Westman attended
Uppsala University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1897, Licentiate of Philosophy in 1904 and a Ph.D. 1905. He was
professor of the History of Law in the
faculty of law at Uppsala University (1910–1941). In political office, he represented the
Agrarian Bondeförbundet, which was established in 1913. He was
minister of education and ecclesiastical affairs (1914–1917). He served as foreign minister (1936), and justice minister (1936–1943). Although not the chairman of his party, Westman was without doubt his party's most influential cabinet member. As a justice minister, and as one of the cabinet members with a say in matters of foreign policy during
World War II, Westman has been criticized for what some observers have perceived as exaggerated adaptation to
Nazi Germany's expected victory in the war, and for a limited respect for the
freedom of the press to criticize foreign
powers. ==Personal life==