Marie Cecilia Stegö Chilò (; born 25 March 1959) was the
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 ...
Minister for Culture
A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizat ...
for ten days, from 6 to 16 October 2006. Prior to her appointment as a cabinet member she was Chief executive officer of the , and Director of
Timbro
Timbro is a liberal think tank and publishing company located in Stockholm, Sweden. In its present form Timbro was founded in 1978 by Sture Eskilsson and the Swedish Employers’ Association, a precursor to the Confederation of Swedish Enterpr ...
, a
neoliberal,
free-market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
think-tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental ...
. A former journalist and editorialist, she is a member of the
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic lib ...
. From 2007 she is Chairman of the Advisory Board of the
Permanent Platform of
Atomium Culture.
Personal life
Cecilia Stegö was born in
Linköping
Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...
in
Östergötland County
Östergötland County ( sv, Östergötlands län) is a county or '' län'' in southeastern Sweden. It has land borders with the counties of Kalmar to the southeast, Jönköping to the southwest, Örebro to the northwest, and Södermanland to the ...
. She has studied
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
,
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
,
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
and
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
. Cecilia Stegö Chilò lives with her husband and two children in
Bromma in western Stockholm.
Professional life
In 1982 she was Secretary General of the
European Democrat Students
European Democrat Students (EDS) is a pan-European centre-right student and youth political association, and the official student organisation of the European People's Party. Founded in Vienna by Scandinavian, German and Austrian students in 1961, ...
in
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
and
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. From 1982 to 1983 she was Vice chairperson of the
Confederation of Swedish Conservative and Liberal Students. She has worked as a reporter at ''
Norrköpings Tidningar
''Norrköpings Tidningar'' (English: ''Norrköping Times''), also known as ''NT'', is a Swedish language daily newspaper with its main distribution in northern and eastern Östergötland, Sweden.
History and profile
The newspaper was founded in ...
'' from 1982 to 1984, secretary in the
Stockholm County Council from 1984 to 1985, press secretary in the Moderate Party's
parliamentary group
A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council.
Parliamenta ...
from 1985 to 1987, speech writer for the Moderate Party leadership from 1987 to 1988 and as a reporter and editorial journalist for the newspaper ''
Svenska Dagbladet'' from 1989 to 1999. From 2001 to 2002 she was a political commentator at
Sveriges Radio.
Political career
Cecilia Stegö Chilò left the
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic lib ...
in 1995 in protest after the expulsion of the
EU-critic
Björn von der Esch
Carl Gösta Björn Joachim von der Esch (11 January 1930 – 10 March 2010EMU
The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...
and against the vision of a tighter federalism in EU affairs. She rejoined the
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic lib ...
in 2005. Following the
2006 general election on 17 September 2006 the Moderate Party together with three other parties in the
Alliance for Sweden gained a majority of the seats in the parliament and were able to form a coalition government. On 6 October 2006 Stegö Chilò was selected by the newly elected Prime Minister
Fredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt (pronounced ; born 4 August 1965) is a Swedish economist, lecturer, and former politician who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 2006 to 2014, and chairman of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 2003 to 2015. He ...
to hold the post of Minister for Culture with responsibility for culture, the media and sports in his
cabinet. However, during the period 7 to 16 October 2006, a series of media revelations into the newly appointed minister led to her resignation after ten days in office.
Political controversies
Nanny controversy
On 7 October 2006, the day after the
Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt
The cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt ( sv, Regeringen Reinfeldt) was the cabinet of Sweden from 2006 to 2014. It was a coalition cabinet consisting of the four parties in the centre-right Alliance for Sweden: the Moderate Party, Centre Party, ...
was announced two of the ministers, Cecilia Stegö Chilò and
Maria Borelius, admitted that they had previously employed persons to take care of their children without paying the appropriate taxes. Stegö Chilò stated: "''It's just as well that I say this right away. If you want to remove me because of that, go ahead.''" Neither Stegö Chilò or Borelius face any criminal or administrative consequences since the events took place more than five years ago, outside of the
statute of limitations
A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...
.
Television licence controversy
On 11 October 2006, it came to light that Stegö Chilò and her husband had not paid their
television licence
A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts, or the possession of a television set where some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence ...
( sv, TV-avgift, literally ''TV fee'') for at least 16 years (since records began being kept), withholding more than 16,000
kronor from the public service broadcasters. In Sweden it is a crime for the owner of a television not to pay the TV-licence, and punishable by a fine. However, it is possible to come to an agreement and pay the fee retroactively. Her husband registered ownership of a television five days before her appointment as minister. As Minister for Culture Stegö Chilò's responsibilities include oversight of the Swedish public service corporations. Stegö Chilò expressed an ambition to repay what she owed with interest. However, on 12 October 2006
Radiotjänst i Kiruna AB, a private agency tasked with collecting the licence fees, filed criminal charges against Stegö Chilò together with two other ministers in the Reinfeldt Cabinet:
Tobias Billström
Tobias Lennart Billström (born 27 December 1973) is a Swedish politician of the Moderate Party. He has served as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Ulf Kristersson since 18 October 2022 and has been Member of the Riksdag since th ...
and
Maria Borelius.
In November 2006, she sent a letter to Radiotjänst saying that she had just paid in SEK 22.656. In the letter she refers to an agreement made with the MD of Radiotjänst before the criminal charges were filed. According to the agreement the amount should equal unpaid license fees plus interest and that paying would close the issue.
Resignation
On 16 October 2006, Stegö Chilò tendered her resignation to Prime Minister Reinfeldt.
Lars Leijonborg
Lars is a common male name in Scandinavian countries.
Origin
''Lars'' means "from the city of Laurentum". Lars is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum" or "crowned with laurel".
A homonymous Etruscan name was born ...
, Minister for Education and Research in the
Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt
The cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt ( sv, Regeringen Reinfeldt) was the cabinet of Sweden from 2006 to 2014. It was a coalition cabinet consisting of the four parties in the centre-right Alliance for Sweden: the Moderate Party, Centre Party, ...
, took over the responsibilities for Stegö Chilò's portfolio until her successor
Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth
Lena Elisabeth Adelsohn Liljeroth (born 24 November 1955) is a Swedish politician who served as Minister for Culture and Sports from 2006 to 2014. A member of the Moderate Party, she was an MP of the Swedish Riksdag from 2002 to 2014.
Persona ...
was appointed on 24 October 2006.
In November 2006, she sent a letter
On her letter to the government regarding her pension
, Dagens Nyheter, 12 November 2006 to the salary unit within the government. She clarified that even though she might be entitled to keep her salary for some time after her resignation, she did not wish to receive any money.
Bibliography
*(1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
) ''Systemskiftet - En 1800-talshistoria''
References
External links
Cecilia Stegö Chilò
at the Government Offices of Sweden
Profile
at Timbro
Timbro is a liberal think tank and publishing company located in Stockholm, Sweden. In its present form Timbro was founded in 1978 by Sture Eskilsson and the Swedish Employers’ Association, a precursor to the Confederation of Swedish Enterpr ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stego Chilo, Cecilia
1959 births
Living people
People from Linköping
Moderate Party politicians
Swedish journalists
Swedish Ministers for Culture
Women government ministers of Sweden
21st-century Swedish women politicians