Lars Leijonborg

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Lars Leijonborg
Minister for Education and Research
Incumbent
Assumed office  2006
Preceded by	Leif Pagrotsky
Leader of the Swedish Liberal Party
Incumbent
In office since 1997
Preceded by	Maria Leissner
Member of the Riksdag
Incumbent
In office since 1985
Constituency	Stockholm County
Born	November 21, 1949 Täby, Uppland
Political party	Liberal People's Party
Children	two sons, Axel (1996 –) and Pontus (1975 –)

Lars Erik Ansgar Leijonborg (November 21, 1949 –) is a Swedish politician, leader of the Liberal People's Party (Swedish: Folkpartiet liberalerna) since 1997 and Minister for Education and Research since 2006.

[edit] Biography

Although born in Täby, Uppland,^{[citation needed]} Lars Leijonborg grew up in Solna north of Stockholm.^[1] In 1971 he became the leader of the Liberal Youth of Sweden (Liberala ungdomsförbundet), the Liberal Party's youth organisation. In 1974 he graduated from his studies in social work at Stockholm University. He was party secretary 1980-1983 and editor-in-chief for the party magazine 1983-1984. After a brief period as a management consultant, he was elected a member of parliament (riksdagsledamot) in 1985. In 1990 he became the party's second vice leader. Succeeding Maria Leissner, on March 15, 1997 he was unanimously elected the leader of the party.

Initially, voters were cold to Leijonborg, his appearance often described as tense.^{[citation needed]} In the 1998 parliamentary elections, Folkpartiet received 4.7% of the vote, just above the 4% threshold for parliamentary representation. It was the worst election result the party had seen since World War I. Even within the party, Leijonborg's position was questioned by many. The youth organisation he once headed openly called for his resignation. Despite the internal opposition, he managed to hold on to his position. And when, in the campaign before the 2002 parliamentary elections, the party suddenly surged after launching a proposal on making a Swedish language test one of the requirements for a naturalized Swedish citizenship, Leijonborg was nicknamed "the Lion King" (Leijonkungen) in the tabloids.^{[citation needed]} The election result, 13.3%, was a success for the party and for Leijonborg personally, but since the party's centre-right partners failed to gain ground, the Social Democrats could remain in government. In 2006 the party was a part of the Alliance for Sweden, which won the election, although the Liberal Party lost almost six percentage points compared to the 2002 election, getting a total of 7,5% of the votes.

On October 6, 2006 Lars Leijonborg was made Minister for Education and Research in the Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt. On October 16, 2006, Leijonborg temporarily took over the responsibilities for Minister for Culture Cecilia Stegö Chilò, who resigned that day.^[2] Twelve days later, on October 24, Lena Adehlsson Liljeroth assumed the post as Minister for Culture.^[3]

[edit] References

1. ^ (Swedish) Om Lars Leijonborg - Folkpartiet. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
2. ^ (Swedish) "Cecilia Stegö Chilò avgår", Svenska Dagbladet, 2006-10-16. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
3. ^ (Swedish) "Moderater nya statsråd i Reinfeldts regering", Dagens Nyheter, 2006-10-24. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.

[edit] External links

• Lars Leijonborg - Folkpartiet
• Riksdagen: Lars Leijonborg (fp)

Preceded by Maria Leissner	Leader of the Swedish Liberal Party 1997—	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Leif Pagrotsky Minister for Education and Culture	Swedish Minister for Education and Research October 6, 2006—	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Cecilia Stegö Chilò	Minister for Culture (acting) October 16, 2006 - October 24, 2006	Succeeded by Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth

v • d • e Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt
Reinfeldt • Malmström • Ask • Billström • Bildt • Tolgfors • Carlsson • Odenberg • Hägglund • Larsson • Husmark Pehrsson • Borg • Odell • Leijonborg • Björklund • Adelsohn Liljeroth • Erlandsson • Carlgren • Olofsson • Torstensson • Littorin • Sabuni

Persondata
NAME	Lars Leijonborg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Swedish politician. Leader of the Liberal People's Party since 1997, Minister for Education and Research since 2006.
DATE OF BIRTH	November 21, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH	Täby, Uppland
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH