Astrid Thors

Who is Astrid Thors?

Astrid Thors is the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. A Finnish-Swedish politician, formerly of the Swedish People's Party, Thors is a Candidate of Law and had several white-collar high-position jobs before being elected into the European Parliament. She served there between 1996 and 2004. She was elected into the Parliament of Finland in 2003. 2005–2007 she was chairperson of the Swedish Assembly of Finland.

After the 2007 elections she was chosen to be the new Minister of Migration and European Affairs in Matti Vanhanen's second cabinet.

During 2007 and 2011 Thors became a target of the increasing anti-immigration and anti-EU sentiment. She received death threats that were consequently investigated by the police, and faced a lot of criticism, especially in famous and less famous chat and blogging sites as well as in the Finnish Parliament. This regardless of the fact that during her term, the Finnish immigration policy continued to tighten outside the EU directives. The critique Minister Thors faced subsequently led to a decision not to continue this ministerial position in Prime Minister Katainen's government, and immigration policy was returned under the Interior Minister's wings and EU policy was given to the new position of the Minister of European Affairs and Foreign Trade.