Lars Engqvist

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Lars Engqvist (born 13 August 1945 in Sala, Sweden) is a Swedish politician and journalist. He led the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League from 1972 to 1978, worked as a journalist, and was editor-in-chief of the Malmö newspaper Arbetet. In the early 1990s he served as mayor of Malmö and later headed the Swedish Film Institute.

In 1998 Engqvist entered national government, serving as Minister of Health and Social Affairs until 2004. He also briefly held posts as Minister of the Interior and Minister for Housing in October 1998. On 1 June 2004 he was named Deputy Prime Minister to act as prime minister while Göran Persson was away for knee surgery, while keeping his health portfolio. He left the government on 1 October 2004 to become Governor of Jönköping County, a position he held until 2010. In April 2005 he was appointed chairman of Sveriges Television (SVT), a move that drew criticism because of his close ties to the Social Democratic Party. Engqvist studied at Uppsala University and is married to Ingvar Wallén.