Berit Andnor grew up in a working-class family in
Gothenburg, and she and her sister were the first in their family to be given the opportunity to obtain a higher education. She has a University Diploma in Social Work from the University College of Östersund (now
Mid Sweden University) in
Jämtland, and since then, she has been living in the region. In the 1980s, she worked as director of social welfare services in
Berg Municipality. In 1982, she was elected to the county council, and from 1986 to 1991, she sat on its executive board, the beginning of her career as a full-time politician. In 1991, she was elected to the
Riksdag as a
Member of Parliament. She chose to focus her work as a parliamentarian on gender equality issues and labour market policy. Since then, Andnor has held a number of high-ranking posts, such as vice-president of the
Council of Europe parliamentarian assembly, 1996–1998, and chair of the
Swedish National Labour Market Board, 1997–2000. She has also been a member of the executive committee of
National Federation of Social Democratic Women in Sweden from 1995 to 2003. Still, her name was not very known to the public when
Prime Minister Göran Persson made her Minister for Children and Families in 2002. On 1 November 2004, she became Minister for Social Affairs. From October 2006 until 2010, she was the chairman of the
Riksdags committee on the constitution, and after the
2010 election, she left the Riksdag. In 2011, she was appointed
governor of Blekinge County with a term from 1 October 2011 to 30 September 2017. She succeeded
Gunvor Engström. ==References==