Bo Göran Hägglund (born 27 January 1959) is a Swedish politician of the Christian Democrats. He was Leader of the Christian Democrats from 2004 to 2015, Member of the Riksdag from 1991 to 2015, and served as Minister for Social Affairs from 2006 to 2014. Early life and political career Hägglund's parents are originally from Finland: they moved to Sweden in the 1950s. He was born in Degerfors in central Sweden, but moved to Jönköping, a Christian Democratic stronghold, with his family in 1978. He started his political career in the Christian Democratic youth organisation. From 1978 he was employed by the party, first as ombudsman for the local Christian Democratic Youth, and from 1981 for the regional party branch. From 1982 to 1986 he was also a member of the Municipal Council in Jönköping. Following the 1985 elections, he began work as parliamentary secretary for the Christian Democrats. He temporarily left politics in 1988, to start working for an insurance company. In the parliamentary elections of 1991 he was elected a Member of Parliament. Hägglund became the Riksdag's Father of the House on 1 January 2015, being the eldest among those first elected in 1991. Party leader Hägglund was generally considered to be long-time party leader Alf Svensson's personal favourite as a successor. However, when Svensson announced his plans to step down, two other candidates, Maria Larsson and Mats Odell, had the support of a greater number of regional party organisations. Not even Hägglund's own Jönköping district stood behind him. Eventually, however, all Hägglund's possible contenders withdrew from the race, and his election as party leader on 3 April 2004 was unanimous. Prior to the Swedish general election in 2006 Hägglund's Christian Democrats formed a closer alliance with the three other centre-right parties in Sweden, under the name Alliance for Sweden. After their victory in the elections, Fredrik Reinfeldt of the Moderate Party was asked by the Speaker of the Riksdag to form a new government. Following negotiations between the leaders of the parties in the Alliance for Sweden, Göran Hägglund was named Minister for Social Affairs on 6 October 2006. In the autumn of 2011 he was challenged for the post of party leader by colleague Mats Odell. In an extra congress held on 28 January 2012, Odell's challenge failed and Hägglund retained the party leadership. During a party rally in Gothenburg in 2014, Hägglund was hit with