Education
Pagrotsky has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science in economics from Gothenburg University.
politician Member of the Riksdag
Pagrotsky has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science in economics from Gothenburg University.
Before joining the Cabinet, he held a number of key economic advisory positions and worked at the Central Bank of Sweden, the Organization of European Cooperation and Development and in the Ministry of Finance. He served as Director for Fiscal and Financial Affairs until 1987 when he was appointed Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister. He has served on a number of boards, including the boards of the European Investment Bank and the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
He has been very open about his angina pectoris, a condition stemming from insufficient oxygen supply to the heart.
He has had heart surgery twice and has shared his experience in order to increase awareness about this condition. Pagrotsky is 1.61 meters (5"3"") but says he has never suffered from discrimination because of his height.
In 1997 Prime Minister Göran Persson made Pagrotsky Minister of Trade and, in 2002, Minister for Industry and Trade. He switched posts 1 November 2004 with former Minister of Education Thomas Östros.
At the same time, the responsibility for cultural matters, previously belonging to a separate ministry, was added to Pagrotsky’s portfolio.
One of his most publicly known activities during this period was his efforts to promote Swedish popular music export. In May 2010 he became an adviser to George Papandreou"s government during the Greek sovereign debt crisis. On 18 December 2015 Pagrotsky was appointed Sweden"s consul general in New York City.
In the 22 April 2009 episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Pagrotsky is interviewed by reporter Wyatt Cenac on the subject of "Swedish socialism", as part of a satirical story on the impact that socialist reform has had on Swedish society. Pagrotsky is asked to apologize for "ushering in the socialism that tears at the souls of countrymen", which Pagrotsky refuses to, defending the Swedish model by arguing that while Sweden has a big surplus in trade, the United States suffers from a deficit and has to borrow money from Sweden.
In 2011 he became elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.