Former State Secretary Ulrica Schenström is dead
The debater and former state secretary Ulrica Schenström has died.
She was 52 years old.
“A great personality has passed away,” writes former Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt (M) in a comment to Expressen.
Ulrica Schenström entered politics early. She was appointed as the Moderate Party’s press officer in 2002 and was one of the key figures behind the strategy for the New Moderate Party.
She was appointed State Secretary in Fredrik Reinfeldt’s government after the 2006 election.
“Ulrica was crucial in her efforts to create the New Moderates. She was tireless, colorful and a valued part of a close-knit team,” writes Fredrik Reinfeldt in a comment to Expressen.
“Ulrica was crucial in her efforts to create the New Moderates. She was tireless, colorful and a valued part of a close-knit team”
She left the service in 2007 after a high-profile visit to a pub where she was caught on camera drinking wine and kissing TV4 reporter Anders Pihlblad during an on-call duty.
Ulrica Schenström has also worked as a consultant and was chair of the Moderate Women between 2017 and 2019. She took up the position of CEO of the liberal think tank Fores in 2020 and left the position in March this year.
“A friend with an open heart”
She was one of the initiators of and chairwoman of the Tuesday Club, which started in June 2020, to counter nationalist and populist forces. Several former politicians, including Cecilia Malmström (L) and Anna Ekström (S), are members.
“Ulrica was a lot. She was a friend. A friend who was always there with an open heart and an open door. She was a friend to many. Ulrica had an extraordinary ability to build bonds. She carried with her her beloved mother’s faith in humanity and the importance of never judging others before you have understood the person’s situation and destiny yourself,” writes Tisdagsklubben in a statement.
“Ulrica was a lot. She was a friend. A friend who was always there with an open heart and an open door. She was a friend to many. Ulrica had an extraordinary ability to build bonds. She carried with her beloved mother’s faith in humanity and the importance of never judging others before you yourself have understood the person’s situation and destiny”,
– It’s a dark moment right now. She was full of life and lust for life. We sit here and feel a void for a person who meant so much to us, says liberal debater Olof Jonmyren, a member of the Tuesday Club.
Anna Ekström: An Enthusiast
Former Minister of Education Anna Ekström was a close friend, despite their different political affiliations. She describes Ulrica Schenström as a passionate person who left no one untouched.
– When she entered a room, she filled the entire room.
She was passionate and interested in the “really important issues” in politics, says Anna Ekström.
– Then it’s also the case that she and I had different opinions about almost everything, but we both liked the fact that we live in a time when everyone must fight to protect democracy and strengthen Sweden as a liberal constitutional state.
Magdalena Andersson: “Straight-backed”
The Centre Party’s party leader Anna-Karin Hatt, who was also state secretary in the alliance government, tells on Instagram how she and Ulrica Schenström worked closely together.
“Over the years, she has meant a lot to Swedish bourgeois society and to the defense of open, liberal democracy,” writes Hatt.
“Over the years, she has meant a lot to Swedish bourgeois society and to the defense of open, liberal democracy”
S leader Magdalena Andersson calls the news sad in a post on X.
“Ulrica was a straight-forward person who never compromised her values,” she writes.“Ulrica was a straight-forward person who never compromised her values”,
Ulrica Schenström turned 52.
