Anders Björck

Anders Per-Arne Björck (born 19 September 1944) is a Swedish politician who was Minister for Defence from 1991 to 1994 and Governor of Uppsala County from 2003 to 2009.[1]

Not to be confused with Anders Bjork (ice hockey).

Anders Björck
Minister for Defence
In office 1991–1994
Preceded by	Roine Carlsson
Succeeded by	Thage G. Peterson
Vice Speaker of the Riksdag
In office 1994–2002
Preceded by	Stig Alemyr
Succeeded by	Per Westerberg
Governor of Uppsala County
In office 2003–2009
Personal details
Born	(1944-09-19) 19 September 1944 Nässjö, Jönköping County
Political party	Moderate Party
Residence	Stockholm
Occupation	Politician

Career

Björck was born on 19 September 1944 in Nässjö, Sweden, the son of Arne Björck and his wife Ann-Marie (née Svensson).[2] He attended Centralskolan in Nässjö and passed studentexamen at Nässjö läroverk in 1966.[3] Swedish was interested in politics from an early stage. He was national chairman of the Moderate Youth League, or the Rightist Youth League (Högerns ungdomsförbund) as it was known at the time of his election. He was the first truly young – only 21 – chairman of the Youth League – his predecessor was 35 years old. Before that he served as national chairman of the Conservative School Youth, today known as the Moderate School Youth, from 1961 to 1963.

In 1968, aged only 22, he was elected to the Riksdag for the Rightist Party (Högerpartiet) which became the Moderate Party in 1969.

In 1989 he was elected president of the Council of Europe and served until 1991, when the Moderate Party won the election and Carl Bildt was allowed to form a government. He was appointed Minister for Defence. When the Moderates lost the 1994 election he became vice speaker of the Riksdag, a position he held until 2002.[4]

Björck was known to belong to the so-called "Bunker gang", a group of politicians and advisors forming the inner circle around party leader Carl Bildt.

Between 2003 and 2009, Björck was Governor of Uppsala County.

Anders Björck has continued to speak up on political issues from time to time. He remains rather Conservative, compared to other Moderates, and has on numerous occasions spoken up against what he perceives as the growing influence of liberalism in the Moderate Party.

Personal life

In 1975, Björck married Py-Lotte von Zweigbergk (born 1948), the daughter of Sverker von Zweigbergk and Astrid (née Sigström).[2] They have one daughter, Anne Björck.[5]

Honours

• Chairman of the Sällskapet
• Chairman of the Swedish Pistol Shooting Association (Svenska pistolskytteförbundet) from 2003 to 2009[6]
• Honorary member of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy[7]
• Honorary member of the Swedish Pistol Shooting Association (Svenska pistolskytteförbundet)[8]
• Member of the Swedish Order of Freemasons[9]
• Member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows[3]
• Årets smålänning ("Smålänning of the Year") (1988)[10]

References

1. "Landshövdingar i Uppsala län 1634-" [List of Governors of Uppsala County 1634-] (in Swedish). County Administrative Board of Uppsala. 11 August 2007. Archived from the original on 11 August 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
2. Salander Mortensen, Jill, ed. (1996). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1997 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1997] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 138. ISBN 91-1-960852-7. SELIBR 3681533.
3. Mannefred, Hans (27 December 2011). "Anders Björck, numera arbetskamrat med Göran Persson". Höglandsnytt (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 March 2014.
4. "Anders Björck (M)" (in Swedish). Riksdag. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
5. Karlsson, Maria (17 September 2009). "Anders Björck gör comeback". Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish). TT Spektra. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
6. Stoltz, Mats (25 April 2013). "Svenska pistolskytteförbundet verksamhetsberättelse för år 2012" (PDF) (in Swedish). Swedish Pistol Shooting Association. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
7. "HEDERSLEDAMÖTER" (in Swedish). Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
8. "Hedersledamöter" (in Swedish). Swedish Pistol Shooting Association. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
9. Andersson, Jonas (3 January 2007). "Var fjärde minister medlem i elitsällskap". Metro (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
10. "Nu kan du nominera Årets Smålänning". P4 Jönköping (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

Political offices
Preceded by Roine Carlsson	Swedish Minister for Defence 1991–1994	Succeeded by Thage G. Peterson
Preceded by Stig Alemyr	Vice Speaker of the Riksdag 1994–2002	Succeeded by Per Westerberg
Preceded by Ulf Henricsson	Governor of Uppsala County 2003–2009	Succeeded by Peter Egardt