Thomas Bodström (born April 9, 1962) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician. He is the current Minister for Justice (since 2000).

Thomas Bodström is the son of Lennart Bodström , Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs 1982-1985 in the Olof Palme government. In his youth, however, Thomas Bodström was not involved in party politics. Instead, his first brush with media attention came as a football player in AIK, a team in the Premier Division of the Swedish Football league, 1987-1989. In 1990 he graduated from Stockholm University with a Bachelor of Laws degree. After that, he worked as a lawyer for ten years. During his career he took interest in international affairs and in 1999 he joined the board of the Swedish branch of the international organisation Lawyers Without Borders.

However, when Prime Minister Göran Persson announced his new cabinet appointment on October 11, 2000, Thomas Bodström was a completely unknown face to most of the political journalists attending the press conference. At the time, he was not even a member of the Social Democratic party. Although Bodström was unaccustomed to national politics at the time, he has managed to keep his job despite calls for his resignation, especially loudly voiced after a couple of high profile prison escapes during the summer of 2004.

After being appointed as Minister for Justice, he was elected to the Swedish Parliament, the Riksdag, in the 2002 Swedish parliamentary election. This could be regarded as a purely formal exercise, his seat immediately taken over by a substitute.

He has written a book, 700 dagar i Rosenbad (700 days in Rosenbad), about his experiences as a newcomer in the government.

External links

Thomas Bodström's home page on the Swedish Government web site

Thomas Bodström's home page on the Swedish Parliament website

Reference

Thomas Bodström, 700 dagar i Rosenbad, published by Albert Bonniers Förlag, ISBN 9185015156