Sweden1974
12-09-2005, 14:33
Anna Lindh (June 19, 1957 – September 11, 2003) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician who served as Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1998 until her death.
Anna Lindh was married to Bo Holmberg, the Governor of Södermanland, with whom she had two sons, named David and Filip.
Anna Lindh died on the early morning of September 11, 2003, following a knife attack in Stockholm on the afternoon of September 10. Just after 4 pm she was attacked while shopping at the Nordiska Kompaniet department store. She was stabbed in the chest, stomach and arms. Following the assault she was rushed to the Karolinska Hospital where she underwent surgery for over nine hours, receiving blood transfusions continually during the operation. Reportedly she suffered copious internal bleeding, her liver was seriously damaged, and her medical situation remained grave, even though at first it appeared to have improved after the surgery. One hour after concluding the initial nine-hour surgery, complications forced resumption of surgery. At 5:29 am local time all attempts to save her life had been exhausted and Anna Lindh was pronounced dead.
Anna Lindh studied at Uppsala University and graduated as a Candidate of Law (jur. kand.) in 1982. The same year she was elected a Member of Parliament, the Riksdag. In 1984 she became the first woman president of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League.
She served as a Member of Parliament until 1985, and again from 1998. From 1991 to 1994 she was Deputy Mayor of Stockholm, responsible for culture. In 1994, following a Social Democratic election victory, the new Prime Minister of Sweden Ingvar Carlsson made her Minister for the Environment. One of her legacies is her pioneering work towards a European Union legislation on hazardous chemical substances. She also urged for the establishment of a common EU strategy against acidification.
Following the general election in 1998, Göran Persson appointed Lindh to succeed Lena Hjelm-Wallén as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the new Government. Having made influential friends across the world during her time at the helm of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League, Anna Lindh was an ardent supporter of international cooperation, both through the United Nations and in the European Union.
A high point in her career came during the Swedish Presidency of the European Union during the first half of 2001, when she was Chairman of the Council of the European Union, carrying the responsibilities of representing the official foreign policy position for the European Union as a whole. Travelling with the EU foreign and security policy spokesman Javier Solana in Macedonia during the Kosovo/Macedonian crisis, she negotiated an agreement that averted a civil war in the country.
Lindh criticised the 2003 invasion of Iraq, commenting that "a war being fought without support in the statutes of the United Nations is a major failure". She also advocated greater respect for international law and human rights in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, criticising Ariel Sharon's government in Israel, but also condemning Palestine suicide bombings as "atrocities". In a January 30, 2003 speech, she called on Israel to "end the occupation, give up settlements, and agree on a pragmatic solution to Jerusalem" and on the Palestinians to "do everything in their power to stop the terrorist acts, and take legal measures against those responsible" and to "produce reform, for security, but also for democracy and human rights".
Anna Lindh was married to Bo Holmberg, the Governor of Södermanland, with whom she had two sons, named David and Filip.
Anna Lindh died on the early morning of September 11, 2003, following a knife attack in Stockholm on the afternoon of September 10. Just after 4 pm she was attacked while shopping at the Nordiska Kompaniet department store. She was stabbed in the chest, stomach and arms. Following the assault she was rushed to the Karolinska Hospital where she underwent surgery for over nine hours, receiving blood transfusions continually during the operation. Reportedly she suffered copious internal bleeding, her liver was seriously damaged, and her medical situation remained grave, even though at first it appeared to have improved after the surgery. One hour after concluding the initial nine-hour surgery, complications forced resumption of surgery. At 5:29 am local time all attempts to save her life had been exhausted and Anna Lindh was pronounced dead.
Anna Lindh studied at Uppsala University and graduated as a Candidate of Law (jur. kand.) in 1982. The same year she was elected a Member of Parliament, the Riksdag. In 1984 she became the first woman president of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League.
She served as a Member of Parliament until 1985, and again from 1998. From 1991 to 1994 she was Deputy Mayor of Stockholm, responsible for culture. In 1994, following a Social Democratic election victory, the new Prime Minister of Sweden Ingvar Carlsson made her Minister for the Environment. One of her legacies is her pioneering work towards a European Union legislation on hazardous chemical substances. She also urged for the establishment of a common EU strategy against acidification.
Following the general election in 1998, Göran Persson appointed Lindh to succeed Lena Hjelm-Wallén as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the new Government. Having made influential friends across the world during her time at the helm of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League, Anna Lindh was an ardent supporter of international cooperation, both through the United Nations and in the European Union.
A high point in her career came during the Swedish Presidency of the European Union during the first half of 2001, when she was Chairman of the Council of the European Union, carrying the responsibilities of representing the official foreign policy position for the European Union as a whole. Travelling with the EU foreign and security policy spokesman Javier Solana in Macedonia during the Kosovo/Macedonian crisis, she negotiated an agreement that averted a civil war in the country.
Lindh criticised the 2003 invasion of Iraq, commenting that "a war being fought without support in the statutes of the United Nations is a major failure". She also advocated greater respect for international law and human rights in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, criticising Ariel Sharon's government in Israel, but also condemning Palestine suicide bombings as "atrocities". In a January 30, 2003 speech, she called on Israel to "end the occupation, give up settlements, and agree on a pragmatic solution to Jerusalem" and on the Palestinians to "do everything in their power to stop the terrorist acts, and take legal measures against those responsible" and to "produce reform, for security, but also for democracy and human rights".