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Fredrik Reinfeldt

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Fredrik Reinfeldt
File:Fredrik Reinfeldt 2003-10-27.jpg
32nd Prime Minister of Sweden
Assumed office
October 6, 2006
DeputyMaud Olofsson
Preceded byGöran Persson
Personal details
Born (1965-08-04) August 4, 1965 (age 58)
Sweden Österhaninge, Stockholm
NationalitySwedish
Political partyModerate Party
SpouseFilippa Reinfeldt
ProfessionEconomist
Politics of Sweden
Basic Laws
Monarchy
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations
Related topics

Major ass licking follows. Vote for deletion.

John Fredrik Reinfeldt (IPA: [ˈfreːdrɪk ˈrajnˌfɛlt]) (born August 4, 1965, in Österhaninge) is the current Prime Minister of Sweden and leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party (Swedish: Moderata samlingspartiet).

A native of Stockholm County, Reinfeldt joined the Moderate Youth League in 1983, and by 1992 had risen to the rank of chairperson, a position he held until 1995. Reinfeldt has been a Member of the Riksdag since 1991, representing his home constituency. Following the 1994 defeat of the Moderate-led coalition government, Reinfeldt adopted a critical stance against the party leadership under Carl Bildt, which resulted in isolation within the party. However, following a change of leadership in 1999 and a disastrous result at the 2002 election, Reinfeldt gradually gained influence within the Moderate Party.

Reinfeldt was elected party leader on October 25, 2003, succeeding Bo Lundgren. Under Reinfeldt's leadership the Moderate Party has transformed its policies, branding itself "the new Moderates". Following the 2006 election, held on September 17, Reinfeldt was selected, as leader of the largest party with a majority, by the outgoing Speaker of the Riksdag Björn von Sydow to become Prime Minister of Sweden. Together with three other political parties in the Alliance for Sweden, Reinfeldt presides over a centre-right coalition government with the support of a narrow majority in the parliament. At the age of 41, Reinfeldt is the third youngest person to become Prime Minister of Sweden.

Personal life

Early life

Fredrik Reinfeldt was born at Allmänna BB hospital in Stockholm as the oldest of three brothers to his parents Bruno and Brigitta Reinfeldt. At the time of his birth his parents lived in an apartment in Österhaninge in the south of Stockholm County, but a short time afterwards the family moved to London, England where his father worked as a consultant for Shell. Upon returning to Sweden the Reinfeldt family first lived in an apartment in Handen before moving to a terraced house in Bromsten in northwestern Stockholm. The Reinfeldt family was living in Bromsten when Fredrik Reinfeldt's younger brothers Magnus and Henrik were born (1969 and 1973). In 1976 the family moved into a single-family home in Täby in northeastern Stockholm County. His mother Birgitta was a leadership (management) consultant, and some of her professional skills might have inspired and impressed the young Fredrik Reinfeldt.[2][3]

At the age of eleven Reinfeldt became chairperson of the student council (Swedish: elevrådet) in his school, and became a fan of sports club Djurgårdens IF, a passion he maintains to this day. He started playing basketball for the "Tensta Tigers" while living in Bromsten (which is located adjacent to Tensta), and he continued playing for the "Tensta Tigers" after his family moved to Täby. Reinfeldt also enjoyed setting up and performing revues and cabarets. After school Reinfeldt completed his military service as a ranger (Swedish: fjälljägare) and finished first in his class as a cadet in Umeå. It was during this time that he became interested in politics, as a representative for his regiment in the congress of conscripts in the swedish military (Swedish: värnpliktsriksdagen).[2][3] Reinfeldt graduated from Stockholm University with a degree in Business and Economics (Swedish: civilekonomexamen) in 1990.[4]

