Maria Borelius
Encyclopedia
Maria Sigrid Astrid Borelius (born 6 July 1960) is a Swedish
journalist
, entrepreneur
and former politician
. Following the 2006 Swedish general election
she was elected a Member of Parliament
for the Moderate Party
, and on 6 October 2006 she was presented as Minister for Foreign Trade in Fredrik Reinfeldt
's new centre-right cabinet
. However, on 14 October 2006, after just eight days in office, she resigned from her post and politics following a number of allegations of tax avoidance and tax evasion
in the media, the so called "Nannygate
".
in Stockholm County
. She is a trained biologist
, earning a Bachelor of Science
degree from Lund University
in 1984 and a Master of Science
degree in journalism
from New York University
in 1986. Borelius started a career as a television journalist as one of four presenters on the television program Trekvart in 1989. She has worked as a science reporter at Rapport
in Sveriges Television
and as a presenter of Nova and Vetenskapens värld on the same channel, and Vetandets värld in Sveriges Radio
. She has also worked as a columnist in Dagens Industri and as a television host at Swedish TV8
. In 1998 she started the e-learning
television channel "K-World" with business partner Annie Wegelius. The company was dissolved in 2002 after a SEK700m bankruptcy. Before being appointed Minister for Foreign Trade, Borelius was a member of the board at several Swedish companies: Active Biotech, SWECO, Telelogic and Södra cell.
Borelius has published popular scientific articles and books, and books on parenting. Several have been accused of pseudoscientific
content Maria Borelius is married and has four children. She live with her husband in London
after abandoning her plans on returning to Djursholm
outside of Stockholm.
and became a candidate for the Riksdag in 2005. Following the 2006 general election
on September 17, 2006, Borelius was elected to represent Stockholm County
(seat 282) in the Swedish parliament
. On October 6, 2006 she was surprisingly selected by the newly elected Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
to hold the post of Minister for Foreign Trade in his cabinet
. However, during the period October 7 to October 14, 2006 a series of media revelations into the newly appointed minister led to her resignation after eight days in office.
was announced two of the ministers, Maria Borelius and Cecilia Stegö Chilò
, voluntarily admitted that they had previously employed persons to take care of their children (nannies
) without paying the employment (payroll) tax, employer's contribution . Initially neither of them faced any judicial inquiry following their admissions since the events occurred more than five years ago, which put it outside of the statute of limitations
.
In explanation, Borelius stated that: "I'm a mother of four and I was running my own company. It never would have worked otherwise". However, during interviews with the media Borelius stated that she "would never have been able to afford all the fees" if she also had paid the taxes. This was soon contradicted by Magnus Ljungkvist, member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party
and press secretary for the Social Democrats in the Stockholm County
administration. According to Ljungkvists research into Borelius and her husband's income-tax returns, the couple earned 17 million kronor
during the 1990s. Moreover, Borelius inherited a house worth four million kronor from her father in 1996. Ljungkvist, who used public sources, published his findings on his blog, which was then picked up by mainstream media. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
initially stated that while he did not think that Borelius explanation was a good one, he still had faith in her abilities as a minister. "She has assured me that she considers it to be wrong to use 'black' services, and that she does not intend to do so in the future. I have tolerated that as an answer", the Prime Minister said.
, a private agency tasked with collecting the license fees, filed criminal charges against Borelius and two other ministers in the Reinfeldt Cabinet, Tobias Billström
and Cecilia Stegö Chilò
.
in Southern Sweden. However the property is officially registered to "Full Moon Investments Limited", a company based in the tax haven
of Jersey
. On October 14, 2006 the existence of an apartment in Cannes
, France
with a similar arrangement came to light. The apartment in France is registered to "Soleil Investment Limited".
announced that Maria Borelius had tendered her resignation. She also left her seat in the Swedish parliament
at the same time.
With her eight days in office, Borelius holds the Swedish record for shortest tenure as a government minister.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and former politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. Following the 2006 Swedish general election
Swedish general election, 2006
A general election was held in Sweden on 17 September 2006, to elect members to the Swedish parliament. All 349 seats were up for election: 310 "fixed seats" in 29 constituencies and 39 members at a national level for what are called "adjustment seats", used to ensure that parties have...
she was elected a Member of Parliament
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
for the Moderate Party
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...
, and on 6 October 2006 she was presented as Minister for Foreign Trade in Fredrik Reinfeldt
Fredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
's new centre-right cabinet
Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt
The cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt is the current cabinet of Sweden. It is a coalition cabinet consisting of the four parties in the centre-right Alliance for Sweden: the Moderate Party, Centre Party, Liberal People's Party and the Christian Democrats...
