Harald Malmgren

Harald Bernard Malmgren (July 13, 1935 – February 13, 2025) was an American economist, writer, lobbyist, and trade negotiator. In the 1960s and 1970s, he worked for the United States government, including in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, where he focused on negotiations relating to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

While working on a DPhil at the University of Oxford in the early 1960s, Malmgren published a pioneering article in organizational economics. After leaving Oxford, Malmgren conducted research into non-tariff barriers to trade and published two books outlining his belief that trade agreements could be an important tool in foreign affairs. From 1972 to 1975 he was a deputy special representative for trade negotiations, holding the rank of ambassador and primarily working on the GATT. After leaving the government, Malmgren worked as a lobbyist for Japanese business interests, who paid high fees for his work.

Throughout his life, Malmgren was both opaque and self-aggrandizing about his work, concealing his financial interests in certain matters, while frequently embellishing and fabricating autobiographical claims related to his political connections and government service.