Marriage and family life

In 1992 he married Filippa Holmberg. At the present time (2007) Reinfeldt has moved in to the official mansion of the Prime Minister of Sweden, the Sager House, together with his wife,Filippa, who is a Moderate Party County Councillor (Swedish: sjukvårdslandstingsråd) in Stockholm, and their three children Ebba, Gustaf and Erik.[5][6] His father Bruno Reinfeldt is also involved in local politics for the Moderate Party in Täby.[7]

Genealogy

During the last election, a story arose that Reinfeldt's paternal great grandfather, John Reinfeldt, was the illegitimate son of Emma Dorotea Reinfeld, a maid from Eckau in today's Latvia, and John Hood, an African-American circus director from New York.[8] Emma Dorotea Reinfeld later married the Swede Anders Karlsson, but her son John kept his mother's surname. The spelling was later changed to Reinfeldt.[8][9][3][10] He also have italian ancestry, his paternal grandmother was related to royals Ferdinand IV and Marie Caroline of Sicily.[11]

Political career

Fredrik Reinfeldt joined the Moderate Youth League in 1983 at the age of 18. As a member of the Moderat Youth League in Täby he challenged the leaders of the local youth league, who preferred to use the premises as a place to drink beer and wine rather than any political activity.[2] Reinfeldt, who is said to dislike hard liquor and to consume wine and beer in moderate amounts,[2] started "Conservative Youth" Swedish: Konservativ ungdom, formed a bond with the mother party and eventually took over the youth league in Täby in 1987. In 1988 Reinfeldt became a secretary (Swedish: borgarrådssekreterare) in the Stockholm Municipality Council.[2]

He was active in student politics while studying at Stockholm University, eventually becoming chairperson for the student party "Borgerliga Studenter – Opposition '68" between 1988 and 1989.[4] In 1990 he became chairperson of the Moderate Youth League in Stockholm, and in 1991 Reinfeldt was elected a member of the Riksdag (Swedish: riksdagsledamot).[4] In the Swedish general election of 1991 the Moderate Party and its allies had considerable success, leading to the formation of a centre-right coalition government under Moderate Party leader and Prime Minister Carl Bildt. The 1991 government was the first centre-right government in Sweden since 1982.[2]

Leader of the Moderate Youth League

From 1992 to 1995, Reinfeldt was the chairman of the Moderate Youth League. He ousted the former chairman, Ulf Kristersson at the controversial congress known as The Battle of Lycksele, gathering 58 of the delegates votes with Kristersson gathering 55 votes.[12] The 1992 congress was also the culmination of a long ideological battle within the Moderate Youth League.[3] Reinfeldt later stated that although the effects of that deep ideological division and battle in the party lingered on within the Moderate Youth League, he also felt that it was a defining moment in his life. Had he lost the battle he would most likely not be in politics today.[2][12] During the period 1995 to 1997, Reinfeldt was chairman of the Democrat Youth Community of Europe.[13]

At the beginning of his term as leader of the Moderate Youth League Reinfeldt supported the Bildt government, but Reinfeldt gradually changed his views and became more critical of the party leadership. In 1993 Reinfeldt wrote the book "Det sovande folket" (The Sleeping Nation) in which he criticized the Swedish welfare state and argued for the introduction of a neoliberalist society. Following the defeat of the Bildt government in the Swedish general election of 1994 Reinfeldt publicly criticized the Moderate Party leader Carl Bildt whom Reinfeldt believed had gotten too much dominance in the party.[3]

In 1995 Reinfeldt co-authored the book "Nostalgitrippen" (The Nostalgic Trip) which described several persons in the Moderate Party leadership, including Gunnar Hökmark and Bo Lundgren, as "Carl Bildt-lookalikes". Carl Bildt was described as being the perfect leader for the opposition to satirize; a nobleman living in the affluent Östermalm with a boyish expression and a better-than-you attitude.[2] As for the other high party officials, the book stated that: "If everyone appears similar to Carl it confirms peoples misconceptions about the Moderate Party. It becomes a party for Carl Bildt-copies."[12]

