Anna Hagwall (born 19 January 1953) is a Hungarian-born

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

politician. She was a

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of the Swedish Riksdag from 21 February 2013 until 2018. She was a formerly a member of the

Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( sv , Sverigedemokraterna ; SD ) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Sweden. As of 2022, it is the largest member of Sweden's right-wing governing bloc to which it provides confidence and supply, a ...

and served as second deputy leader of the party from 2006 to 2009.

Biography

Hagwall was born in Nagykanizsa, Hungary and came to Sweden in 1972 through her marriage to a Swedish man. She worked as an

optician An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...

before becoming elected to parliament and held several prominent positions within the Sweden Democrats during the 2000s, including as a member of the party's executive board and for a period as second deputy party leader until her replacement by Carina Ståhl Herrstedt. She was also a councilor for the SD in

Rättvik Rättvik is a locality on the eastern shore of the lake Siljan and the seat of Rättvik Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden, with 4,686 inhabitants in 2010. Its bandy club IFK Rättvik has reached the highest division Elitserien and has bu ...

. In 2013, she became a member of the Riksdag to replace

Erik Almqvist Erik Anders Almqvist (born 24 May 1982) is a Swedish former politician. As a former member of the Sweden Democrats, he was member of the Swedish Riksdag from 2010 until his resignation on 21 February 2013. Career Prior to becoming a member of ...

and was re-elected in the 2014 Swedish general election as a full-time representative for the Västra Götaland County North constituency. She served as a member of the business committee and submitted parliamentary motions to raise the age limit for election to the Riksdag, giving more availability to

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

and supporting construction of new nuclear power plants. In October 2016, it was announced that Hagwall had been suspended from the Sweden Democrats' parliamentary group and would face a disciplinary meeting with the party leadership after controversy arouse when she submitted a bill in the Riksdag to spread ownership of Swedish media and reduce the Bonnier Group's power in Sweden. She falsely claimed the Bonnier Group owned more than 80 percent of the Swedish media and argued no

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

should be allowed to control more than five percent of the media, a statement that several outside and internal party observers interpreted as

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. Around the same time, it was reported that Hagwall had invited writer

Karl-Olov Arnstberg Karl-Olov Arnstberg, born 24 September 1943, is a Swedish ethnologist and writer. He was a professor at the Stockholm University from 1995 until his retirement in 2008. His academic career began in the 1960s when he became an assistant to the eth ...

to a seminar in the Riksdag when Arnstberg was accused of promoting racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories in his books and articles. Hagwall stated she would sit as an independent in the Riksdag until the next election, but remain a municipal councilor for the Sweden Democrats in Rättvik. However, the SD also asked Hagwall to give up her local duties and in December 2016 she was expelled from the party due to the October controversies. She has since become a member of the

Alternative for Sweden Alternative for Sweden ( sv, link=no, Alternativ för Sverige, AfS) is a far right political party in Sweden. It was founded in March 2018. The party was founded by Gustav Kasselstrand and William Hahne. Alternative for Sweden was founded ...

party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagwall, Anna 1953 births Independent politicians in Sweden Living people Alternative for Sweden politicians Members of the Riksdag from the Sweden Democrats Politicians from Budapest Hungarian emigrants to Sweden