Thomas Östros
| Thomas Östros | |
|---|---|
 From left to right: Mikaela Valtersson (green) and Thomas Östros. |
|
| Born | 26 January 1965 Gällivare, Norrbotten County |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Occupation | politician |
Thomas Östros (born 26 January 1965 in Gällivare, Norrbotten County) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician. He was Minister for Education from 1998 to 2004 and Minister for Industry and Trade from 2004 to 2006. Since October 2006 he is the deputy chairman of the Riksdag's committee for Industry and Trade.
His parents changed the family name from Waaranperä to Östros when they moved from Norrland to Västerås.
Östros has a licentiate degree (a graduate degree in the Swedish university system) in economics from Uppsala University. During his time at university, he was an active member of the local branch of Social Democratic Students of Sweden. He also served as a councillor in the Uppsala Municipal Council.
In 1994 he was elected to the Riksdag as a Member of Parliament. In 1996 he became Minister for Taxation in the Ministry of Finance, and in 1998 Minister for Education and Science. On 1 November 2004 he switched posts with Minister for Industry and Trade Leif Pagrotsky.
It has regularly been stated that former Prime Minister Göran Persson has a lot of confidence in Thomas Östros, and Östros was often mentioned in speculations about possible successors to Persson.
From early 2008 until 2011, he was the party's economic spokesperson, succeeding Pär Nuder who got in trouble with party leader Mona Sahlin. He was succeeded by Tommy Waidelich in March 2011, following Håkan Juholt's ascension to party chairman.
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| Preceded by Leif Pagrotsky |
Swedish Minister for Industry 2004—2006 |
Succeeded by Maud Olofsson |