This provoked swift reaction from the Moderate Party leadership, who believed that Reinfeldt's criticisms had gone too far. On February 14, 1995 Reinfeldt was called to a meeting of the Moderate Party Riksdag group which took place in the former second chamber (Swedish: andrakammarsalen) of the Swedish parliament building, a meeting which Reinfeldt himself described as one long telling-off (reportedly Carl Bildt scolded him for hours).[3] After this Reinfeldt toned down his criticism, but was ostracized within the Moderate Party and not given any important posts until after the change of leadership when Bo Lundgren succeeded Carl Bildt in 1999. At that time he was elected into a high party organ, the förtroenderåd.[2] From 2001 to 2002 Reinfeldt was chairman of the justice committee of the Swedish parliament. During this time Reinfeldt traveled around the country gathering impressions and support at the local level of the Moderate Party.[3][2]

Leader of the Moderate Party

Following the loss in the Swedish general election of 2002, Bo Lundgren was forced to resign his position as leader of the Moderate Party.[5] After the 2002 election Reinfeldt was elected as group leader in the Moderate Party parliament group, spokesperson for economic policy and vice chairman in the Swedish parliament finance committee. On October 25, 2003 Reinfeldt was unanimously elected as the new leader of the Moderate Party.[3]

"The New Moderates"

Main article: Moderate Party

Under Reinfeldt's leadership, the Moderate Party has adjusted its position in the political spectrum, moving towards the centre. To reflect these changes, the party's unofficial name was altered to the "The New Moderates" (Swedish: De Nya Moderaterna) in order to emphasize the break with the past.[14] The Moderate Party also calls itself "Sweden's new workers' party" (Swedish: Sveriges nya arbetarparti) which sounds similar to the Swedish Social Democratic Party which calls itself "Sweden's Social Democratic Workers' Party" (Swedish: Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti).

The Moderate Party is starting to focus more on calls for tax cuts for low- and middle-income groups, rather than on major tax cuts more benefitting high-income earners. Also, as leader of the Moderate Party, Reinfeldt has tended to be less forceful in his criticism of the Swedish welfare state than his predecessors. Reinfeldt has instead proposed reforms to Sweden's welfare state, which include cutting taxes for the lowest income earners and reducing unemployment benefits, in order to encourage the jobless to return to work.[6] He has toned down calls within the party for dismantling large portions of the Swedish welfare state, stating that change must come gradually from the bottom up and not dictated from the top down.[5] His goal is said to be to fine-tune the welfare state, by focusing on getting people off welfare benefits and in to employment. He has worked to shift the conservatives toward the middle ground by convincing voters that he would fix rather than dismantle the public welfare system.[6]

Reinfeldt has even extended an invitation to the Swedish Trade Union Confederation, a traditional supporter of the Social Democrats and opponents to the Moderate Party.[15] Reinfeldt has also changed the Moderate Party traditional stance towards the Swedish Labour and employment laws, stating that he prefers small changes instead of any radical reform.[16]

People both within and outside the party differ on their analysis of the transformation of the Moderate Party, with some arguing that the party is mainly honing the way it describes its visions, and others suggesting that it constitutes a substantial policy change towards the centre.[17][18][19] As a consequence of Reinfeldt's shift of the Moderate Party to the center, the differences between the Moderate Party and their traditional opponents the Swedish Social Democratic Party have become harder to discern.[16] In a series of radio and television debates the opposing Social Democrat leader and incumbent Prime Minister Göran Persson portrayed his opponent as a classic conservative in disguise. Persson stated that, if in power, the conservatives would tamper with Sweden's successful formula of high taxes, a large public sector and generous benefits.[20] There is also some criticism within the party, chairperson of the Moderate Youth League Christofer Fjellner has called Reinfeldt's political reform as "leftist rhetoric" (Swedish: vänsterretorik).[16]

Alliance for Sweden

Fredrik Reinfeldt with the other party leaders of the Alliance for Sweden, during a press conference in Sundsvall, 6 March-7 March 2006.
Main article: Alliance for Sweden

