Nobel-awarding body official formally resigns after turmoil

Feb 26, 2019 | 3:45 AM

COPENHAGEN — The academy that awards the Nobel Prize in literature says its first female permanent secretary has left the body that has been marred by sex-abuse scandals.

The Swedish Academy said Tuesday that Sara Danius formally quit, a year after announcing she was stepping down from the secretive 18-member body.

Danius is the second woman to leave the prestigious body. Katarina Frostenson — the wife of Jean-Claude Arnault who was given 2 1/2 years in prison for two rapes in 2011 — formally left last month.

The scandal rocked the organization and led eight members to either leave or disassociate themselves from the academy. Arnault allegedly also leaked the name of Nobel Prize literature winners seven times.