Prehistory and origin of Stockholm
According to the Chronicle of Eric, written in the 1320s, Stockholm was founded by Birger Jarl around 1250 as a lock to the Lake Mälaren region ("laas fore then sio", "lock before that lake") in order to prevent pirates from reaching the seven cities and nineteen parishes around it. Another medieval source ("Visbyannalerna"), however, claims the city was founded in 1187 following a pagan pillaged the city of Sigtuna, and as there was an "Earl" named Birger around at that time too, the disputed origin of the city are likely to remain obscure and some historians choose a diplomatic interpretation saying there was some sort of fortification around by the mouth of lake Mälaren when the city was founded during the second half of the 13th century. As Snorri mentions no city in his account but some sort of fortification called a "kastali" (in various manuscripts curiously said to be located east and west of "Stocksund"), it has generally been assumed this fortification eventually developed into the castle Tre Kronor located where still is the Stockholm Palace.
Stockholm Network
The organisation was founded in 1997 by Helen Disney in response to the growth in market-oriented think tanks across Europe, with the aim of providing a forum for sharing, exchanging, and developing pan-European public policy research. Interested in ideas which stimulate economic growth and help people to help themselves, it promotes and raises awareness of policies which create the social and economic conditions for a free society. Its stated goals include:The Stockholm Network was founded in 1997 by Helen Disney, a former journalist and deputy director of the Social Market Foundation. It began with a small group of like-minded think tanks after planning meetings in London and Stockholm. It initially had staff of three people including Sacha Kumaria and Nicole Gray Conchar, who had previously worked as a fundraiser for numerous think tanks including the Cato Institute and the International Policy Network (IPN).