In the run-up for the Swedish general election of 2006 Reinfeldt, as leader of the Moderate Party, participated in the creation of the Alliance for Sweden which has united the four-party center-right coalition which consists of the Moderate Party, Centre Party, Liberal People's Party and Christian Democrats. Reinfeldt is said to have been instrumental in uniting the four parties which previously were known for being notoriously divided in order to present a powerful alternative to the Social Democrats.[5][6] The four parties presented a joint election manifesto for the alliance.[5][21]

2006 Swedish general election

Main article: Swedish general election, 2006

Following the Swedish general election of 2006 on September 17, 2006 the Alliance for Sweden won a majority of the votes after the first count.[22] The Moderates gathered 26.1% of the votes, a new record for the party which in the 2002 election had only managed to gather 15.2% of the votes.[6]

Following the defeat of the incumbent Social Democrats the opinion among several members of the defeated incumbents was that the election was lost because the previous government failed to bring down unemployment, and failed to campaign on it as an issue. Ardalan Shekarabi, the former chairman for the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League, stated that "the Moderates were right strategically to focus on unemployment".[23] Former Social Democratic minister Leif Pagrotsky stated that internal fighting, authoritarianism and perceived aggressiveness as well as a loss of appeal to the middle class and city inhabitants contributed to the election loss.[24]

Prime Minister

See also: Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt

The speaker of the Riksdag, Björn von Sydow, asked Reinfeldt to form a coalition government. On October 4, the new Speaker, Per Westerberg, nominated Reinfeldt as Prime Minister, and on October 5 he was elected in the Riksdag. 175 members of the Riksdag voted in support of Reinfeldt, and 169 against. The new government assumed office at 12:00 Swedish time on October 6.[25] As the leader of the largest party in the alliance, Reinfeldt was elected Prime Minister by the Riksdag on October 5 2006. At the age of 41, Reinfeldt is the third youngest person to become Prime Minister in Sweden (after Robert Themptander and Rickard Sandler).[26]

Controversies and public perception

Controversies

During the run-up for the 2006 Swedish general election Fredrik Reinfeldt was subject to a smear campaign. Mats Lindström, a staff member at the Social Democratic Party headquarters admitted to sending e-mails accusing Reinfeldt of tax fraud, false financial declarations and only attaining his position because of his father's influence.[27] The IP address used in the e-mails was traced to the Social Democratic Party headquarters, and Social Democratic Party officials co-operated with Moderate Party officials and the Swedish parliament's security department in tracing the source. Social Democratic Party secretary Marita Ulvskog apologized and said that such behaviour was completely unacceptable.[28][29] Following the incident, Reinfeldt filed charges with the Swedish police,[30] however the charges did not result in any police action.[31]

A short while after the e-mail campaign images of Reinfeldt as a wolf in sheep's clothing and others which depicted Reinfeldt and the Moderate Party in an unflattering light were spread internally within the Social Democratic Party and subsequently leaked to the media.[32] Social Democratic Party spokeswoman Carina Persson confirmed that the material came from the Social Democratic Youth League, but denied the existence of an official smear campaign and stated that the material was not meant to be released or spread to a wider audience.[33][34]

During the week of the general election Sveriges Television broadcast a program which closely examined the leaders of the two largest political parties in Sweden. The program exposed the fact that Fredrik Reinfeldt and his wife Filippa had used the services of several au pairs and foreign nannies, paying them less than what a Swedish employee would earn (but within the recommendations for an au pair).[35]

Shortly after the new cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt assumed power it was shaken by scandals regarding the former activities of several of the new ministers. Within 14 days two of the new ministers had resigned, and another was facing criminal charges in the Minister affair at the announcement of the Reinfeldt cabinet.

