On 25 August 2017, Kinberg Batra announced her resignation as party leader; she was succeeded by Ulf Kristersson on 1 October 2017. In September 2017, she said that she would leave the political arena.
She served as Governor of Stockholm County from 1 March 2023, following her appointment by the Government of Sweden on 2 February 2023, until 3 October 2024 when she was forced to resign after the Government rescinded its confidence in her on 27 September 2024.[2]
Early life
Anna Kinberg was born in Skärholmen.[3] In 1974, Kinberg and her family moved to Rotterdam, Netherlands, as her father worked for Merrill Lynch's Amsterdam office.[4][5] Kinberg Batra speaks fluent Dutch after her years in the country.[4] They moved back to Sweden in 1980, settling in Djursholm where Kinberg Batra spent the rest of her upbringing.[5]
Relatives
Kinberg Batra is a member of the Kinberg family from Västra Götaland County. Her parents are commodity analyst Johan S. Kinberg and chemistry engineer Sarah Kinberg (née Lundgren). Her grandfather was director Hilding Kinberg and her great-great-grandfather was professor Hjalmar Kinberg.[6]
Anna Kinberg Batra speaks before a crowd at Almedalsveckan in Visby, July 2015.
Kinberg Batra joined the Moderate Youth League in 1983.[7] During the internal fights within the youth league in the beginning of the 1990s, she belonged to the liberal phalanx and supported Ulf Kristersson as chairman.
Kinberg became known to the general public when she stated that "people from Stockholm are more intelligent than people from rural areas" in her 1998 election campaign.[12] In 2014, she apologized for this statement and said that "it is still the stupidest thing I've said publicly".[13]
She faced criticism from voters and from within the Moderate Party after the December agreement, which made it possible for Prime MinisterStefan Löfven's centre-left minority government coalition to continue in office. On 9 October 2015, following the Christian Democrats' departure from the agreement, Kinberg Batra announced that the agreement was now dissolved.
On 25 August 2017, she announced that she would resign the leadership of the Moderate Party, owing to heavy criticism from within the party. She was succeeded by Ulf Kristersson on 1 October 2017.[17]
In March of 2024, her decision to recruit two of her close friends to well compensated positions within the administration, without announcing the positions as open, sparked controversy.[18][19][20] While Kinberg Batra defends the recruitment, stating that the candidates are the best suited candidates for the positions,[21] the controversy led the Swedish Prosecution Authority's anti-corruption agency (Riksenheten mot korruption [sv]) to launch an investigation.[22][23] Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson expressed support for the anti-corruption investigation.[24]
In a separate corruption allegation, Batra expensed her private lunches and dinners on the government.[25][26]
Kinberg Batra also received criticism for increasing the budget threefold for the Tessin Palace, the Governors Official Residence. During 2023 she defended these claims stating that the kings visit during his golden jubilee required more money to be spent at the Palace. This increase in budget however remained in 2024 when no such events were scheduled to take place fueling mass criticism.[27][28]
In April 2024 Batra fired the Chief Director of Stockholm County Åsa Ryding, the second highest ranking official in the county behind the Governor. The fired chief director was given SEK 2.2 million in compensation, funded by taxpayer money. In August 2024 the National Audit Office in response to this launched a investigation into the incident to determine whether or not the Governor is empowered to fire high ranking county officials such as the chief director or if this power is held by the Government alone, and to decide if the compensation was justified.[29][30][31]
On 26 September 2024 the Justice Ombudsman announced harsh criticism against Batra for among other things the hiring of her two friends earlier in March, stating that the decision disregarded the Instrument of Governments requirement of objectivity in the hiring process.[32] This because according to the Ombudsman Batra had in two cases already decided the outcome of the hiring process and in another hired an individual lacking the academic qualifications for the job.[33] The same day Batra declared she would not be resigning.[34][35] The next day, on 27 September 2024, Minister for Public AdministrationErik Slottner announced that Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and the Government had lost confidence in Batra as Governor of Stockholm County, and that the Government would force her to tender her resignation.[36][37] The Government will formally take the decision depose Batra during a cabinet meeting on 3 October.[38]
Simultaneously it was announced Batra would be moved to the Government Offices and work there until 2029, when her term as Governor was supposed to end.[39]
Personal life
She has been married to comedian David Batra since 2002. They have one daughter and live in Nacka, Stockholm.[40][41] She is fluent in French and proficient in Dutch.[42]
