Thomas Östros
| Thomas Östros | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Östros with his wife at the Royal Wedding in 2010. | |
| Minister for Enterprise and Energy | |
| In office 21 October 2004 – 6 October 2006 (1 year, 350 days) | |
| Prime Minister | Göran Persson |
| Preceded by | Leif Pagrotsky |
| Succeeded by | Maud Olofsson |
| Minister for Education | |
| In office 4 October 1998 – 21 October 2004 (6 years, 17 days) | |
| Prime Minister | Göran Persson |
| Preceded by | Carl Tham |
| Succeeded by | Leif Pagrotsky |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Björn Thomas Waaranperä 26 January 1965 Gällivare, Norrbotten County |
| Political party | Social Democrats |
Thomas Östros (born 26 January 1965 in Gällivare, Norrbotten County) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician. He was Minister for Education from 1998 to 2004 and Minister for Enterprise and Energy from 2004 to 2006. He was deputy chairman of the Riksdag's committee for Industry and Trade from 2006 to 2008, and then economic policy spokesperson for his party from 2008 to 2011. He was forced to resign from the post when Håkan Juholt took over as party chairman. While forced to resign, Östros was also removed from his post in the party's executive committee. He left the Swedish Riksdag in June 2012, having served in it since 1994.
His parents changed the family name from Waaranperä to Östros when they moved from Norrland to Västerås.
Östros has a licentiate degree (a graduate degree in the Swedish university system) in economics from Uppsala University. During his time at university, he was an active member of the local branch of Social Democratic Students of Sweden. He also served as a councillor in the Uppsala Municipal Council.
In 1994 he was elected to the Riksdag as a Member of Parliament. In 1996 he became Minister for Taxation in the Ministry of Finance, and in 1998 Minister for Education and Science. On 1 November 2004 he switched posts with Minister for Industry and Trade Leif Pagrotsky.
It has regularly been stated that former Prime Minister Göran Persson has a lot of confidence in Thomas Östros, and Östros was often mentioned in speculations about possible successors to Persson.
From early 2008 until 2011, he was the party's economic spokesperson, succeeding Pär Nuder who got in trouble with party leader Mona Sahlin. He was succeeded by Tommy Waidelich in March 2011, following Håkan Juholt's ascension to party chairman.
External links
| Preceded by Leif Pagrotsky |
Minister for Enterprise and Energy 2004—2006 |
Succeeded by Maud Olofsson |
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