Anna Lindh, 46; minister backed euro, human rights

By Associated Press, 9/12/2003

STOCKHOLM -- Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was an outspoken human rights advocate who was touted by many in Sweden as a future candidate for prime minister.

Ms. Lindh, 46, died yesterday after being stabbed in a downtown Stockholm department store.

"Anna Lindh has left us. The family has lost a mother and wife. Social Democracy has lost one of its most skillful politicians," an emotional Prime Minister Goeran Persson said. "The government has lost a competent politician and a good working colleague. Sweden has lost its face against the world."

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the United States shares the grief of the Swedish people. "The president and the people of the United States were shocked and saddened to learn of the murder," McClellan said. "Mrs. Lindh was a tireless advocate for freedom and peace."

US Secretary of State Colin L. Powell emotionally recalled his friendship with Ms. Lindh: "She had a special energy, integrity, and compassion, and she spent a great deal of her time focusing her efforts on global humanitarian issues. Anna was a cherished colleague and friend, and I will miss her."

For Swedes, her death rekindled memories of the Feb. 28, 1986, murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was killed while walking home from a movie theater with his wife. Like Ms. Lindh, he had no bodyguards. His murder remains unsolved.

Ms. Lindh, one of the Scandinavian country's most popular politicians, was a top member of the ruling Social Democratic Party. She also was one of the Swedish government's leading figures in the campaign to persuade the country's 9 million residents to adopt the euro currency.

Persson named her to lead the foreign ministry in 1998, and Ms. Lindh quickly put her stamp on the position.

She was outspoken on several international issues, voicing her opposition to the recent war in Iraq and urging the Israelis and Palestinians to both stop their violence and start negotiating.

Ms. Lindh also garnered a reputation as a fierce and dedicated proponent of human rights.

Earlier this year, she chided President Bush as a "lone ranger" for his decision to unilaterally invade Iraq without UN approval.

But she also sometimes recognized the need for force, telling members of the Swedish Riksdag, or parliament, in January the threat of military action was needed to pressure Saddam Hussein to comply with UN resolutions to disarm.

Born in the Stockholm suburb of Enskede in 1957, Ms. Lindh became a lawyer with a reputation for preserving the environment.

She rose to prominence in Sweden's long-dominant Social Democratic Party and served as chairwoman of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth from 1984 to 1990. She was a member of parliament from 1982 to 1985.

She leaves her husband, Bo Holmberg, a local politician, and two sons, David, 12, and Filip, 9. Funeral arrangements were not announced. A memorial service was scheduled in a cathedral in the university town of Uppsala, just north of Stockholm.