Åsa Elisabeth Romson (born 22 March 1972) is a Swedish politician who was the Minister for the Environment and ceremonial Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden in the Swedish Government from 2014 to 2016. She is a member of the Green Party and served as one of its spokespersons along with Gustav Fridolin between 2011 and 2016.

Åsa Romson
Minister for the Environment
In office
3 October 2014 – 25 May 2016
Prime MinisterStefan Löfven
Preceded byLena Ek
Succeeded byKarolina Skog
Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden
(honorary title)
In office
3 October 2014 – 25 May 2016
Serving with Margot Wallström
Prime MinisterStefan Löfven
Preceded byJan Björklund
Succeeded byIsabella Lövin
Spokesperson of the Green Party
In office
21 May 2011 – 13 May 2016
Serving with Gustav Fridolin
Preceded byMaria Wetterstrand
Peter Eriksson
Succeeded byIsabella Lövin
Gustav Fridolin
Member of the Riksdag
In office
7 June 2016 – 14 July 2017
In office
18 May 2013 – 2 October 2014
In office
4 October 2010 – 22 November 2012
ConstituencyStockholm Municipality
Personal details
Born (1972-03-22) 22 March 1972 (age 52)
Salem, Sweden
Political partyGreen Party
Alma materStockholm University (JD)
ProfessionPolitician

In 2012, Romson completed a doctorate in environmental law at Stockholm University.[1]

Political career

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In the late 1990s, she was a member of the Green Party and the Young Greens of Sweden. Between 2002 and 2010, she was a member of the city council in Stockholm.[2] Since the 2010 election she has been a spokesperson for environmental and climate policy. She has been a member of the Swedish parliament since the 2010 election.[2]

On 29 March 2011, she was nominated as one of the candidates[3] to be the Green Party's new spokesperson, together with Gustav Fridolin. They were elected on 21 May 2011.

She started serving as the Minister for the Environment and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden in the Löfven Cabinet. Romson announced her intention in May 2016 to resign from the Government, following the Green Party's decision not to nominate her for the party leadership for another term.[4]

Controversies

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In October 2014, Romson used an outlawed type of paint on the bottom of the boat she lives on. She claimed ignorance on both counts.[5]

On 19 April 2016, she described the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center as "olycka" (meaning "accident", "disaster" or "misfortune" depending on context).[6][7] She explained that the disaster she was referring to in that context (the Swedish word "olycka" can mean accident or disaster) was that the topic of integration had become inflamed as a result of the attack.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Åsa Romson disputerar su.se Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b "Åsa Romson / Miljöpartiet de gröna". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06.
  3. ^ Söker ett intressant uppdrag asaromson.se Archived 2012-05-25 at archive.today
  4. ^ Nyheter, SVT. "Romson avgår ur regeringen". Archived from the original on 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  5. ^ "Åsa Romsons miss – det finns inget kryphål för bottenfärgen". Expressen. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  6. ^ Li, David K. "Swedish deputy PM calls 9/11 an 'accident'". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  7. ^ "Sweden's deputy leader defends 9/11 'accident' gaffe". www.thelocal.se. 2016-04-19. Archived from the original on 2016-05-15. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  8. ^ Nyheter, SVT. "Romson: 11 september en "olycka"". Archived from the original on 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Spokesperson of the Green Party
2011–2016
Alongside:
Gustav Fridolin
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden
(honorary title)

2014–2016
Serving with:
Margot Wallström
Succeeded by
New office Minister for the Climate
2014–2016
Preceded by Minister for the Environment
2014–2016
Succeeded by