Maj ''Lillemor'' Arvidsson (1 May 1943 – 23 April 2012) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

and the Governor of Gotland from 1998 to 2004. Arvidsson trained as a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

and later worked as a

nursing assistant Unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) are paraprofessionals who assist individuals with physical disabilities, mental impairments, and other health care needs with their activities of daily living (ADLs). UAPs also provide bedside care—includ ...

at Uddevalla Hospital. Arvidsson engaged simultaneously in trade union work. In 1972, she was employed by the

Swedish Municipal Workers' Union The Swedish Municipal Workers' Union (), is the largest trade union in Sweden with 570,000 members, as of 2005. It was created 1910. It is commonly referred to as ''Kommunal'' ("''Municipal''"). The union was founded in Stockholm on 23 January ...

as an academic

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

. In 1982, she became ombudsman and in 1983 she became

Deputy President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

. In June 1988 she was appointed President of the

. She became the union's first female President. In addition, she became the first female President of any institution in the

Swedish Trade Union Confederation The Swedish Trade Union Confederation ( ; literally "The National Organisation in Sweden"), commonly referred to as LO (), is a national trade union centre, an umbrella organisation for fourteen Swedish trade unions that organise mainly "blue-c ...

(LO). From 1990 to 1991 she was also a member of the executive board of the

Swedish Social Democratic Worker's Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Sweden, political p ...

. In 1995, she left her post as President of the Swedish Municipal Workers' Union because of

peptic ulcer Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while ...

. She sat on the board of the University of Växjö and was a member of the analysis group of the

Estonia disaster Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Arvidsson was appointed Governor of Gotland on 15 January 1998 by the

Swedish Government The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and their cabinet ministers (). The Government is responsible for its actions ...

. During her time as governor, she was particularly involved in the issue of transport from the island to the mainland. She left her position as governor on 29 February 2004. Arvidsson was appointed Chairman of the Swedish National Maritime Museums in 2003 but left office in late 2004. She died on 23 April 2012 after a short illness.

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