Margot Wallström

Margot Elisabeth Wallström was the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs and acting Deputy Prime Minister from October 2014 to September 2019.

Wallström was born September 28, 1954, in Skellefteå, Sweden. After graduation from high school, she worked as a bank clerk and then an accountant. She has worked as the CEO of a regional TV network in Sweden and as the executive vice-president of Worldview Global Media in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Wallström has held a number of political positions in the Swedish parliament, the Swedish government and the European Commission. She was elected to parliament in 1979. She survived as Minster for Youth, Women, and Consumer Affairs from 1988 to 1991, Minister of Culture from 1994 to 1996, and Minster of Social Affairs from 1996 to 1998. She was appointed as European Union Commissioner in 1999. Wallström was the Environment Commissioner from 1999 to 2004. She was Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy and the first Vice President of the European commission from 2004 to 2010.

She became chair of the Ministerial Imitative of the Council for Women World Leaders in 2007. From 2010 to 2012 she served as first Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. She was chair of the board of Lund University in Sweden from 2012 to 2014. She was the Minister for Nordic Cooperation from May 2016 to 2019. Wallström was the Mister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister from 2014 to September 2019.

Wallström is a member of the international advisory council at Afrobarometer.

Wallström received the Monismanien Award for Freedom of Speech in 2009. She has also the Göteborg Award on Sustainable Development and was voted “Commissioner of the Year” by the European Voice newspaper in 2002.

Sources:

Afrobarometer. (n.d.) “Margot Wallström” Afrobarometer. Retrieved August 29, 2022. https://www.afrobarometer.org/person/margot-wallstrom/.

Council of Women World Leaders. (n.d.) “Margot Wallström” Council of Women World Leaders. Retrieved August 29, 2022. https://www.councilwomenworldleaders.org/margot-wallstroumlm.html.

International Advisory Council (n.d.) “Margot Wallström” Institute for Human Rights and Business. Retrieved August 29, 2022. https://www.ihrb.org/about/council/margot-wallstrom.

Tibell, E., & Lindström, M. (2019, September 6) “Margot Wallström shortly to leave the Government and her role as Minister for Foreign Affairs” Government Offices of Sweden. Retrieved August 29, 2022. https://www.government.se/press-releases/2019/09/margot-wallstrom-to-leave-the-government-and-her-role-as-minister-for-foreign-affairs/.