Bert Willis Karlsson (born 21 June 1945) is a Swedish

record company A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

manager,

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

, and former

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

(

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

1991-1994) and front figure of the

New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that was decisively distinc ...

(''Ny Demokrati'') party. As the owner and manager of the record company

Mariann Grammofon AB Mariann Grammofon or Mariann Records, formed in 1972 was a record company run by Bert Karlsson in Skara, Sweden. Since May 2006 the label is owned by Warner Music Group which still, as of 2016, releases music using the label. The label was sold ...

, Karlsson became a familiar face to the Swedish public as the man behind

Carola Häggkvist Carola Maria Häggkvist (; born 8 September 1966), commonly known simply as Carola, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s and has released albums ranging from pop and disco ...

. In 1984 he started

Skara Sommarland Skara Sommarland is a summer park located 8 km east of Skara. It was founded in 1984 by Swedish entrepreneur Bert Karlsson Bert Willis Karlsson (born 21 June 1945) is a Swedish record company manager, entrepreneur, and former politician (Me ...

, a theme park. In 1991, Karlsson and count Ian Wachtmeister started the

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

political party ''

''. Attracting major media attention, and with a patriotic platform, the party received 6.7 percent of the vote in the

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in September. With no previous political experience, Karlsson suddenly found himself elected to the Riksdag as a

. When ''New Democracy'' imploded due to internal struggles and failed in the 1994 general election Karlsson went back to being a full-time businessman. He has started the popular Swedish

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

show

Fame Factory {{italics title Fame Factory was a Swedish reality television show structured in the form of '' Star Academy'' series also known under that name (Star Academy) in ''France'' or various names like '' Fame Academy'' in the UK, ''Operación Triunfo'' ...

, (a programme somewhat similar to the British show

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

), in which he played an important role. Many Mariann artists have entered Melodifestivalen, the Swedish qualifications for the Eurovision Song Contest. From 1978 to 2005, approximately 120 songs from Karlsson's record company competed, and 14 of these went on to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song contest. Mariann artists include

Herreys Herreys (), sometimes Herrey's or Herrey, is a Swedish pop group, consisting of the three brothers Per Herrey (born 9 August 1958), Richard Herrey (born 19 August 1964), and Louis Herrey (born 3 November 1966). They won the Eurovision Song Con ...

and Charlotte Perrelli, who went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest (

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, respectively). In March 2005, Karlsson filled out an application for membership in the Liberal People's Party during a television interview. When the party immediately responded with criticism of him, calling the move a media stunt, he did not go through with his application. Karlsson was a judge in the first five seasons of the TV show " Talang" on

TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station *TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network **TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station *South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...

, the Swedish version of America's Got Talent, between 2007–2011.

External links

Mariann Grammofon
- Official page
"Storskalig attack gör Bert Karlsson till vinnare"
5 March 2005

Dagens Nyheter ''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record. History and profile ' ...

article on Karlsson and Melodifestivalen.
"Här blir Bert folkpartist"
30 March 2005 Aftonbladet article on Karlsson's membership application to the Liberal People's Party.
Liberal People's Party press release
30 March 2005

press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

from the Liberal People's Party following Karlsson's statements.
"Bert Karlsson ville bli folkpartist – men nekades"
- 30 March 2005 Aftonbladet article on Karlsson's reaction to the party press release.
/ This is the jury, Tv4.se
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karlsson, Bert 1945 births Living people People from Skövde Municipality New Democracy (Sweden) politicians Swedish businesspeople Swedish record producers Swedish entertainers Swedish television personalities Melodifestivalen Political party founders