Fredrik Reinfeldt
Reinfeldt in 2007
Birth Name: John Fredrik Reinfeldt
Place of Birth: Österhaninge, Sweden
Date of Birth: 4 August, 1965
Ethnicity:
*86.71875% Swedish
*6.25% African-American
*6.25% Latvian or Baltic German
*0.78125% Italian
Fredrik Reinfeldt is a Swedish economist, lecturer, and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Sweden, from 6 October, 2006 to 3 October, 2014. He was also Leader of the Opposition, from 25 October, 2003 to 6 October, 2006, and again, from 3 October, 2014 to 10 January, 2015; and Leader of the Moderate Party, from 25 October, 2003 to 10 January, 2015.
Fredrik is the son of Birgitta Thunved, a leadership and management consultant, and John Bruno Reinfeldt, who worked for Shell. His family lived in London, England, for a few years, before settling back in Sweden, where they lived in Handen, Bromsten, and Täby. He has three children with his former wife, politician Filippa Désirée Amanda Cay Holmberg; and a daughter with his former partner, jurist and politician Roberta Alenius.
Fredrik’s paternal grandfather was John Herbert Linné Reinfeldt (the son of John Reinfeldt and Elin Olga Charlotta Olsson). Fredrik’s grandfather John was born in Stockholm. Fredrik’s great-grandfather John was the son of John Henry Hood, an African-American from New York, and of Emma Dorothea Reinfeld (later Reinfeldt), a Latvian or Baltic German, from Iecava. John was described as “mulatto” by some contemporary sources, but it is not clear if he actually had a white parent. Fredrik’s great-grandmother Elin was Swedish, and was the daughter of Nils Olsson and Maria Charlotta Linnarsdotter.
Fredrik’s paternal grandmother was Anne-Marie Dominique (the daughter of Gustaf Albihn Johansson and Regina Augusta Hildegard Dominique). Anne-Marie was born in Stockholm. Gustaf was the son of Gustaf Johansson and Anna Sofia Andersdotter. Regina was the daughter of Karl Johan Dominique and Helga Virginia Westerlund. Karl’s paternal great-grandfather, Domenico Martinelli, was an Italian emigrant, from Naples.
Fredrik’s maternal grandfather was Hilbert Reinhold Kållberg (the son of Carl Johan Reinhold Kållberg and Hilda Amalia Andersdotter). Hilbert was born in Stockholm. Carl was the son of Karl August Kållberg and Brita Stina Hogner. Hilda was the daughter of Anders Olofsson and Maja Stina Eriksdotter.
Fredrik’s maternal grandmother was Lilly Helmi Dora Håkansson (the son of Gustav Emil Håkansson and Emma Karolina Eliasdotter). Lilly was born in Tammerfors, Finland. Gustav was the son of Gustaf Håkansson and Anna Sofia Persdotter. Emma was the daughter of Elias Andersson and Johanna Katarina Andersdotter.
Fredrik’s matrilineal ancestry can be traced back to his fourth great-grandmother, Britta Olofsdotter Ahlgren.
Sources: http://aforum.genealogi.se
http://www.aftonbladet.se
Genealogy of Fredrik Reinfeldt – http://www.geni.com
I think having such a small fraction and so much decimals makes it look awkard. I think it would be better if it was changed to:
-87.5% Swedish (approximately)
-1/128th Italian
Emma Dorothea Reinfeld might had been a Baltic German rather than a Latvian based on her surname.
I think so too. What do you think about his great-great-grandfather possibly being a Romani, rather than African-American? A circus director with a medium dark skin complection who travelled around Europe, that sounds very much like he was Romani. And the claim about him being African-American, or mulatto, presumably came from himself, so why should we trust that more than his claim about being the son of a governor on Borneo or a Dutch woman? He was said to have come from England, hence the English name.
The article from Aftonbladet appears to draw that conclusion too, and in it, they’ve talked to an expert on Resandefolket (Romanis from Sweden; English: the travelling people). They wrote:
“At least up to 1884 he undoubtedly belonged to resandefolket.”
