Dan Eliasson
{{short description|Swedish lawyer and civil servant|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{distinguish|Jan Eliasson}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| birth_date = 14 August 1961
| birth_place = Sundsvall, Sweden
| office = Director-General at the Ministry of Justice (Division for Crisis Preparedness)
| termstart = 7 January 2021
| termend = 31 December 2022
| office1 = Director-General of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency
| termstart1 = 5 March 2018
| term_end1 = 7 January 2021
| office2 = National Police Commissioner of the Swedish Police Authority
| term_start2 = 1 January 2015
| term_end2 = 5 March 2018
| office3 = Director-General of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency
| term_start3 = October 2011
| term_end3 = 1 January 2015
| office4 = Director-General of the Swedish Migration Agency
| term_start4 = 2007
| term_end4 = 2011
| office5 = Acting Chief of the Swedish Security Service
| term_start5 = 2006
| term_end5 = 2007
| alma_mater = Uppsala University
| education = Law
| occupation = Civil servant
| image = Almedalen 6 July 2016 178 (27551513724).jpg
| caption = Eliasson at an interview during the Almedalen Week, 2016
| party = Social Democrats
}}
Dan Tore Eliasson (born 14 August 1961 in Sundsvall) is a Swedish lawyer and civil servant. He served as Director–General of the Swedish Migration Agency from 2007 to 2011, as Director–General of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency from 2011 to 2014, as National Police Commissioner from 2014 to 2018 and as Director–General of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) from 2018 until his dismissal in 2021. After his dismissal in 2021, he was placed as Director-General of the Division of Crisis Preparedness of the Ministry of Justice until the end of 2022.
He was appointed National Police Commissioner by the Minister for Home Affairs in November 2014 and began serving on 1 January 2015. Eliasson is a graduate of law at Uppsala University. He has also served as ambassador and Chief of International Affairs at the Ministry of Justice from 1999–2001, as State Secretary under the Minister for Justice Thomas Bodström from 2001–2006 and as acting head of the Swedish Security Service in 2006.{{cite web|title=Sweden designates new Police commissioner|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=6023607|publisher=Sveriges Radio|access-date=28 July 2015|date=20 November 2014}}{{cite web|title=Ett oemotståndligt uppdrag |url=https://polisen.se/Stockholms_lan/Aktuellt/Nyheter/Gemensam/2014/nov/Ett-oemotstandligt-uppdrag/ |publisher=Swedish Police Authority |access-date=9 August 2015 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite news |title=Dalabördig ny rikspolischef|url=http://www.dt.se/dalarna/hedemora/dalabordig-ny-rikspolischef|agency=TT |newspaper=Dalarnas Tidningar|access-date=9 August 2015|language=Swedish|date=2014-11-20}}
Head of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency
In October 2011 Eliasson became head of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Swedish: Försäkringskassan). As head of the agency he ordered the article about himself on Swedish Wikipedia to be edited by agency staff to remove criticism.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/ekonomi/myndigheter-censurerar-wikipediatexter/|title=Myndigheter censurerar Wikipediatexter |date=31 August 2014|newspaper=Dagens Nyheter |access-date=6 September 2017|language=sv}}
According to a staff poll at the agency, employees at the agency had very low confidence in Eliasson.
Head of the Swedish Police Authority
In November 2014 Eliasson was appointed the new head of the Swedish Police Authority and he took up the position on 1 January 2015 while the authority was in the middle of a major restructuring.{{Cite web|title=Dan Eliasson blir ny rikspolischef|url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/dan-eliasson-blir-ny-rikspolischef/|website=www.expressen.se|language=sv|access-date=2020-05-21}}{{Cite web|title=RPC Dan Eliasson lämnar Polismyndigheten|url=https://polistidningen.se/2018/01/rpc-dan-elisasson-erbjuds-nytt-jobb/|date=2018-01-31|website=Polistidningen|language=sv-SE|access-date=2020-05-21}} His appointment was criticized by the police union on the grounds that Eliasson is not a police officer and had no experience of policing.{{Cite web|title=Fackligt uppror mot polisens toppchefer|url=https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2015-08-20/fackligt-uppror-mot-polisens-toppchefer|website=Sydsvenskan|language=sv|access-date=2020-05-21}}
In September 2015, during the ongoing European migration crisis, Eliasson, being the chief of police, blocked attempts by Swedish regional police and customs authorities to erect border controls. Consequently, the cabinet ministers received no request from the police to organise border checks.{{cite web|title=Upprättandet av tillfälliga gränskontroller vid inre gräns RIR 2016:26, page 9|url=http://www.riksrevisionen.se/PageFiles/25225/RiR_2016_26_GR%C3%84NSKONTROLLER_ANPASSAD.pdf|website=riksrevisionen|publisher=Swedish National Audit Office|access-date=19 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708071604/http://www.riksrevisionen.se/PageFiles/25225/RiR_2016_26_GR%C3%84NSKONTROLLER_ANPASSAD.pdf|archive-date=8 July 2017|url-status=dead}} The controls were ordered in November 2016 by the cabinet.
