 Wallin was born in Vaasa and studied at Åbo Akademi University in Turku, where he graduated with a Master's Degree in Social Sciences.He worked as a reporter for the newspaper "Vasabladet" from 1989 to 1993 before acting as a research assistant for the Swedish People's Party.He served as a Special Adviser successively to the Ministers of Transport, European Affairs and Foreign Trade, Interior, and Defence from 1994 to 2000.