It doesn’t mean they drew the conclusion that he was a Romani, but it clearly means he was associated with this group. I think he was one.
CORRECTION: John Henry Hood was half black, which makes Fredrik 3.125% African-American and 3.125% Anglo-American/English/other. John was a circus manager on transit through Stockholm and was described by an article in “Hufvudstadsbladet” (published August 28, 1884) as having a handsome and smooth figure, dark skin and exotic facial features, as well as being the “ideal of nbeauty”. The same article was also published in “Nya Pressen” (August 29, 1884). He was also mentioned in a letter from Stockholm to the Turku Intelligence Agency in 1880.
Source: Research on Fredrik’s ancestry – http://aforum.genealogi.se/discus/messages/83331/248498.html
Article about John Hood – http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article10963815.ab
John Hood himself sometimes stated that he was the son of a governor on Java and a Dutch woman, and sometimes that his father was the governor on Borneo and that his mother was a “negress”. Neither of these claims are likely true, and was most likely just a part of the acting as a circus manager. He also said that he was a cannibal.
A photo of John Hood can be seen here (to the right of the first paragraph) – http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article10963815.ab
In Mats Wiklund’s book En av oss?: En bok om Fredrik Reinfeldt (One of us?: A book about Fredrik Reinfeldt) he includes an interview with Fredrik’s mother, Birgitta Reinfeldt, about the family. She said (in Swedish):
“The name Reinfeldt is derived from Latvia. “The ancestress”, from Bruno’s father’s grandfather’s side, moved from Riga to Stockholm and was a maid. Here she met a man who was a circus manager from New York and a mulatto. His name was John Hood. He got her pregnant and returned to New York afterwards. Little John Reinfeldt, the father of John Bruno who in turn was the father of John Fredrik Reinfeldt, was born. On my side, there is only peasants. My father-in-law was very handsome. My mother-in-law’s family originally came from Italy and was also very beautiful.” (page 143)
Fredrik Reinfeldt said in a speech on the Moderate Party’s meeting in Västerås in 2009:
“I am a typical swede. My grandfather’s father was the fruit of a romance between a coloured American circus performer and a Latvian maid. That is Swedish.”
I’m confused, is there a reference there to John Hood being the son of a white parent and a black parent? One reference to him being “Mulatto” doesn’t necessarily indicate that. The term “African-American” in itself refers to a group that is almost always mixed with some white ancestry.
I am sorry, I was trying to fit everything in there in as short terms as possible. The article from 1884, the recent article from Aftonbladet as well as Fredrik’s own mother all states that he was a mulatto. However, it is possible that these claims were derived from his own inconsistent claims about his parents. Adding to this, the article from 1884 states that he appeared lighter than other black people due to his background and his photo reasserts this. You are probably right in saying that all this may not be enough to validate a mixed ancestry, which i would consider worth mentioning if it is fairly recent. Feel free to make your own judgement regarding the phrasing on Fredrik’s profile. It would certainly be interesting if someone found John Hood on a census.
I’ve been reading a bit about the Travelling people (resandefolket) in Sweden lately, and it got me thinking of this case. I believe Reinfeldt’s great-great-grandfather might be from this group.
An American (and African-American, on top of that) circus director travelling around Europe sounds a bit strange. It was probably another lie, like the ones about his parents, to make him seem more interesting. Apparently he also stated that he was from Borneo at one point. Perhaps the story about him being American sounded the most plausible, and the family stuck with that as for where he was from. For one thing, no sources from that time mentions that he was American, only that he was black, with a lighter complection, and the (presumably) made-up story about his parents being from Borneo and The Netherlands.
But he was probably a just a Romani. Some sources states that he came via England, which would explain the Anglo-Saxon name. He travelled around, ran a circus, and was said to have darker skin (all fitting descriptions).
His mistress, Emma Reinfeldt’s background is less clear. Some things about her makes one think of Romani too (her likely working as a circus artist, i.e.). But I’d still fall on the no-side. However, she might have been a Baltic German rather than Latvian. Her full name doesn’t sound at all Latvian, and I’m unsure if Reinfeldt is a Latvian surname (to me it sounds more German).