Lena Elisabeth Adelsohn Liljeroth (born 24 November 1955) is a

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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who served as Minister for Culture and Sports from 2006 to 2014. 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 ...

, she was an MP of the

Swedish 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 ...

from 2002 to 2014.

Personal life

Liljeroth was born in

Spånga Spånga is a community and parish in the borough of Spånga-Tensta in Stockholm County, Sweden. Background Spånga was an independent municipality until January 1, 1949 when most of it was merged with the City of Stockholm, with smaller por ...

. She is married to former Moderate Party leader

Ulf Adelsohn Ulf Adelsohn (born 4 October 1941) is a Swedish politician, leader of the Moderate Party from 1981 to 1986 and Governor of Stockholm County from 1992 to 2001. He was a member of the Riksdag from 1982 to 1988 and served as Chairman of the Board o ...

. She is partially

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

since birth.

Charity work

She appeared as Miss July in a 2005 calendar raising money for

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...

Political life

Liljeroth is an ardent opponent of

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

vandalism and advocates

zero tolerance A zero tolerance policy is one which imposes a punishment for every infraction of a stated rule.zero tolerance, n.' (under ''zero, n.''). The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Ed. 1989. Retrieved 10 November 2009. Italy, Japan, Singapore China, Indi ...

on the matter.

Cutting a cake at Moderna Museet

At a party for 2012 World Art Day, Liljeroth was photographed cutting a cake in the likeness of a stereotypical naked African tribal woman in the nude and with a creamy blood-red sponge filling. The cake, part of the project ''Afromantics'' started in 2004 by performance artist Makode Linde, was made to bring attention to

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

and female genital mutilation. The photographs were posted on Facebook and raised criticism and outrage, in Sweden and abroad. Dan Jonsson, a critic with Swedish daily ''Dagens Nyheter'', suggested Adelsohn Liljeroth had been trapped in a situation that whatever she had chosen to do, it would have been wrong. Despite this support, others urged her to resign.

References

External links

Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth
at the Riksdag website
Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth
at the

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Adelsohn Liljeroth, Lena 1955 births Living people Members of the Riksdag from the Moderate Party Politicians from Stockholm People from Uppland Swedish Ministers for Culture Women members of the Riksdag Women government ministers of Sweden Members of the Riksdag 2002–2006 21st-century Swedish women politicians