Urban Bäckström (born 25 May 1954, Sollefteå, Västernorrlands län) 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 ...

economist who was

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise from 2005 to 2014 and governor of the

Bank of Sweden Sveriges Riksbank, or simply the ''Riksbank'', is the central bank of Sweden. It is the world's oldest central bank and the fourth oldest bank in operation. Etymology The first part of the word ''riksbank'', ''riks'', stems from the Swedish w ...

from 1994 to 2002.

Personal

Bäckström grew up in Visby and Helsingborg and graduated with a degree in economics 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 ...

. He is married to Ewa, who works for

SAS SAS or Sas may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers * ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series * Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...

. The couple has two children.

Career

Urban Bäckström started his career at the Ministry of Finance during the Thorbjörn Fälldin government. He was later the chief economist for the centre-right Moderate Party. While state secretary at the Ministry of Finance he was involved among other things in the management of Sweden's financial crisis of the early 1990s. In 1994 he was appointed governor of the

. After the

1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...

, Bäckström worked to restabilize the krona, which had begun to be affected by the worldwide crisis during the second quarter of 1998. As one of his duties as governor, he served on the board of directors of the Bank for International Settlements. Having resigned in 2002, he was appointed

Skandia Skandia is a financial services corporation in Sweden. History Skandia started out as a Swedish insurance company in 1855. Today the brand operates in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Skandia also operates an internet bank called Skandiab ...

Liv, part of the Skandia group of insurance companies. In 2005 he became CEO of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, which represents larger companies and employers. He has been a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences since 2003.Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences: Bäckström, Urban
accessed 2010-06-13

References

External links

Personal information at the Website of CSI

Financial Crises: The Swedish Experience (speech)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backstrom, Urban 1954 births Living people Governors of Sveriges Riksbank Stockholm University alumni Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences 20th-century Swedish economists