. However, on 14 October 2006, after just eight days in office, she resigned from her post and politics following a number of allegations of tax avoidance and tax evasion
Tax avoidance and tax evasion
Tax noncompliance describes a range of activities that are unfavorable to a state's tax system. These include tax avoidance, which refers to reducing taxes by legal means, and tax evasion which refers to the criminal non-payment of tax liabilities....
in the media, the so called "Nannygate
Minister affair at the announcement of the Reinfeldt cabinet
The minister affair at the announcement of the Reinfeldt cabinet in Sweden is a political scandal which started on October 7, 2006 when the Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt, which had been announced on October 6, immediately became affected by media allegations on past errors on the part of several...
".
Education and career
Maria Borelius was born in TäbyTäby
Täby is a trimunicipal locality and the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden, with 58,593 inhabitants in 2005. It is also partly located in Danderyd Municipality and Sollentuna Municipality...
in Stockholm County
Stockholm County
Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
. She is a trained biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
, earning a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree from Lund University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
in 1984 and a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
degree in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1986. Borelius started a career as a television journalist as one of four presenters on the television program Trekvart in 1989. She has worked as a science reporter at Rapport
Rapport (news programme)
Rapport is one of the two main news programmes from the Swedish television broadcaster Sveriges Television .Rapport's main bulletin is broadcast everyday at 7.30 p. m. on SVT1 and is thirty minutes long...
in Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
and as a presenter of Nova and Vetenskapens värld on the same channel, and Vetandets värld in Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB – Swedish Radio Ltd – is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. The Swedish public-broadcasting system is in many respects modelled after the one used in the United Kingdom, and Sveriges Radio - like Sveriges Television - shares many characteristics with...
. She has also worked as a columnist in Dagens Industri and as a television host at Swedish TV8
TV8 (Sweden)
TV8 is a television channel owned by Modern Times Group broadcasting to Sweden. It focuses on news, current affairs, documentaries and drama. The channel was started by the private equity firm Ratos in 1997 and was sold to MTG in 1999....
. In 1998 she started the e-learning
E-learning
E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching. The information and communication systems, whether networked learning or not, serve as specific media to implement the learning process...
television channel "K-World" with business partner Annie Wegelius. The company was dissolved in 2002 after a SEK700m bankruptcy. Before being appointed Minister for Foreign Trade, Borelius was a member of the board at several Swedish companies: Active Biotech, SWECO, Telelogic and Södra cell.
Borelius has published popular scientific articles and books, and books on parenting. Several have been accused of pseudoscientific
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
content Maria Borelius is married and has four children. She live with her husband in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
after abandoning her plans on returning to Djursholm
Djursholm
Djursholm is one of four suburban districts in, and the seat of Danderyd Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. Djursholm is included in the multi-municipal Stockholm urban area.-History:...
outside of Stockholm.
Political career
Borelius joined the Moderate PartyModerate Party
The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...
and became a candidate for the Riksdag in 2005. Following the 2006 general election
Swedish general election, 2006
A general election was held in Sweden on 17 September 2006, to elect members to the Swedish parliament. All 349 seats were up for election: 310 "fixed seats" in 29 constituencies and 39 members at a national level for what are called "adjustment seats", used to ensure that parties have...
on September 17, 2006, Borelius was elected to represent Stockholm County
Stockholm County
Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
(seat 282) in the Swedish parliament
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
. On October 6, 2006 she was surprisingly selected by the newly elected Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
Fredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
to hold the post of Minister for Foreign Trade in his cabinet
Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt
The cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt is the current cabinet of Sweden. It is a coalition cabinet consisting of the four parties in the centre-right Alliance for Sweden: the Moderate Party, Centre Party, Liberal People's Party and the Christian Democrats...
. However, during the period October 7 to October 14, 2006 a series of media revelations into the newly appointed minister led to her resignation after eight days in office.
Political controversies
Nanny controversy
On October 7, 2006, the day after the Cabinet of Fredrik ReinfeldtCabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt
The cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt is the current cabinet of Sweden. It is a coalition cabinet consisting of the four parties in the centre-right Alliance for Sweden: the Moderate Party, Centre Party, Liberal People's Party and the Christian Democrats...
was announced two of the ministers, Maria Borelius and Cecilia Stegö Chilò
Cecilia Stegö Chilò
Marie Cecilia Stegö Chilò was the Swedish Minister for Culture for ten days, from October 6, 2006 to October 16, 2006. Prior to her appointment as a cabinet member she was Chief executive officer of the Swedish Free Enterprise Foundation , and Director of Timbro, a neoliberal, free-market...
