Mikael ”Igge” Holmberg (196627 July 2020) was an Ålandic politician and member of the

Parliament of Åland The Parliament of Åland (''Ålands lagting'') is the unicameral legislature of Åland, an autonomous, Swedish-speaking region of Finland. The Lagting has 30 members who make laws for Åland and oversee its government. Committees Most parli ...

, the regional

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

of Åland, an

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defi ...

region of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. A

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

, he was a member of the legislature from November 2011 to October 2019.

Political career

He was elected to the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...

in 2007 and served as the Social Democrats group leader on the council. He was then a member of the

from the

s from November 2011 to october 2019. He was chairman of the Åland delegation in the Baltic Sea cooperation BSPC. During his time in parliament, he was known for his radical views and statements, particularly in 2012, calling the unborn

Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland Princess Estelle of Sweden, Duchess of Östergötland (Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary; born 23 February 2012) is a member of the Swedish royal family. She is the elder child of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. She ...

a "parasite". In 2017 he also became known for posting a picture of himself with an

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

and stating "voice of the people".

Personal life

Holmberg was born in 1966 in

. He held various jobs including

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...

interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

and an assistant for schoolchildren with problems. While holding office, he was the secretary of the Åland Literature Association. In 2013 he was convicted of minor assault inside of the Eckerökollektivet treatment center's office in April 2011, although it was not considered punishable because it was found he was provoked by the 15-year-old boy after the boy threatened another woman in the office. This eventually led to the opposition parties

Liberalerna The Liberals (, L), formerly known as the Liberal People's Party () until 22 November 2015, is a conservative-liberal political party in Sweden. The Liberals ideologically have shown a broad variety of liberal tendencies. Currently they are s ...

and

Future of Åland The Future of Åland () is a separatist political party on Åland. As a member of the European Free Alliance, the goal of the party is to make Åland an independent state Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in ...

attempting to get him replaced, which did not succeed. A

tumour A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue (biology), tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tiss ...

was discovered in one of Holmberg's

kidneys In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and right in the retro ...

in April 2019. The tumour was removed but the

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

had spread. He died on 27 July 2020 aged 54.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmberg, Igge 1966 births 2020 deaths Åland Social Democrats politicians Deaths from cancer in Finland Finnish city councillors Members of the Parliament of Åland People from Mariehamn