Laila Freivalds
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Laila_Freivalds.jpg
Photo: Pawel Flato
Laila Freivalds (born June 22, 1942) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician of Latvian origin. She was born in Riga during World War II, and escaped to Sweden with her family.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from Uppsala University in 1970 after which she served in the Swedish Court System until 1976. From 1976 onwards she held senior posts at the Swedish Consumer Agency, before being appointed Minister for Justice in 1988. With the exception of the years 1991–1994, when her party was in opposition, she continued to hold that office until she resigned in 2000 over a controversy in which she was criticised for, as a private individual, circumventing a controversial law that she was responsible for introducing and advocating in her public role as justice minister. Since this scandal, her relations with the press have been strained.
After the assassination of Anna Lindh in 2003, Freivalds was asked to succeed her as Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Laila Freivalds was severely criticised in the Swedish press for the way the Swedish Government handled the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster, and has admitted that her ministry "ought to have reacted much more strongly already on the Second Day of Christmas instead of waiting for more information."
| Preceded by: Anna Lindh | Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs 2003– | Succeeded by: Current Incumbent Template:Politician-stubde:Laila Freivalds fr:Laila Freivalds no:Laila Freivalds sv:Laila Freivalds |