Kjell-Olof Feldt (born 18 August 1931) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician who was

minister of finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

between 1983 and 1990. Previously, Feldt was assistant

from 1975 to 1976 and minister of commerce and industry from 1970 to 1975. The Social Democrats lost power in the 1976 elections, but, after having won the elections of 1982, Feldt was appointed minister of finance by Prime Minister

Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until h ...

. He was seen as a part of Kanslihushögern during his time in office.

Early life

Feldt was the son of a single mother, Irma, née Jonsson, who had to send young Kjell-Olof to live with his grandfather's sister because of his father's alcoholic problems. Though he came from a working-class family, Kjell-Olof managed to gain admission to

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

where he received a Politices Magister (extended BA in political science) degree in 1956. He received a Master's degree at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Ministry of Finance ''Sw. "kanslihushögern"'' were perceived to be promoting

right-wing politics Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

and to be failing to live up to the traditional ideals of the social democrats. When economic problems mounted in 1990, the rift was highlighted, and Feldt left office after a fall-out with Prime Minister

Ingvar Carlsson Gösta Ingvar Carlsson (born 9 November 1934) is a Swedish politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Sweden, first from 1986 to 1991 and again from 1994 to 1996. He was leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1986 to 1996. H ...

on 16 February. Feldt had been in favour of a more conservative economic policy in response to the crisis, and when his ideas met resistance, he decided to leave his office.www.metall.se
/ref> Feldt subsequently left party politics, though he remains a member of the Social Democratic Party. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Feldt has heavily criticised Social Democratic economic policy, both past and present.

Personal life

Since 1970, he has been married to

Birgitta von Otter Ebba Birgitta von Otter (born 7 January 1939) is a Swedish journalist, author and debater. Early life Von Otter was born during her parents' stay in Budapest, Hungary. She is the elder daughter of Göran von Otter, a Swedish diplomat in Berlin ...

. On 31 May 1991 he received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Uppsala University.

References

1931 births Living people Swedish Social Democratic Party politicians Swedish Ministers for Finance People from Västerbotten County Swedish Ministers for Nordic Cooperation Economy ministers of Sweden {{Expand Swedish, date=February 2010, Kjell-Olof Feldt