Maj-Inger Klingvall

Elsa Maj-Inger Klingvall, née Ohlsson (born 15 May 1946) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician and diplomat. She served as a member of the Riksdag for Östergötland County from 1988 to 2002 and was a cabinet minister in the government of Göran Persson, first as minister for social security (1996–1999) and later as minister for international development co-operation and minister for migration (1999–2001). After leaving government, she was Sweden’s ambassador to Mozambique, with accreditation to Swaziland, from 2003 to 2007, and later worked at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs with responsibility for West Africa until her retirement in 2011. She has also been active in the Social Democratic Women in Sweden and served as chair of UNICEF Sweden from 2017.

Early life Klingvall was born Elsa Maj-Inger Ohlsson on 15 May 1946 in Nyköping, Sweden, the daughter of Sven Ohlsson and his wife Elsa (née Karlsson). Klingvall received Bachelor of Arts degree from Stockholm University in 1970 and a Master of Social Science degree from Linköping University in 1972. before being elected to the Riksdag as a Social Democratic MP for the Östergötland County constituency, a position she held from 1988 until 2002.

In the government of Prime Minister Göran Persson, Klingvall was a cabinet minister from 1996 to 2001. She first served as minister for social security at the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (1996–1999), and later as minister for international development co-operation and minister for migration at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (1999–2001). For a brief period in 1998, following Margot Wallström's resignation, she also served as acting minister for health and social affairs.

In the Riksdag, she was deputy member of the Committee on Health and Welfare (1988–1991), later a full member of the same committee (1991–1994), member and chair of the Committee on Social Insurance (1994–1996), deputy member of the Committee on Civil-Law Legislation (1988–1994), and member of the War Delegation (1994–1998). After a short return to parliament as a deputy member of the Committee on Cultural Affairs (2002), Her posting ended in July 2007, after which she continued at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as ambassador with responsibility for West Africa until her retirement on 1 May 2011.

Personal life In 1967, she married Rolf Klingvall (born 1944), the son of Oskar Klingvall and Ingrid (née Karlsson). They later divorced. She has four children.