Barbro Westerholm was born June 16, 1933, in Stockholm.
She obtained her medical degree at the Karolinska Institute and in 1979 she became the National Board of Health and Welfare's first female director general.
She was involved in removing the disease label from homosexuals.
In 1988, Barbro Westerholm was elected to the Riksdag and there she became a clear advocate for the rights of LGBTQ people, for example by working for the introduction of a partnership law, which became a reality in 1995.
- Without the efforts of liberal Barbro Westerholm, the fight for the rights of LGBTQI people would have taken longer in Sweden.
Without her persistent political work, the situation would look different even for today's young LGBTQ people in Sweden.
Rainbow Sweden is now mourning, says Carl Otto Engberg, chairman of the union for LGBT liberals.
In total, Barbro Westerholm served in the Riksdag for 27 years.
She then became chairman of Sweden's pensioners association.
- There are many of us who feel a great loss, while at the same time we remember Barbro with warmth and pride.
Barbro's heroic fight for people's freedom and equal value leaves a lasting impression on the Liberals and Swedish society, says Johan Pehrson, the Liberals' party leader in a press release.
The text is updated