Public perception

Reinfeldt has been called a "Swedish David Cameron" (although Reinfeldt is rather thought to have influenced Cameron, since Reinfeldt was elected party leader in 2003 and Cameron in 2005) and likened to former US President Bill Clinton, while his wife Filippa Reinfeldt has been likened to US Senator Hillary Clinton.[6] Fredrik Reinfeldt has been described as a communitarian[36][37] Fredrik Reinfeldt attended a meeting held by the Bilderberg Group in Ottawa, Canada in June of 2006, a meeting which was also attended by former Moderate Party leader, former Swedish Prime Minister and current Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt.[38]

Fredrik Reinfeldt's parents, Bruno and Birgitta, were both entrepreneurs - his father ran a training company whereas his mother worked in recruitment - and Fredrik Reinfeldt has stated that his parents' experience of the difficulties in business life, in particular the "pretty aggressive attitude towards entrepreneurship" as being one of several key factors which has influenced his political activities.[6] Reinfeldt was ranked 19 in a ranking of Swedish leaders made by the Swedish management magazine "Chef".[3]

In a study done by SIFO, a Swedish polling institute, Fredrik Reinfeldt was the "most admired man in Sweden" in 2006.[39]

Persona

Fredrik Reinfeldt has been perceived as a very controlled and harmonious person, and his apparent lack of public displays of emotion stands in contrast to his predecessor Bo Lundgren, who on several occasions displayed fits of rage.[3] Reinfeldt has been described as "gentle, pensive and a good listener" and his "cool, soft-spoken approach" is said to go down well with Swedish voters[5] Aware of this perception, Reinfeldt has said "I am by nature confident and calm. But that does not mean I am not passionate and do not feel strongly about things".[6] Regarding his family life, Reinfeldt has cultivated the image of a good family man who enjoys housework.[5][6]

Trivia

Bibliography

  • (1993) Det sovande folket ISBN 91-86194-10-0
  • (1993) Projekt Europa: sex unga européer om Europasamarbetet ISBN 91-86194-06-2
  • (1995) Nostalgitrippen ISBN 91-86194-13-5
  • (1995) Stenen i handen på den starke ISBN 91-86194-14-3
  • (2001) Väljarkryss: personvalshandbok ISBN 91-35288-50-1

