it was really aimed at families and as a result, was a tremendous success."
          After more than 25 years establishing the image of Disney in the Nordic countries, Gunnar Mansson retired from The Walt Disney Company in 1989.&