Carl Bildt
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| Carl Bildt | |
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| In office October 4, 1991 – October 7, 1994 |
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| Vice PM(s) | Bengt Westerberg |
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| Preceded by | Ingvar Carlsson |
| Succeeded by | Ingvar Carlsson |
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| Incumbent | |
| In office since October 6, 2006 |
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| Preceded by | Jan Eliasson |
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| Born | July 15, 1949 (age 57) Halmstad, Halland |
| Political party | Moderate Party |
| Spouse | Anna Maria Corazza |
| Signature |  |
Nils Daniel Carl Bildt (born July 15, 1949) is a Swedish politician and diplomat, currently serving as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt. Bildt was Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994, and leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999. He has also been active as a mediator in the Balkan conflict.
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[edit] Background and career
Bildt was born in Halmstad, Halland, and belongs to an old Danish-Swedish noble family; his great-great-grandfather, Gillis Bildt, served as prime minister a century earlier. Carl Bildt served as chairman of the Free Moderate Student League, a centre-right student organisation. Bildt became a Member of Parliament in 1979. As an MP in the early eighties, he became noted as an incisive and combative debater on foreign affairs, and found himself pitted against Prime Minister Olof Palme. Bildt was elected leader of the Moderate Party in 1986, succeeding Ulf Adelsohn. In 1991 the Social Democrats were defeated by a four-party coalition led by Bildt's Moderates.
[edit] Prime Minister
His government program was one of liberalizing and reforming the Swedish economy as well as making Sweden a member of the European Union. It initiated the negotiations for Sweden's accession to the European Union (though the work to prepare the ground, at home and versus the EEC/EU, had already started during the final year of the Social Democrat government. The Social Democrats' volte face on possible accession to the EEC was most likely a prerequisite for the positive referendum result) and Bildt signed the accession treaty at the European Union summit of Corfu, Greece on June 23, 1994.
Economic reforms were enacted, including voucher schools, liberalized markets for telecommunications and energy as well as the privatization of publicly owned companies, privatization of health care, contributing to liberalizing the Swedish economy. Arguably, the subsequent budget cut-backs with the Social Democrates, and after 1994, continued spending cuts by the Social Democratic government, did more to reform the Swedish economy and the Swedish model, than Bildt's governments programme as such. The government's effectivness was furthermore hampered as it was plagued by in-fighting, most memorably over the construction of the Oresund bridge.
The period was also marked by a severe economic crisis. In November 1992, the crisis reached its climax as Sweden left the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (the ERM) and let the Krona float, after having defended the fixed exchange rate at tremeandous cost. The, in some people's opinion, single minded defense of the Krona, led to and continues to draw heavy criticism. At the peak of the crisis and amid run-away budget deficits, a number of emergency cut-backs were negotiated with the Social Democrats. The different measures did contribute to a reduction in the public deficit in 1994 and 1995, and allegedly to revived growth in subsequent years. There is still some debate on whether the current (2006) growth levels are in part due to the devaluation of the Krona. Some see the increased importance of the export industry as testament to this. [citation needed]
The Social Democrats returned to power in September 1994, although Bildt's Moderate Party scored a slight gain.
In 1999 he was succeeded as party leader by Bo Lundgren.
[edit] Diplomat
After the term in government, Mr Bildt was active as mediator in the Balkans conflict, served as the European Union Special Envoy to Former Yugoslavia from June 1995, Co-Chairman of the Dayton Peace Conference in November 1995 and High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina from December 1995 to June 1997 immediately after the Bosnian War. From 1999 to 2001, he served as the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for the Balkans.
[edit] Minister for Foreign Affairs
On October 6, 2006, Bildt was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the newly formed government lead by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. This was seen by many as a somewhat surprising move, due to the fact that Bildt had already served both as Prime Minister and as leader of the Moderate Party and the previous conflict between Bildt and Reinfeldt.
Carl Bildt has been criticized for harassment of former Undersecretary of State Lars Danielsson, and for not giving him any assignments or salary.[1][2] Danielsson used to be the right-hand man in foreign policy of former Prime Minister Göran Persson and is now employed in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs under Bildt. On December 8, after two months and after actions from the trade union, it was announced that Danielsson will be assigned a position at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and the he will also have a salary.[3]
[edit] Honours
He is a Commander of the Légion d'honneur and has been awarded a honorary doctorate from the University of St Andrews. He was, among other things, chairman of the board of directors for Kreab, the public relations consultancy, Legg Mason, the fund manager, and serves in RAND's board of trustees.
[edit] References
- ^ Danielsson utfryst på jobbet, Sydsvenskan, November 29, 2006 (Swedish)
- ^ Danielsson utfryst av Bildt på UD, Dagens Nyheter, November 28, 2006 (Swedish)
- ^ Bildt tvingades backa om Danielsson, Dagens Nyheter, December 8, 2006 (Swedish)
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
- bildt.net - Official website
- Bildt Comments - Bildt's weblog (inactive)
| Preceded by: Carl Cederschiöld |
Leader of the Free Moderate Student League 1973–1974 |
Succeeded by: Mats Svegfors |
| Preceded by: Ulf Adelsohn |
Chairperson of the Moderate Party 1986–1999 |
Succeeded by: Bo Lundgren |
| Preceded by: Ingvar Carlsson |
Prime Minister of Sweden 1991–1994 |
Succeeded by: Ingvar Carlsson |
| Preceded by: Office created |
High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995–1997 |
Succeeded by: Carlos Westendorp |
| Preceded by: Jan Eliasson |
Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs 2006 – present |
Incumbent |
| Prime Ministers of Sweden |  |
|---|---|
| De Geer, Sr. • Posse • Thyselius • Themptander • G. Bildt • Åkerhielm • Boström • von Otter • Boström • Ramstedt • Lundeberg • Staaff • Lindman • Staaff • Hammarskjöld • Swartz • Edén • Branting • De Geer, Jr. • von Sydow • Branting • Trygger • Branting • Sandler • Ekman • Lindman • Ekman • Hamrin • Hansson • Pehrsson-Bramstorp • Hansson • Erlander • Palme • Fälldin • Ullsten • Fälldin • Palme • Carlsson • C. Bildt • Carlsson • Persson • Reinfeldt |
| Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt |
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| Fredrik Reinfeldt (Prime Minister) • Cecilia Malmström (EU Affairs) • Beatrice Ask (Justice) • Tobias Billström (Migration and Asylum Policy) • Carl Bildt (Foreign Affairs) • Sten Tolgfors (Foreign Trade) • Gunilla Carlsson (International Development Cooperation) • Mikael Odenberg (Defence) • Göran Hägglund (Social Affairs) • Maria Larsson (Public Health and Social Services) • Cristina Husmark Pehrsson (Social Security) • Anders Borg (Finance) • Mats Odell (Local Government and Financial Markets) • Lars Leijonborg (Education and Science) • Jan Björklund (Schools) • Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth (Culture) • Eskil Erlandsson (Agriculture) • Andreas Carlgren (Environment) • Maud Olofsson (Industry and Trade, Vice Prime Minister) • Åsa Torstensson (Infrastructure) • Sven Otto Littorin (Employment) • Nyamko Sabuni (Integration and Gender Equality) |
