Thomas Östros

Who is Thomas Östros?

Thomas Östros is a Swedish Social Democratic politician. He was Minister for Education from 1998 to 2004 and Minister for Enterprise and Energy from 2004 to 2006. He was deputy chairman of the Riksdag's committee for Industry and Trade from 2006 to 2008, and then economic policy spokesperson for his party from 2008 to 2011. He was forced to resign from the post when Håkan Juholt took over as party chairman. While forced to resign, Östros was also removed from his post in the party's executive committee. He left the Swedish Riksdag in June 2012, having served in it since 1994.

His parents changed the family name from Waaranperä to Östros when they moved from Norrland to Västerås.

Östros has a licentiate degree in economics from Uppsala University. During his time at university, he was an active member of the local branch of Social Democratic Students of Sweden. He also served as a councillor in the Uppsala Municipal Council.

In 1994 he was elected to the Riksdag as a Member of Parliament. In 1996 he became Minister for Taxation in the Ministry of Finance, and in 1998 Minister for Education and Science.