Ms Margot Wallström began her political career in 1979 when she was elected to the Swedish parliament. She then served as Minister for Youth, Local Authorities and Consumer Affairs from 1988 to 1991, Minister of Culture from 1994 to 1996, and Minister of Social Affairs from 1996 to 1998.
Before taking up her appointment as EU Commissioner in 1999, she was Executive Vice-President of Worldview Global Media in Colombo, Sri Lanka. From 1999 to 2004, Ms Wallström served as the European Commissioner for the Environment. She then served as first Vice President of the European Commission from 2004 to 2010.
In 2007, Ms Wallström became Chair of the Ministerial Initiative of the Council for Women World Leaders. In 2010, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon appointed her the first Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict until 2012. She then served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden from 2014-2019.