Nyamko Ana Sabuni (born 31 March 1969) is a Swedish politician who was Leader of the Liberals between June 2019 and April 2022. She previously served as Minister for Integration from 2006 to 2010 and as Minister for Gender Equality from 2006 to 2013 in the

Swedish government The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the R ...

. A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, Sabuni was elected a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. Sabuni made history in June 2019, by becoming the first party leader in the Swedish parliament coming from an ethnic minority and the first party leader of a refugee background. In April 2022, Sabuni resigned as party leader.

Personal life

Nyamko Sabuni was born in

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's normal capital. In late ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

where her father, a left-wing politician from

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

, lived in exile. Sabuni's father is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

while her mother is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. The family obtained political asylum in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in 1981 and Sabuni grew up in

Kungsängen Kungsängen ( en, King’s Meadow) is a locality and the seat of Upplands-Bro Municipality Upplands-Bro Municipality (''Upplands-Bro kommun'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Kungs� ...

, north of

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. She studied

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 ...

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

, migration policy at

Mälardalen University College Mälardalen University (Swedish: ''Mälardalens universitet''), or MDU, is a Swedish university college located in Västerås and Eskilstuna, Sweden. It has 16,000 students and around 1000 employees, of which 91 are professors, 504 teachers, and ...

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has ...

, and information and media communications at Berghs School of Communication in Stockholm. She was married from 2004 to 2012 and has twin boys, Joel and Michee from that marriage. She has described herself as

non-religious Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and anti ...

Political career

Paweł Rogaliński, Nyamko Sabuni, Mara Carfagna

Sabuni was a member of board of the

Liberal Youth of Sweden The Liberal Youth of Sweden ( sv, Liberala ungdomsförbundet, LUF) is the youth wing of the Swedish Liberals. The Liberal Youth of Sweden has a long tradition of international cooperation and is a full member of the International Federation of L ...

from 1996 to 1998. She has cited the murder of Ivorian refugee Gerard Gbeyo, committed by a Swedish

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

in the town of Klippan in 1995, as one of the reasons she became involved in politics. Shortly after she was elected into office she made a publicized decision to withdraw funding for the organization Centrum mot rasism, where her uncle Mkyabela Sabuni was a director. In a 17 July 2006, opinion letter published in the Swedish newspaper ''

Expressen ''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being '' Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue". ...

'', Sabuni called for mandatory gynecological examinations of all schoolgirls in order to prevent

genital mutilation The terms genital modification and genital mutilation can refer to permanent or temporary changes to human sex organs. Some forms of genital alteration are performed on adults with their informed consent at their own behest, usually for aesthetic ...

. She has proposed a ban on

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

for girls under 15 and also advocated the inclusion of

honor killing An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...

s as an independent category within the Swedish criminal code. In July 2006, her book ''Flickorna vi sviker'' ("The Girls We Let Down"), about women in Sweden living under the threat of honor violence, was published. Sabuni states that practicing Muslims who live by the Qur'an "limit their own opportunities". She suggests that practices such as praying five times a day, or questioning music marginalize Muslims.

2006–2013: Minister

On 6 October 2006, the new Swedish

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

which emerged from the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

announced Sabuni's appointment as the new Minister for Integration and Gender Equality. She is the first person of

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

descent to be appointed as Minister in the Swedish government. Sabuni's appointment as Minister for Integration and Gender Equality was met with protests from some

Swedish Muslims Islam in Sweden refers to the practice of Islam in Sweden, as well as historical ties between Sweden and the Islamic world. Viking contact with Islam dates back to the 7th–10th centuries, when the Vikings traded with Muslims during the Isla ...

, who accused her of

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

and

populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

. A

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...

against her appointment was signed by the

Muslim Association of Sweden The Muslim Association of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges muslimska förbund, SMF) is Sweden's largest Muslim organisation, which represents around 70,000 Muslims in Sweden, which receives state aid from Swedish Agency for Support to Faith Communities. ...

, reportedly the largest organization representing Muslims in Sweden. She resigned on 21 January 2013, citing that her successor should be prepared prior to the 2014 general election.

2019–2022: Party leader

Sabuni was elected party leader of the Liberals in June 2019. On 8 April 2022, Sabuni resigned as the party leader following a controversy stemming from her statement that she would flee Sweden for Norway if Sweden was ever invaded. She was the same day replaced by

Johan Pehrson Carl Johan Georg Pehrson (born 8 May 1968) is a Swedish politician who has been leader of the Liberal Party since 8 April 2022. He has been a Member of Parliament since 2018, representing Örebro County, and previously represented the same cons ...

Medical cannabis

Sabuni has opened up for legalization of

medical cannabis Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

Bibliography

*2006 – Flickorna vi sviker: om hederskultur i Sverige. Stockholm: Folkpartiet. Libris 10213085 *2010 – Det nya Sverige: in vision : min väg Stockholm: Ekerlid. Libris 11856397.

References

External links

*
Nyamko Sabuni
at 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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabuni, Nyamko 1969 births Living people People from Bujumbura Liberals (Sweden) politicians Activists against female genital mutilation Critics of Islam Anti-Islam sentiment in Sweden Burundian emigrants to Sweden Swedish Ministers for Integration Swedish Ministers for Gender Equality Women members of the Riksdag Uppsala University alumni Swedish people of Burundian descent Swedish people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Burundian people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Women government ministers of Sweden Members of the Riksdag 2002–2006 21st-century Swedish women politicians Swedish health activists Members of the Riksdag from the Liberals (Sweden) Swedish cannabis activists Mälardalen University College alumni