Christian Engström
| Christian Engström | |
.jpg) |
|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 14 July 2009 |
|
|
|
|
| Born | February 9, 1960 Stockholm, Sweden |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Political party | Pirate Party (Greens–EFA) |
| Alma mater | Stockholm University |
| Profession | Programmer |
Lars Christian Engström (born 9 February 1960) is a Swedish computer programmer, activist and politician. He is deputy chairman of the Swedish Pirate Party. Engström was elected a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the 2009 election.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Education and career
Christian Engström was born in Högalid, Stockholm. He graduated from Stockholm University in 1983 with a degree in mathematics and computer science.[2] While studying, Engström worked as a tutor at the university, teaching object-oriented programming in Simula.[2] From 1978 he also worked part-time as a programmer at a small company which specialized in phonetic similarity searches for trademark names.[2] After finishing his studies he started working full-time at the company.[2] He became a partner in the firm in 1987 and in 1991 he became vice president.[2] In 1997 the company was sold to the leading European trademark search house CompuMark.[2] Engström stayed on in a similar capacity as before until 2001, when he left the company to set up his own consultancy firm Glindra AB.[2]
[edit] Activism and politics
For five years Engström worked as an unpaid activist within the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII), lobbying against software patents.[2] He was active in the campaign against the EU software patent directive, which was rejected by the European Parliament in July 2005.[2] He also co-founded the Swedish section of FFII and served as its deputy chairman during the first year.[2]
In the late 1980s, Engström became a member of the Swedish Liberal People's Party.[2] He served as a lay assessor (Swedish: nämndeman) for the party in the Stockholm District Court between 1992 and 1998 and was active in local politics in Bromma, Stockholm.[2] He left the Liberal People's Party on 1 January 2006, following the founding of the Pirate Party.[2]
Engström was elected a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the election held on 7 June 2009, in which the Pirate Party won 7.1 % of the votes and received one mandate.[1][3] Engström was placed as his party's top candidate and received 43,808 votes (19 % of the Pirate Party's total votes).[4][5] After negotiations with some of the political groups of the European Parliament it was announced on 25 June 2009 that Engström will join the green group (Greens–EFA).[6]
[edit] Personal life
Engström is married and has one son.[2] He lives with his family in Nacka, Stockholm County.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Val till Europaparlamentet - Valda" (in Swedish). Swedish Election Authority. 2009-06-11. http://www.val.se/val/ep2009/slutresultat/valda/index.html. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Christian Engström" (in Swedish). Christian Engström. http://www.glindra.se/pirat/. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
- ^ "Val till Europaparlamentet - Röster" (in Swedish). Swedish Election Authority. 2009-06-11. http://www.val.se/val/ep2009/slutresultat/rike/index.html. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ "Val till Europaparlamentet - Valsedlar" (in Swedish). Swedish Election Authority. 2009-05-21. http://www.val.se/val/ep2009/valsedlar/index.html#id0524. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
- ^ "Val till Europaparlamentet - Personröster" (in Swedish). Swedish Election Authority. 2009-06-11. http://www.val.se/val/ep2009/slutresultat/personroster.html. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ Landes, David (25 June 2009). "Pirate Party to sit with Greens in European Parliament". The Local. http://www.thelocal.se/20278/20090625/. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Christian Engström |
- Christian Engström's blog
- The Pirate Party Makes a Bid for the European Parliament Wired.com article, features interview with Christian Engström.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
