Erna ''Gunilla'' Svantorp (née Karlsson; born 19 January 1964 in Fässberg Parish,

Mölndal Municipality Mölndal Municipality (''Mölndals kommun'' or ''Mölndals stad'') is a municipality in Västra Götaland in western Sweden, just south of Gothenburg. Its seat is located in Mölndal, which lies within the Gothenburg urban area, and the whole mun ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

(than called

Gothenburg and Bohus County Gothenburg and Bohus County ( sv, Göteborgs och Bohus län) was a county of Sweden until 1997, when it was merged with Skaraborg County and Älvsborg County to form Västra Götaland County. The county was named after the city of Gothenburg a ...

), Sweden) is a Swedish

Social Democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

politician, member of the

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

, and schoolteacher. She was elected in 2010 for the

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

Värmland County Värmland County (''Värmlands län'') is a county or '' län'' in west central Sweden. It borders the Swedish counties of Dalarna, Örebro and Västra Götaland, as well as the Norwegian counties of Viken and Innlandet to the west. Prince Carl P ...

and took up seat number 162, after the 2018 general election she was assigned seat number 22. As a recently elected MP of the Riksdag, she was assigned to the Education Committee as her main committee, she was also assigned to be an alternate for the

Cultural Affairs Committee (Parliamentary) Committee on Cultural Affairs ( sv, kulturutskottet, KrU) is a parliamentary committee in the Swedish Riksdag. The committee areas of responsibility concern general cultural and educational purposes, popular education, youth act ...

and the Health and Welfare Committee. She later gave up her position as an alternate for the

on 9 November 2010 her party colleague and the bench neighbor from Värmland,

Berit Högman Berit Högman(born 14 August 1958) is a Swedish politician and civil servant who currently serves as Governor of Västernorrland County since 16 April 2018. A member of the Social Democrats, she was Member of Parliament (MP) from 2002 to 2018 ...

, became

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

for the committee. She kept her seat as a member of the Education Committee, and after she retook her position as an alternate for the Cultural Affairs Committee up until 2018. After the 2018 general election she kept her position as an alternate for the Cultural Affairs Committee and for the Health and Welfare Committee, she also became an alternate for the Industry and Trade Committee. In 2019 she was chosen to be the

for the Education Committee after the former Speaker was chosen by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven to be a part of the

Löfven II Cabinet The second cabinet of Stefan Löfven ( sv, regeringen Löfven II) was the Government of Sweden from 21 January 2019 to 9 July 2021. It was a coalition, consisting of two parties: the Social Democrats and the Green Party. The cabinet was installe ...

as the Minister for Higher Education and Research. From 2003 up until 2010, she was a member of the

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

of Värmland Regional Council. In 2006 she was Speaker for the Staff Committee and vice-Speaker for the County Council Board. She has been president of ''ABF Värmland''. She has also been a board member and the president of ''Konstfrämjandet'' in Värmland. Svantorp has a Masters in Philosophy, in pedagogy along with a high school teaching degree. On 11 June 2019 received the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

of the Knight (''Chevalier'') class. The award was awarded to her by ambassador David Cvach at the

Embassy of France, Stockholm The Embassy of France in Stockholm is the diplomatic mission of the French Republic in Sweden. The Chancery (building), chancery is located at Kommendörsgatan 13. The Embassy The Embassy is located in the district of Östermalm in the heart of ...

Personal life

Svantorp is the daughter of Jan Erik Karlsson and Ritva Karlsson. She resides in Årjäng. She was married to Eje Svantorp (1949–2014) from 1989 up until his death in 2014. She had four children with him.

Distinctions

, Knight (France).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Svantorp, Gunilla 1964 births Living people People from Årjäng Municipality Members of the Riksdag from the Social Democrats Knights of the Legion of Honour Women members of the Riksdag Members of the Riksdag 2010–2014 Members of the Riksdag 2014–2018 21st-century Swedish women politicians Members of the Riksdag 2018–2022 Members of the Riksdag 2022–2026