Gun Hellsvik
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Gun Hellsvik | |
---|---|
Minister for Justice | |
In office 4 October 1991 – 7 October 1994 | |
Prime Minister | Carl Bildt |
Preceded by | Laila Freivalds |
Succeeded by | Laila Freivalds |
Personal details | |
Born | Gun Birgitta Blomgren 27 September 1942 Ängelholm, Sweden |
Died | 14 November 2016 | (aged 74)
Political party | Moderate |
Spouse | Per Hellsvik (m. 1966) |
Gun Birgitta Hellsvik (née Blomgren; 27 September 1942 – 14 November 2016) was a Swedish politician for the Moderate Party, who served as Minister for Justice from 1991-1994.
A lawyer by training, she worked as a
She served as
Hellsvik was known for her tough stance on drugs. She opposed dispensing clean needles to drug addicts, arguing that it would undermine people's confidence in the legal system. As Minister of Justice, she oversaw a legal change that made it a crime to be under the influence of an illicit drug, even in the absence of drug possession; she also authorised the police to forcibly obtain urine and blood samples from a suspected individual. She lauded the American war on drugs, claiming that "as so many times before, the United States, is showing us the right path". In a motion to parliament entitled "Strong measures against narcotics" (Krafttag mot narkotika;[1]) she supported lifetime imprisonment for narcotics crimes, allowing the police the take urine and blood samples from small children to promote early detection of drug abuse and to authorise the police to routinely induce vomiting in individuals suspected of having swallowed narcotics, among other things; the proposals were voted down by parliament.
Hellsvik died from cancer on 14 November 2016, at the age of 74.[2]
References
- ^ "Krafttag mot narkotika" [Strong measures against narcotics] (in Swedish). Riksdag. 1999-10-05. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ "Gun Hellsvik har avlidit". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 15 November 2016.