Göran Hägglund
Göran Hägglund | |
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Member of the Riksdag | |
In office 30 September 1991 – 25 April 2015 | |
Constituency | Halland County |
Father of the House | |
In office 1 January 2015 – 25 April 2015 | |
Preceded by | Per Westerberg |
Succeeded by | Krister Örnfjäder |
Personal details | |
Born | Degerfors, Sweden | 27 January 1959
Political party | Christian Democrat |
Spouse | Married |
Children | 2 |
Occupation | Politician |
This article is part of a series on |
Conservatism in Sweden |
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Bo Göran Hägglund (born 27 January 1959) is a
Early life and political career
Hägglund's parents are originally from Finland: they moved to Sweden in the 1950s.[1] He was born in Degerfors in central Sweden, but moved to Jönköping, a Christian Democratic stronghold, with his family in 1978.
He started his political career in the Christian Democratic youth organisation. From 1978 he was employed by the party, first as ombudsman for the local Christian Democratic Youth, and from 1981 for the regional party branch. From 1982 to 1986 he was also a member of the Municipal Council in Jönköping.
Following the 1985 elections, he began work as parliamentary secretary for the Christian Democrats. He temporarily left politics in 1988, to start working for an insurance company. In the parliamentary elections of 1991 he was elected a Member of Parliament.
Hägglund became the Riksdag's Father of the House on 1 January 2015, being the eldest among those first elected in 1991.
Party leader
Hägglund was generally considered to be long-time party leader Alf Svensson's personal favourite as a successor. However, when Svensson announced his plans to step down, two other candidates, Maria Larsson and Mats Odell, had the support of a greater number of regional party organisations. Not even Hägglund's own Jönköping district stood behind him. Eventually, however, all Hägglund's possible contenders withdrew from the race, and his election as party leader on 3 April 2004 was unanimous.[2]
Prior to the
In the autumn of 2011 he was challenged for the post of party leader by colleague Mats Odell. In an extra congress held on 28 January 2012, Odell's challenge failed and Hägglund retained the party leadership.
During a party rally in
On 29 January 2015, Hägglund announced that he would step down as
Minister for Social Affairs
Hägglund was appointed Minister for Social Affairs on 6 October 2006 by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.
As minister, Hägglund enforced several reforms including the
Personal life
Hägglund grew up in the
References
- ^ Mångfalden är ”en legitimitetsfråga” (in Swedish) Svenska Dagbladet
- ^ Världen idag. "Göran Hägglund: Det handlar om vem som äger makten över tillvaron - Världen idag - världen ur ett kristet perspektiv". Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ "Göran Hägglund attackerad med tårta". Sveriges Television (in Swedish). August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Christian Democrat leader attacked with cake". The Local. August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ Sveriges Radio. "Ebba Busch Thor to lead the Christian Democrats". Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "Sweden to allow gay marriage in May". The Local. AFP. 21 January 2009.
- ^ Government Splits Over Gay Marriage
- ^ "Why Sweden's election oozes uncertainty - The Local". Retrieved 13 September 2014.