, voluntarily admitted that they had previously employed persons to take care of their children (nannies
Nanny
A nanny, childminder or child care provider, is an individual who provides care for one or more children in a family as a service...
) without paying the employment (payroll) tax, employer's contribution . Initially neither of them faced any judicial inquiry following their admissions since the events occurred more than five years ago, which put it outside of the statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
.
In explanation, Borelius stated that: "I'm a mother of four and I was running my own company. It never would have worked otherwise". However, during interviews with the media Borelius stated that she "would never have been able to afford all the fees" if she also had paid the taxes. This was soon contradicted by Magnus Ljungkvist, member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party
Swedish Social Democratic Party
The Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party, , contesting elections as 'the Workers' Party – the Social Democrats' , or sometimes referred to just as 'the Social Democrats' and most commonly as Sossarna ; is the oldest and largest political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1889...
and press secretary for the Social Democrats in the Stockholm County
Stockholm County
Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
administration. According to Ljungkvists research into Borelius and her husband's income-tax returns, the couple earned 17 million kronor
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
during the 1990s. Moreover, Borelius inherited a house worth four million kronor from her father in 1996. Ljungkvist, who used public sources, published his findings on his blog, which was then picked up by mainstream media. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
Fredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
initially stated that while he did not think that Borelius explanation was a good one, he still had faith in her abilities as a minister. "She has assured me that she considers it to be wrong to use 'black' services, and that she does not intend to do so in the future. I have tolerated that as an answer", the Prime Minister said.
TV licence controversy
On October 11, 2006 it came to light that Borelius has not paid her TV license since she returned from the United Kingdom on August 21, 2006. On October 12, 2006 Radiotjänst i Kiruna ABRadiotjänst i Kiruna
Radiotjänst i Kiruna AB is Sweden's TV licensing body. It is a private corporation, formed in 1988 and based in Kiruna. The company is a subsidiary of the three Swedish public service broadcasters Sveriges Television, Sveriges Radio and Sveriges Utbildningsradio...
, a private agency tasked with collecting the license fees, filed criminal charges against Borelius and two other ministers in the Reinfeldt Cabinet, Tobias Billström
Tobias Billström
Tobias Lennart Billström is a Swedish politician currently serving as Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy in the Swedish government. Billström, a member of the Moderate Party, has been a Member of Parliament since 2002 representing Malmö Municipality...
and Cecilia Stegö Chilò
Cecilia Stegö Chilò
Marie Cecilia Stegö Chilò was the Swedish Minister for Culture for ten days, from October 6, 2006 to October 16, 2006. Prior to her appointment as a cabinet member she was Chief executive officer of the Swedish Free Enterprise Foundation , and Director of Timbro, a neoliberal, free-market...
.
Other issues
On October 13, 2006 it was revealed that Borelius is also being investigated by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority for financial irregularities concerning the sale of shares in the company "Active Biotech" where Borelius is a member of the board. Under Swedish law such a transaction must be reported within five days. On the same day it was also revealed that Borelius' husband Greger Larsson owns a vacation home in the resort of FalsterboFalsterbo
Falsterbo is a town located at the south-western tip of Sweden in Vellinge Municipality in Skåne County. Falsterbo is situated in the southern part of the Falsterbo peninsula. It is part of Skanör med Falsterbo, one of Sweden's historical cities.-History:...
in Southern Sweden. However the property is officially registered to "Full Moon Investments Limited", a company based in the tax haven
Tax haven
A tax haven is a state or a country or territory where certain taxes are levied at a low rate or not at all while offering due process, good governance and a low corruption rate....
of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
. On October 14, 2006 the existence of an apartment in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
with a similar arrangement came to light. The apartment in France is registered to "Soleil Investment Limited".
Resignation
In the afternoon of October 14, 2006 Prime Minister Fredrik ReinfeldtFredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
announced that Maria Borelius had tendered her resignation. She also left her seat in the Swedish parliament
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
at the same time.
With her eight days in office, Borelius holds the Swedish record for shortest tenure as a government minister.
External links
- Maria Borelius at the RiksdagParliament of SwedenThe Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
website - Maria Borelius at the Moderate PartyModerate PartyThe Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...
website - Maria Borelius personal website (Shut down as of October 23, 2006)