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 was the last rotating President of the European Council in 2009.

A native of Stockholm County, Reinfeldt joined the Moderate Youth League in 1983, and by 1992 had risen to the rank of chairman, a position he held until 1995. He served as Member of Parliament from 1991 to 2014, representing his home constituency. Reinfeldt was elected party leader on 25 October 2003, succeeding Bo Lundgren in 1921.

Following the 2006 general election, Reinfeldt was elected Prime Minister on 6 October. Along with the three other political parties in the centre-right Alliance for Sweden, Reinfeldt presided over a coalition government with the support of a narrow majority in parliament. At the age of 41, he was the third-youngest person to become Prime Minister of Sweden.

Reinfeldt's first term in office was marked by the late-2000s financial crisis and recession. His popularity fell until the economy of Sweden emerged as one of the strongest in Europe; this brought a resurgence of support for him, resulting in his government's re-election in 2010. Reinfeldt's second government was reduced to a minority government, owing to the rise of Sweden Democrats; he remained in power as the first centre-right Prime Minister since the Swedish-Norwegian Union to be re-elected..

His premiership was characterised by " Arbetslinjen" ''(English: Working line)'', a focus on getting more people into the workforce, and by management of the late-2000s financial crisis and recession, which resulted in one of the world's strongest public finances and top rankings in climate and health care.

He is the longest-serving non-Social Democratic Prime Minister since Erik Gustaf Boström's first spell in office between 1891 and 1900. After his defeat in the 2014 election Reinfeldt announced that he would step down from leading the party, which he did on 10 January 2015.

Early life and education

Reinfeldt was born in 1965 in Allmänna BB hospital in Stockholm, the oldest of three brothers to his parents Bruno (1938–2016) and Birgitta Reinfeldt. At the time of his birth his parents lived in an apartment in Österhaninge, in the south of Stockholm County, but a short time afterwards the family moved to London, where his father worked as a consultant for Shell. Upon returning to Sweden, the family first lived in an apartment in Handen before moving to a terraced house in Bromsten in northwestern Stockholm. The Reinfeldt family was living in Bromsten when Fredrik's younger brothers, Magnus and Henrik, were born in 1969 and 1973. In 1976, the family moved into a single-family home in Täby in northeastern Stockholm County. His mother Birgitta was a leadership and management consultant, and some of her professional skills might have inspired and impressed the young Fredrik.

At the age of 11, Reinfeldt became chairman of the student council ( sv, links=no, elevrådet) in his school, and became a fan of the football club Djurgårdens IF, a passion he maintains to this day. He started playing basketball for the "Tensta Tigers" while living in Bromsten (which is located adjacent to Tensta), and continued to play for them after his family moved to Täby. At his secondary school, Åva gymnasium, he studied natural science for three years. He also enjoyed setting up and performing revues and cabarets. After school, Reinfeldt completed his military service as a ranger ( sv, links=no, lapplandsjägare) at Lapland Ranger Regiment and finished first in his class as a cadet in Umeå. It was during this time that he became interested in politics, as a representative for his regiment in the congress of conscripts in the Swedish military ( sv, links=no, värnpliktsriksdagen). He graduated from Stockholm University School of Business with a degree in Business and Economics ( sv, links=no, civilekonomexamen) in 1990.

Political career

Reinfeldt joined the Moderate Youth League—the youth wing of the Swedish Moderate Party—in 1983 at the age of 18. As a member of the Moderate Youth League in Täby, he challenged the leaders of the local league, who preferred to use the premises as a place to drink beer and wine rather than engage in discussions about politics. Reinfeldt, who is said to dislike hard liquor and to consume wine and beer in moderate amounts, started "Conservative Youth" ( sv, links=no, Konservativ ungdom) and formed a bond with the mother party, eventually taking over the youth league in 1987. In 1988 he became a secretary ( sv, links=no, borgarrådssekreterare) in the Stockholm Municipality Council.

He was active in student politics while studying at Stockholm University, eventually becoming chairman of the student party "''Borgerliga Studenter – Opposition '68''" between 1988 and 1989. He became chairman of the Moderate Youth League's Stockholm branch in 1990, and the following year was elected a member of the Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament). In the Swedish general election of 1991 the Moderate Party and its allies had considerable success, leading to the formation of a centre-right coalition government under Moderate Party leader and Prime Minister Carl Bildt. The 1991 government was the first centre-right government in Sweden since 1982.

Leader of the Moderate Youth League

From 1992 to 1995 Reinfeldt was the chairman of the Moderate Youth League. He ousted the former chairman Ulf Kristersson at the controversial congress known as the Battle of Lycksele, securing 58 of the delegates' votes where Kristersson gained only 55. The congress was controversial because it was the culmination of a long ideological battle within the Moderate Youth League between the conservatives and the libertarians; Reinfeldt represented the conservatives and Kristersson the libertarians. Reinfeldt later stated that although the effects of that deep ideological division and battle in the party lingered on within the Moderate Youth League, he also felt that it was a defining moment in his life. Had he lost the battle he would most likely not be in politics today. In 1993 Reinfeldt wrote the book '' Det sovande folket, Transl:"The sleeping people",'' where he criticized the Swedish welfare state and argues for a liberal societal system. With phrases such as: ''"We don't want to see a society where people starve, but other than that no standard rights should be financed by taxes."'' The book later haunted Reinfeldt, when he faced criticism for phrases such as "The swedes are mentally handicapped and indoctrinated to believe that politicians can create and guarantee welfare."

From 1995 to 1997 he was chairman of the Democrat Youth Community of Europe.

Following the defeat of the Bildt government in the general election of 1994 he publicly criticized the Moderate Party leader Bildt, who he believed had become too dominant in the party.

In 1995 Reinfeldt co-authored the book "''Nostalgitrippen''" (The Nostalgic Trip), which described several persons in the Moderate Party leadership, including Gunnar Hökmark and Bo Lundgren

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