Laila Freivalds facts for kids
Laila Freivalds (born 22 June 1942) is a Swedish politician. She was a member of the Social Democratic Party. Freivalds served as a government minister for many years. She was the Minister for Justice from 1988 to 1991 and again from 1994 to 2000. Later, she became the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2006. She also briefly served as Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden in 2004.
Freivalds was born in Riga, Latvia, during World War II. Her family moved to Sweden to escape the war. She studied law at Uppsala University and finished her degree in 1970. After university, she worked in the Swedish court system until 1976. She then held important jobs at the Swedish Consumer Agency. In 1988, she became the Minister for Justice. She held this role for many years, except when her party was not in power from 1991 to 1994. She left this job in 2000 due to a disagreement about a housing rule.
In 2003, the previous Foreign Minister, Anna Lindh, left office. Laila Freivalds was then asked to take over as the new Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Quick facts for kids
Laila Freivalds
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Laila Freivalds in November 2004
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| Acting Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden | |
| In office 1 October 2004 – 1 November 2004 |
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| Prime Minister | Göran Persson |
| Preceded by | Jan O. Karlsson |
| Succeeded by | Bo Ringholm |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 10 October 2003 – 21 March 2006 |
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| Prime Minister | Göran Persson |
| Preceded by | Jan O. Karlsson (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Bo Ringholm (Acting) |
| Minister for Justice | |
| In office 7 October 1994 – 21 September 2000 |
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| Prime Minister | Ingvar Carlsson Göran Persson |
| Preceded by | Gun Hellsvik |
| Succeeded by | Lena Hjelm-Wallén |
| In office 4 October 1988 – 4 October 1991 |
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| Prime Minister | Ingvar Carlsson |
| Preceded by | Thage G. Peterson |
| Succeeded by | Gun Hellsvik |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 June 1942 Riga, Reichskommissariat Ostland (now Latvia) |
| Political party | Social Democratic |
| Alma mater | Uppsala University |
Why Laila Freivalds Resigned in 2006
Laila Freivalds faced strong criticism in the Swedish news. This was about how the Swedish government handled the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. This terrible event happened in Asia in 2004. She admitted that her ministry should have acted faster. They should have done more right after the disaster.
She was also criticized for going to the theater on the day of the tsunami. This was December 26, 2004. She also said that she does not listen to the news when she is not working.
Website Controversy and Resignation
On March 21, 2006, Freivalds resigned from her role. This happened after it was confirmed she had not been fully truthful. The issue was about the closing of a website. This website belonged to the Sweden Democrats political party.
This event happened during a time of debate about cartoons. The Sweden Democrats had published a similar cartoon on their website. Soon after, their internet service provider shut down the site. It was found that the government had contacted the provider. They had suggested the website be closed. Freivalds had told the media that a staff member did this without her knowing.
However, Sweden has a special rule called Offentlighetsprincipen. This means that government documents are usually open to the public. This rule helped show that her statement was not correct. Documents showed that she knew about the event. This information was then published in a government newspaper. Many people saw the government's possible involvement in closing the website as a problem. It seemed to go against the Swedish constitution's rules on freedom of the press.
Many journalists believe that the turning point came after Göran Persson, who was the Prime Minister of Sweden at the time, spoke out. He had criticized the staff member who suggested closing the website. Later, he found out that Freivalds had approved the action. It is thought that the Prime Minister then privately suggested she resign. She did so shortly after.
Bo Ringholm became the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs. Then, on March 27, Jan Eliasson was appointed to the position.
Images for kids
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Laila Freivalds in November 2004
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Laila Freivalds with US Secretary of State Colin Powell in February 2004.
