Nyamko Sabuni

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Nyamko Sabuni
Nyamko Sabuni
Incumbent
Assumed office 
6 October 2006
Preceded by Jens Orback
Born 31 March 1969 (1969-03-31) (age 39)
Flag of Burundi Bujumbura, Burundi
Political party Liberal People's Party
Website www.folkpartiet.se/sabuni

Nyamko Ana Sabuni (born 31 March 1969) is a Swedish politician, currently serving as Minister for Integration and Gender Equality in the Swedish government. She is a member of the Liberal People's Party. Sabuni was elected a Member of Parliament in 2002 and assumed the office of Minister for Integration and Gender Equality on October 6, 2006.

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[edit] Personal life

Nyamko Sabuni was born in Bujumbura in Burundi where her father, a left-wing politician from Zaire, lived in exile. Sabuni's father is a Christian while her mother is a Muslim.[1] The family obtained political asylum in Sweden in 1981 and Sabuni grew up in Kungsängen, north of Stockholm. She studied law at Uppsala University, migration policy at Mälardalen University in Eskilstuna, and information and media communications at Berghs School of Communication in Stockholm.

She is married to a Swedish man with whom she has two twin-boys. She has described herself as non-religious.[2]

[edit] Political career

Sabuni was a member of board of the Liberal Youth of Sweden from 1996 to 1998. She has cited the murder of Ivorian refugee Gerard Gbeyo, committed by a Swedish neo-Nazi in the town of Klippan in 1995, as one of the reasons she became involved in politics.[3]

In a July 17, 2006, opinion letter published in the Swedish newspaper Expressen, Sabuni called for mandatory gynecological examinations of all schoolgirls in order to prevent genital mutilation (also known as female circumcision).[4] She has proposed a ban on hijab for girls under 15 and also advocated the inclusion of honor killings as an independent category within the Swedish criminal code.[5] In July 2006 her book Flickorna vi sviker ("The Girls We Betray"), about women in Sweden living under the threat of honor violence, was published.

On October 6, 2006, the new Swedish coalition government which emerged from the election announced Sabuni's appointment as the new Minister for Integration and Gender Equality.[5] She is the first person of African descent to be appointed as Minister in a Swedish government.[3][5]

Sabuni's appointment as Minister for Integration and Gender Equality was met with protests from Sweden's Muslims, who accused her of islamophobia and populism.[6] A petition against her appointment was signed by the Muslim Association of Sweden, which claims to be the largest organization representing Muslims in Sweden.[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sweden’s Lightning Rod in a Storm Over Assimilation - New York Times
  2. ^ International Herald Tribune, Swedish politician's advice to immigrants? Try to fit in, January 12, 2007
  3. ^ a b Bratt, Peter. "Dotter till vänsterman skarp röst i folkpartiet", Dagens Nyheter, January 7, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-04-01. (Swedish) 
  4. ^ Sabuni, Nyamko. ""Kontrollera underlivet på alla högstadieflickor"", Expressen, July 17, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-04-01. (Swedish) 
  5. ^ a b c Savage, James. "Youth and diversity sets new government apart", The Local, October 6, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-04-01. (English) 
  6. ^ Protest mot utnämning av Nyamko Sabuni till Integrations och Jämställdhetsminister!! (Swedish). IslamGuiden ("The Islam Guide"). Retrieved on 2007-04-01.
  7. ^ Arrangörer av protestet mot utnämning av Nyamko Sabuni till Integrations och Jämställdhetsminister!! (Swedish). IslamGuiden ("The Islam Guide"). Retrieved on 2007-04-01.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Jens Orback		 Minister for Integration and Gender Equality
2006 – present		 Incumbent
v • d • e
Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt Flag of Sweden
Present ministers:
Reinfeldt • Malmström • Ask • Billström • Bildt • Björling • Tolgfors • Carlsson • Hägglund • Larsson • Husmark Pehrsson • Borg • Odell • Leijonborg • Björklund • Adelsohn Liljeroth • Erlandsson • Carlgren • Olofsson • Torstensson • Littorin • Sabuni
Former ministers:
Borelius (2006) • Stegö Chilò (2006) • Odenberg (2006–2007)
Persondata
NAME Sabuni, Nyamko
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sabuni, Nyamko Ana (full name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION Politician
DATE OF BIRTH 31 March 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Bujumbura, Burundi
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH