Sven-Otto Littorin
Encyclopedia
Sven Otto Julius Littorin (born 1966) is a Swedish
Moderate Party
politician. He was Minister for Employment in the cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt
, and former Secretary General of the Moderate Party. On July 7, 2010 he announced his immediate resignation, citing personal circumstances.
He was born and grew up in Östergötland
, where he was active in the Moderate Youth League
from an early stage. He was national chairman of the Moderate School Youth, a part of the youth league, 1984-1985. He has a degree in Economics and Business Administration from Lund University
. His résumé formerly also listed an MBA from the unaccredited Fairfax University
(at the time licensed in Louisiana), but that degree
was removed from his list of qualifications after it aroused controversy in June 2007 Starting Feb 1, 2011, Littorin is a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University
.
Between 1991 and 1993 he was chief of staff to Minister for Fiscal and Financial Affairs, Bo Lundgren
, later leader of the Moderate Party. After that he worked in the private sphere for, inter alia, Kreab
. In 1997 he co-founded Momentor AB, a venture capital company, and worked as a Senior Partner until 2002. In 2002 he was appointed Secretary General by Bo Lundgren
and later became a part of Fredrik Reinfeldt
's team. He has played an integral part in the subsequent modernisation of the party. After the success of the Moderate Party in the 2006 general election
he resigned as Secretary General and was later named Minister for Employment in the cabinet presented by Prime Minister Reinfeldt on October 6, 2006. Until December 31, 2006, this ministerial post was located within the Ministry of Enterprise, after which a separate Ministry of Employment
.
Littorin was in charge of some of the major policy reforms introduced during the first government of Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
. These reforms included a major overhaul of the unemployment insurance system and a complete renovation of the Public Employment Service, introducing new instructions, a new board of directors, a new management team, a new structure and organization, new targets and incentives as well as opening up for private competition. He has the current record of having answered the highest number of questions in Parliament – 337 – during one single term. As a Minister, he gave over 4.000 interviews and made numerous public appearances domestically and internationally; among others for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Monetary Fund
and World Economic Forum
.
During the Swedish Presidency of the European Union in the fall of 2009, Littorin was also President of the European Council of Ministers, in its Epsco formation (Ministers for Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs). As such, he oversaw European Union response to labor market effects caused by the financial crisis of 2008-09. Littorin was also member of the Swedish Government’s Globalization Council.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Moderate Party
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...
politician. He was Minister for Employment in the cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt
Fredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
, and former Secretary General of the Moderate Party. On July 7, 2010 he announced his immediate resignation, citing personal circumstances.
He was born and grew up in Östergötland
Östergötland
Östergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...
, where he was active in the Moderate Youth League
Moderate Youth League
The Moderate Youth League , officially known in English as the Swedish Young Conservatives, is the youth wing of the Swedish Moderate Party. It had 12 051 members in 2010...
from an early stage. He was national chairman of the Moderate School Youth, a part of the youth league, 1984-1985. He has a degree in Economics and Business Administration from Lund University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
. His résumé formerly also listed an MBA from the unaccredited Fairfax University
Fairfax University
Fairfax University was an unaccredited distance-learning institution established in Louisiana in 1986 and discontinued in 2004. Prior to losing its state of Louisiana license in 2001, it held graduation ceremonies in the US. Its president was the British academic Alan M. Jones, PhD. John Bear was...
(at the time licensed in Louisiana), but that degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
was removed from his list of qualifications after it aroused controversy in June 2007 Starting Feb 1, 2011, Littorin is a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Between 1991 and 1993 he was chief of staff to Minister for Fiscal and Financial Affairs, Bo Lundgren
Bo Lundgren
Bo Axel Magnus Lundgren is a Swedish politician. He is the former leader of the Moderate Party. Lundgren was born in Kristianstad in Skåne. Between 1991 and 1994, he served as Deputy Minister of Finance with special responsibility for taxation...
, later leader of the Moderate Party. After that he worked in the private sphere for, inter alia, Kreab
Kreab
Kreab is a Swedish communication consultancy, the largest in the Nordic region. Kreab was founded as Kreativ Information AB by Jan-Erik Ander, Peje Emilsson and Peder Olin in Stockholm 1970...
. In 1997 he co-founded Momentor AB, a venture capital company, and worked as a Senior Partner until 2002. In 2002 he was appointed Secretary General by Bo Lundgren
Bo Lundgren
Bo Axel Magnus Lundgren is a Swedish politician. He is the former leader of the Moderate Party. Lundgren was born in Kristianstad in Skåne. Between 1991 and 1994, he served as Deputy Minister of Finance with special responsibility for taxation...
and later became a part of Fredrik Reinfeldt
Fredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
's team. He has played an integral part in the subsequent modernisation of the party. After the success of the Moderate Party in the 2006 general election
Swedish general election, 2006
A general election was held in Sweden on 17 September 2006, to elect members to the Swedish parliament. All 349 seats were up for election: 310 "fixed seats" in 29 constituencies and 39 members at a national level for what are called "adjustment seats", used to ensure that parties have...
he resigned as Secretary General and was later named Minister for Employment in the cabinet presented by Prime Minister Reinfeldt on October 6, 2006. Until December 31, 2006, this ministerial post was located within the Ministry of Enterprise, after which a separate Ministry of Employment
Ministry of Employment (Sweden)
The Ministry of Employment is a ministry in the Swedish government responsible for labour market and working life policy.The ministry offices are located at Jakobsgatan 26 in central Stockholm.- History :...
.
Reforms
As Sweden’s Minister for Employment, Littorin was in charge of USD 12bn of the government budget; the second largest part of public spending, covering areas such as the unemployment insurance system, active labor market programs and nine government agencies, including the Swedish Public Employment Service, the Work Environment Authority and the Labor Court.Littorin was in charge of some of the major policy reforms introduced during the first government of Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
Fredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
. These reforms included a major overhaul of the unemployment insurance system and a complete renovation of the Public Employment Service, introducing new instructions, a new board of directors, a new management team, a new structure and organization, new targets and incentives as well as opening up for private competition. He has the current record of having answered the highest number of questions in Parliament – 337 – during one single term. As a Minister, he gave over 4.000 interviews and made numerous public appearances domestically and internationally; among others for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
and World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
.
During the Swedish Presidency of the European Union in the fall of 2009, Littorin was also President of the European Council of Ministers, in its Epsco formation (Ministers for Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs). As such, he oversaw European Union response to labor market effects caused by the financial crisis of 2008-09. Littorin was also member of the Swedish Government’s Globalization Council.