References

  1. ^ "Det gäller att njuta av varje fas i livet" Template:Sv icon, Villatidningen, December 12 2005.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Så nådde han toppen Template:Sv icon, Aftonbladet, September 18, 2006.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Berättelsen om Fredrik Reinfeldt Template:Sv icon, Dagens Nyheter, September 18 2006.
  4. ^ a b c Nu är det Fredrik som styr Sverige Template:Sv icon, Aftonbladet, October 5 2006.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Profile: Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Alliance's clean-up man Template:En icon, The Local, September 13 2006.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Profile: Fredrik Reinfeldt Template:En icon, BBC News, September 18 2006.
  7. ^ Förtroendevalda i kommunfullmäktige 2003-2006 Template:Sv icon at the Täby Municipality official website.
  8. ^ a b Reinfeldt's ancestor 'dandy American ringleader', The Local, October 3 2006
  9. ^ Farfarsfarfar var "kannibal" Template:Sv icon, Aftonbladet, September 29 2006.
  10. ^ Reinfeldt, Fredrik Template:Sv icon, Anbytarforum, September 30 2006.
  11. ^ Farfarsfarfar var "kannibal" Template:Sv icon, Aftonbladet, September 29 2006.
  12. ^ a b c Vägen mot toppen kantad av bråk Template:Sv icon, Sveriges Television, September 11-September 14 2006.
  13. ^ Past office-holders Template:En icon at the Democrat Youth Community of Europe official website.
  14. ^ Sweden's new workers' party on the cusp of power Template:En icon, The Local, August 22 2006.
  15. ^ Moderatledaren nöjd med facket, Template:Sv icon, Stockholm City (newspaper), August 23 2006.
  16. ^ a b c Reinfeldts politiska lappkast överraskade Template:Sv icon, Sveriges Television, September 11-September 14 2006.
  17. ^ Reinfeldt lanserar "nya" moderaterna Template:Sv icon, Sydsvenskan, August 25 2006.
  18. ^ Nu ska Sverige få sin Blair Template:Sv icon, Svenska Dagbladet, August 26 2005.
  19. ^ Detta är de nya moderaterna Template:Sv icon, Dagens Nyheter, June 11 2005.
  20. ^ Sweden's governing party voted out after 12 years Template:En icon, International Herald Tribune, September 17 2006.
  21. ^ Alliance manifesto targets jobs and environment Template:En icon, The Local, August 23 2006.
  22. ^ Narrow win for Swedish opposition Template:En icon, BBC News, September 17 2006.
  23. ^ Social Democrats mourn loss of power Template:En icon, The Local, September 18 2006.
  24. ^ Social Democrats 'are like a sect' Template:En icon, The Local, November 13 2006.
  25. ^ Reinfeldt asked to form a government Template:En icon, The Local, September 19 2006.
  26. ^ Reinfeldt bliver Sveriges yngste statsminister Template:Dk icon, Politiken, September 18 2006.
  27. ^ Key Persson aide behind email scandal Template:En icon, The Local, February 25 2006.
  28. ^ Social Democrats admit to Reinfeldt smear campaign Template:En icon, The Local, February 24 2006.
  29. ^ SD staffer quits over email storm Template:En icon, The Local, February 24 2006.
  30. ^ Reinfeldt reports emails to Swedish police Template:En icon, The Local, February 27 2006.
  31. ^ No police action over Reinfeldt smear emails Template:En icon, The Local, March 7 2006.
  32. ^ Reinfeldt werewolf pictures inflame smear scandal Template:En icon, The Local, February 28 2006.
  33. ^ S-ledningen spred varulvsbild på Reinfeldt Template:Sv icon, Dagens Nyheter, February 27 2006.
  34. ^ Reinfeldt har polisanmält mejlen Template:Sv icon, Svenska Dagbladet, February 27 2006.
  35. ^ Lågavlönade barnflickor hos Reinfeldt Template:Sv icon, Sveriges Television, September 11-September 14 2006.
  36. ^ Framgångsteologi för massorna Template:Sv icon, Svenska Dagbladet, April 2 2006.
  37. ^ Reinfeldt kommunitarist? Template:Sv icon, private blog.
  38. ^ Reinfeldt i hemlig elitklubb Template:Sv icon, Aftonbladet, September 22 2006.
  39. ^ Wallström och Reinfeldt populärast Template:Sv icon, SVT, December 29 2006.
  40. ^ "Reinfeldt sopsorterar med Arnold i tankarna". Aftonbladet. 2007-03-20.

Further reading

  • Ljunggren, Stig-Björn (2006). Högern att lita på! : om Fredrik Reinfeldt och de nya moderaterna. Stockholm: Hjalmarson & Högberg. ISBN 91-7224-023-7.
  • Forstorp, Per-Anders & Palmer, Brian (2006). George W. Reinfeldt : konsten att göra en politisk extreme makeover. Stockholm: Karneval förlag. ISBN 91-976031-4-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Wiklund, Mats (2006). En av oss : en bok om Fredrik Reinfeldt. Rimbo: Fischer & Co. ISBN 91-85183-24-5.
  • Kristofferson, Ulf (2006). Fredrik Reinfeldt - i huvudrollen. Stockholm: Bonnier fakta. ISBN 91-85015-76-8.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fredrik Reinfeldt.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Fredrik Reinfeldt.

External links

Template:Incumbent succession boxTemplate:Incumbent succession box
Political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the Moderate Youth League
1992–1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman of the Democrat Youth Community of Europe
1995–1997 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
First chairperson
 Chairman of the Youth of the European People's Party
1997–1999 		Succeeded by
David Hansen



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