Anitra Steen

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Anitra Steen
Steen in 2010
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Sweden
In role
6 December 2003 – 6 October 2006
Prime MinisterGöran Persson
Preceded byAnnika Barthine
Succeeded byFilippa Reinfeldt
Personal details
Born
Anitra Linnéa Bergström

(1949-05-13) 13 May 1949 (age 75)
Västanfors, Fagersta, Västmanland, Sweden
Political partySocial Democrats
Spouse(s)
Per Olof Steen
(m. 1970, divorced)

Göran Persson
(m. 2003)
Children2
Residence(s)Övre Torp, Flen, Södermanland
Alma materUppsala University (1971)

Anitra Linnéa Steen (née Bergström; on 13 May 1949) is a Swedish politician, civil servant and the wife of former Prime Minister Göran Persson.

Steen held various governmental roles since 1989: state secretary for Persson-led Ministry of Education and then for the Ministry of Finance, as well as director-general of the Council for Higher Education and the Tax Agency.[1] Between 1999 and May 2009, when she retired, she was the manager of Systembolaget, the Swedish state alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly.[2] In that role she was forced to cope with a full blown corruption scandal, involving bribery of shop managers and senior staff by some major suppliers, including Vin & Sprit, formerly the producing and importing division of the Swedish state monopoly. Vin & Sprit is now owned by Pernod Ricard.

Personal life

[edit]

Steen was born in Västanfors, Fagersta, Västmanland. She graduated from Uppsala University in 1971.[1]

In 1970, she married Per Olof Steen, with whom she has two children; the couple later divorced.[1] Since 6 December 2003, she has been married to Göran Persson, former Prime Minister of Sweden. Because of her personal connection to the head of the Swedish government, her independence as a board member of Scandinavian Airlines, which is jointly owned by the Scandinavian governments, was put in question by some.[according to whom?]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Garme, Cecilia (3 February 2003). "De har känt varandra länge". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  2. ^ Skarin, Anna (4 September 2008). "Anitra Steen pensionerar sig". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
Civic offices
Preceded by
State secretary for the Swedish Ministry of Education
1989–1991
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Director-general of the Swedish Council for Higher Education
1992–1994
Succeeded by
Preceded by
State secretary for the Swedish Ministry of Finance
1994–1995
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Lennart Nilsson
Director-general of the Swedish Tax Agency
1996–1999
Succeeded by
Mats Sjöstrand
Business positions
Preceded by CEO of the Systembolaget
1999–2009
Succeeded by
Magdalena Gerger