Anna Kinberg Batra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anna Kinberg Batra
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Anna Kinberg Batra in 2015
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| Governor of Stockholm County | |
| In office 1 March 2023 – 3 October 2024 |
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| Monarch | Carl XVI Gustaf |
| Prime Minister | Ulf Kristersson |
| Preceded by | Sven-Erik Österberg |
| Succeeded by | Claes Lindgren (acting) |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 10 January 2015 – 1 October 2017 |
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| Monarch | Carl XVI Gustaf |
| Prime Minister | Stefan Löfven |
| Preceded by | Fredrik Reinfeldt |
| Succeeded by | Ulf Kristersson |
| Leader of the Moderate Party | |
| In office 10 January 2015 – 1 October 2017 |
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| Deputy | Peter Danielsson |
| Party Secretary | Tomas Tobé Anders Edholm |
| Preceded by | Fredrik Reinfeldt |
| Succeeded by | Ulf Kristersson |
| Leader of the Moderate Party in the Riksdag | |
| In office 4 October 2010 – 14 January 2015 |
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| Leader | Fredrik Reinfeldt |
| Preceded by | Lars Lindblad |
| Succeeded by | Jessica Polfjärd |
| Member of the Riksdag | |
| In office 17 September 2006 – 24 September 2018 |
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| Constituency | Stockholm Municipality |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Anna Maria Kinberg
14 April 1970 Stockholm, Sweden |
| Political party | Moderate Party |
| Spouse | David Batra (m. 24 June 2002) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents | Johan S. Kinberg Sarah Kinberg (née Lundgren) |
| Alma mater | |
Anna Maria Kinberg Batra (born 14 April 1970) is a Swedish politician. She was the leader of the Moderate Party from January 2015 to October 2017. During this time, she was also the leader of the opposition.
She was a member of the Riksdag (Sweden's parliament) for Stockholm County from September 2006 to September 2018. Before becoming party leader, she was the leader of the Moderate Party in the Riksdag from October 2010 to January 2015.
Anna Kinberg Batra announced her resignation as party leader on 25 August 2017. Ulf Kristersson took over her role on 1 October 2017. She then decided to leave politics.
From 1 March 2023 to 3 October 2024, she served as the Governor of Stockholm County. She was appointed by the Swedish Government. However, the government later lost confidence in her, and she resigned.
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Early Life and Family
Anna Kinberg Batra was born in Skärholmen, Sweden. In 1974, when she was four years old, her family moved to Rotterdam, Netherlands. Her father worked for a company there. Because of her time in the Netherlands, Anna Kinberg Batra speaks fluent Dutch.
Her family moved back to Sweden in 1980. They settled in Djursholm, where she grew up.
Her Family Background
Anna Kinberg Batra is part of the Kinberg family from Västra Götaland County. Her parents are Johan S. Kinberg, who was a commodity analyst, and Sarah Kinberg (née Lundgren), a chemistry engineer. Her grandfather was Hilding Kinberg, a director, and her great-great-grandfather was Professor Hjalmar Kinberg.
Education and Studies
Anna Kinberg Batra attended high school at Danderyds gymnasium. There, she focused on natural sciences. After high school, she studied foreign languages and political science at Stockholm University from 1989 to 1991.
She also studied part-time at the Stockholm School of Economics starting in 1991. She graduated from there in 2000.
Political Journey
Anna Kinberg Batra started her political journey early. She joined the Moderate Youth League in 1983. In the early 1990s, she was part of the liberal group within the youth league. She supported Ulf Kristersson to become the chairman.
In 1993, she worked as a political advisor to Prime Minister Carl Bildt. This was at the Government offices. She also worked as an editor for a newspaper called Svenska Dagbladet in 1994 and 1996.
From 1995 to 1996, she was a political secretary for the Moderate Party in the European Parliament. Later, from 1998 to 2000, she worked as a project leader. She also worked as a communication consultant from 2000 to 2005. At the same time, she had her own consulting business. From 2005 to 2006, she was the head of information for the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
She was also active in student politics. She was the chairman of the Stockholm University Student Union in 1994. She was a board member of the Moderate Youth League from 1995 to 1998. She was also the first female chairman of the Moderate Youth League in Stockholm County from 1996 to 1998. From 2004 to 2011, she was on the board of the activity center Fryshuset. Since 2011, she has been a member of the main board of the Moderate Party.
Being an Elected Official
Anna Kinberg Batra was an elected member of the Stockholm County Council. She was also a member of the municipal council in Nacka Municipality. Before the 2006 general election, she worked at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. Before that, she was a public relations consultant for different companies. She also wrote a book called Indien – från stackare till stormakt (which means "India – From Wretch to Great Power").
She became more widely known in 1998 during an election campaign. She made a comment that she later apologized for, saying it was "the stupidest thing I've said publicly."
In the Riksdag (parliament) from 2006, she held important roles. She was the chairman of the Committee on European Union Affairs from 2007 to 2010. Then, she was the chairman of the Committee on Finance from 2010 to 2014.
Leading the Moderate Party
After the Moderate Party lost the general election in September 2014, Anna Kinberg Batra became the party's leader. On 9 December 2014, the party's committee chose her to take over from Fredrik Reinfeldt as party leader. She was officially elected at the party meeting on 10 January 2015. She was the first woman to lead the Moderate Party.
She faced some criticism after the December agreement. This agreement allowed Prime Minister Stefan Löfven's government to continue. On 9 October 2015, after another party left the agreement, Kinberg Batra announced that the agreement was no longer active.
On 25 August 2017, she announced that she would step down as leader of the Moderate Party. This was due to a lot of criticism from within the party. Ulf Kristersson became the new leader on 1 October 2017.
Governor of Stockholm County
In 2023, Anna Kinberg Batra was appointed Governor of Stockholm County by the Kristersson Cabinet. This is a high-ranking position in the regional government.
During her time as Governor, she faced some public discussion regarding her decisions. In March 2024, there was controversy when she hired two close friends for well-paid positions without openly advertising them. She defended her choices, saying they were the best candidates. This led to an investigation by the anti-corruption agency. The Prime Minister supported this investigation.
She also received criticism for increasing the budget for the Tessin Palace, the Governor's official residence. She explained that a visit from the King in 2023 required more spending. However, the increased budget remained in 2024, which led to more criticism.
In April 2024, she dismissed the Chief Director of Stockholm County. This official was given a large payment. In August 2024, the Swedish National Audit Office started an investigation into this. They wanted to see if the Governor had the power to dismiss such high-ranking officials and if the payment was fair.
On 26 September 2024, the Parliamentary Ombudsman criticized Anna Kinberg Batra. The Ombudsman stated that her hiring decisions had not been objective. The next day, on 27 September 2024, the government announced that they had lost confidence in her as Governor. They decided to ask her to resign. She formally resigned on 3 October 2024.
It was also announced that she would work at the Government Offices until 2029, which was when her term as Governor was supposed to end.
Personal Life
Anna Kinberg Batra has been married to comedian David Batra since 2002. They have one daughter. The family lives in Nacka, Stockholm. Besides Swedish, she is fluent in French and can speak Dutch well.
See also
In Spanish: Anna Kinberg Batra para niños
