Romina Pourmokhtari

Some Lesser Known Facts About Romina Pourmokhtari

• Romina Pourmokhtari is a Swedish politician (Liberals) who was appointed as the climate and environment minister in the Kristersson government on 18 October 2022, becoming the youngest person (aged 26) to lead a ministry in the country.

• Pourmokhtari is of Iranian origin as his father originally hailed from Tabriz in West Azerbaijan, Iran, who later moved to Sweden as a political refugee. ^[3]The Hindu

• She grew up in a well-to-do family in Sundbyberg Parish, Stockholm, Sweden.

  

• While in school, she studied science and was the President of a student council.

• She developed an interest in politics through her father, who was a political refugee. In an interview, while describing her childhood memories with her father, Romina said,
  

  He has always been able to sit and discuss with me all day. My entire upbringing was marked by the debates with my father, who I almost never agree with but like very much.”

• In June 2012, Pourmokhtari started her career as an IT assistant at Eastern Real High School, Stockholm. She worked there for around three months and then resigned from the company.

• Subsequently, she worked as a waitress at Tehran Grill AB in Stockholm, Sweden, for a year.

• Romina also worked at Urban Deli, a bar-cum-restaurant in Stockholm, as a waitress for a while.

• Meanwhile, she also worked as a private tutor at Studybuddy AB, teaching subjects like mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, and English.

• In 2014, Romina began working as a campaign worker at the Liberal Youth Association (LUF) in Greater Stockholm.

  

• Soon after joining the party, she, along with a group of people, formed an NGO under which they started a project named Jag Har Aldrig (meaning never have I ever). The project was initiated to influence first-time voters in Stockholm to vote. An event was organised by the NGO where 2000 participants were invited to discuss political issues in an enjoyable environment.

  

• In the same year, Romina worked on the project ‘Cilantros Absorbation of Copper in the Human Body.’ She was also awarded a scholarship at the international science fair STÅT in Åbo, Finland, for the same.

• In October 2016, Romina started working as a political advisor of The Liberals, being accountable for cultural issues in the Stockholm region. She worked as a political adviser for around three years.

• Romina was elected to the Board of Liberal Youth of Sweden in 2016.

  

• Subsequently, she was elected as the first Vice President of the Liberal Youth Association (2018).

• In 2019, Romina got elected as the President of the Liberal Youth Association. While serving as the President, Pourmokhtari contended that conscription should be replaced by purely professional defence and that the parent party Liberals should stick to their liberal migration policy.

  

• Romina was elected as a member of the association board of RFSU (Riksförbundet för sexuell upplysning), a non-profit organisation formed for sexual education in Stockholm, in 2021, and has been involved in the NGO’s work ever since then.

• In September 2022, she announced her withdrawal as the President of the Liberal Youth Association.

• In the same year, she took part in the parliamentary elections in Sweden from the Stockholm County and Stockholm Municipality constituencies on a ticket from The Liberals. Ranking sixth on both lists, Pourmokhtari was elected as the Member of Riksdag.

• Romina Pourmokhtari was appointed as the climate and environment minister in the right-wing government by the Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson on 18 October 2022.

  

• According to some Swedish newspapers, people were not happy with Romina being appointed as the climate minister because she had never worked on the issue before. Also, there was no mention of climate-related issues in her personal or professional profile.

• She has also authored the book ‘Chicken Nuggets På Krita,’ which was published by Timbro förlag in 2022.

  

• She has been working on political issues concerning education, feminism, integration, and the prevention of honour oppression for many years.

• Her favourite pastime is reading books.

• She is well-versed in five languages- French, English, Persian, Swedish, and Azerbaijani.

• In January 2022, Sweden’s evening newspaper Expressen named Romina Pourmokhtari in Sweden’s Most Powerful Politician Under 30 list. ^[4]Expressen

• Reportedly, Romina supported the 2022 protests in Iran that were followed by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who was detained in police custody in Iran for wearing her hijab improperly.

• Romina has once been a huge critic of the Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson. Apparently, she was against Kristersson’s move to closer align his party with the Sweden Democrats (SD). One of her tweets in 2020 read,
  

  Ulf Kristersson without SD — Absolutely. Ulf Kristersson with SD — No thanks.”

• She is spotted consuming alcohol on various occasions.

  

• Romina is fond of dogs and has a pet dog.