Olof "Olle" Mattias Wästberg (born 6 May 1945) 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 ...
journalist,
politician and
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
, who formerly served as Director-General of the
Swedish Institute
The Swedish Institute ( sv, Svenska institutet, ) is a government agency in Sweden with the responsibility to spread information about Sweden outside the country. It exists to promote Swedish interests, and to organise exchanges with other co ...
.
Olle Wästberg was born in
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 ...
, the son of Erik Wästberg and his wife ''Greta'' née ''Hirsch'', and is the younger brother of
Per Wästberg. He received a
Candidate of Philosophy in
political science and
economic history from
Stockholm University
Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...
in 1972. He is married to
Inger Claesson-Wästberg with whom he has two children.
Wästberg started his political career in the
Liberal Youth of Sweden, where he served as Secretary-General from 1966 to 1969. He worked as an editorial writer in ''
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".
...
'' from 1969 to 1971. He was an elected
Member of Parliament for the
Liberal People's Party from 1976 to 1982. During his time as an MP he was noted for his criticism towards the
Fälldin government during the
Telub affair in 1981. From 1983 to 1991 Wästberg was CEO of the company Dagspressens marknadsinformation AB. From 1991 to 1993 he served as
State Secretary at the Swedish
Ministry of Finance under
Minister for 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", ...
Anne Wibble
Anne Marie Wibble (born Anne Ohlin on 13 October 1943 in Stockholm – 14 March 2000 in Stockholm) was a Swedish politician who served as Minister for Finance from 1991 to 1994, the first woman to hold the post. She was a member of the Liberal ...
. In 1993 Wästberg became editor-in-chief of ''Expressen'', but was fired in 1995 after a conflict with the
Bonnier family owners.
From 1999 to 2004 Wästberg served as
Consul-General of Sweden in New York City. He was appointed as Director-General of the Swedish Institute on 1 March 2005. He has written many articles and books on New York and in 2005 he nominated its former mayor
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
for the
Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to severely reduce crime rates in the city.
former mayor Rudy Giuliani for the Nobel Peace Prize
/ref>
References
Sources
* Judisk Krönika, 1–1999
External links
Olle Wästberg
– personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wastberg, Olle
1945 births
Jewish Swedish politicians
Living people
Stockholm University alumni
Members of the Riksdag from the Liberals (Sweden)
Members of the Riksdag 1979–1982
Swedish journalists
Consuls-general of Sweden
Swedish Jews