On or about 27 January 2016, Eliasson sparked controversy in Sweden and beyond by appearing to sympathize with a "teenage" Somalian asylum-seeker accused of having murdered social worker Alexandra Mezher in Mölndal, a suburban community near Gothenburg.{{Cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/gt/debatt-rikspolischefen-forminskar-misstankt-mordares-handlingar/|title=Jag ber alla brottsoffer om ursäkt för att min chef är Dan Eliasson|website=www.expressen.se|language=sv|access-date=2020-03-24}} Later, it emerged that the killer was not under 18 and possibly not even a teenager, but had lied about his age in order to receive favourable treatment when claiming asylum.{{Cite web|title = 'Child' migrant who killed asylum centre worker is an adult, Swedish migration rules|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/sweden/12153428/Child-migrant-who-killed-asylum-centre-worker-is-an-adult-Swedish-migration-rules.html|website = Telegraph.co.uk|access-date = 2016-02-13}}
In June 2016 Eliasson led a campaign to hand out armbands saying "don't grope" to curb groping and sexual assaults, like those at the 2014 and 2015 We Are Sthlm sexual assaults.{{Cite news|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/plans-hand-out-anti-groping-armbands-by-sweden-police-comes-under-fire-1568154|title=Plans to hand out anti-groping armbands by Sweden police comes under fire|last=Middleton|first=Rachel|date=2016-06-29|work=International Business Times UK|access-date=2017-12-30|language=en}} The armbands were criticised as being ineffectual and they laid the responsibility for stopping the assaults on the victims instead of the perpetrators.
In December 2016, Sifo conducted a poll on public opinion on how Dan Eliasson performs as chief of police where 50% stated a negative or very negative view and 11% stated a positive or very positive view.{{Cite web|url=http://opinion.se/sakfragor/polisens-fortroende|title=opinion.se - Polisens förtroende|website=opinion.se|language=sv-SE|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230111302/http://opinion.se/sakfragor/polisens-fortroende|archive-date=30 December 2017|url-status=|access-date=2017-12-30}}
According to police reports commented upon by Eliasson in June 2015, high crime rate areas numbered 15 in 2015 and 23 in 2017.{{Cite web|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=6721641|title=Rapport om utsatta områden presenteras - Nyheter (Ekot) |publisher=Sveriges Radio |work=Dagens Eko |access-date=2017-10-09 |language=sv}} In October 2017 Eliasson was interviewed by SR Ekot where he was queried about his promise in May 2015{{Cite web|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/avsnitt/538821?programid=3071|title=Dan Eliasson, bovarnas skräck? - Ekots lördagsintervju |publisher=Sveriges Radio |work=Dagens Eko |language=sv|access-date=2017-10-09}} to regain control in areas of Sweden with high crime rates. Instead of regaining control, he admitted that the number of such areas had increased.{{Cite web|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=6793607|title=Fler utsatta områden trots Dan Eliassons löfte om motsatsen - Nyheter (Ekot) |publisher=Sveriges Radio |work=Dagens Eko|access-date=2017-10-09}} He stated that two years earlier he had not predicted police resources would be saturated by migration, gang shootings, serious crime and terrorism to the degree that was the case. The reason for this inaccurate prediction was that policy makers including himself had not realised the full extent of the problems because they did not fit in the popular image of Sweden as a safe and prosperous country.
On January 31, 2018 it was announced that Eliasson would step down as Police Commissioner.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/rikspolischefen-dan-eliasson-avgar/|title=Rikspolischefen Dan Eliasson avgår |date=2018-01-31|work=Dagens Nyheter |access-date=2018-02-04|language=sv}} His tenure as head of police ended on 15 February 2018{{Cite web|title=Dan Eliasson avgår som rikspolischef – går till MSB|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/BJjVw0|website=Aftonbladet|language=sv|access-date=2020-05-21}} and he was replaced by Anders Thornberg.{{Cite web|title=Anders Thornberg ny rikspolischef|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/WLjL4a|website=Aftonbladet|language=sv|access-date=2020-05-21}}
Head of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency
Eliasson commenced his position as head of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency on 5 March 2018.
Eliasson is as of 2018 the highest paid civil servant in Sweden with a monthly salary of 160,000 SEK ($20,000).{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}
= Controversy =
During the COVID-19 outbreak his agency was among the institutions leading Sweden’s response to the pandemic.
In late December 2020, after the Civil Contingencies Agency urged all Swedes to avoid travel, he was photographed in Las Palmas airport on the island of Gran Canaria whilst on a family Christmas holiday.{{Cite web | title = Sweden official defends Christmas trip to Canary Islands | publisher=BBC News | date = 3 January 2021 | access-date = 3 January 2021 | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55523587}} This controversy led to his decision on 6 January 2021, to ask for a transfer from head of MSB to another duty.{{Cite news|last=Lindau|date=2021-01-06|title=Dan Eliasson avgår|language=sv|work=SVT Nyheter|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/dan-eliasson-avgar|access-date=2021-01-06}}{{Cite web|title=Dan Eliasson kommer att avgå – efter kritiserade utlandsresan|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/rgz3r8|access-date=2021-01-06|website=Aftonbladet|language=sv}} On 21 January, the government offices announced that Eliasson would be appointed Director-General of the Division for Crisis Preparedness under the Ministry of Justice, the principal authority of the Civil Contingencies Agency. He will retain his title and full pay and his employment contract remains virtually unchanged.{{Cite news|last=Bolin|first=Vendela|date=2021-01-22|title=Dan Eliassons nya jobb: Blir generaldirektör på Regeringskansliet|language=sv|work=SVT Nyheter|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/daniel-eliassons-nya-arbetsuppgifter-krisberedskap|access-date=2021-01-22}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=22 January 2021|title=Jimmie Åkessons kritik efter Dan Eliassons nya jobb: "Borde hållas långt borta från allt ansvar"|url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/eliassons-nya-jobb-samordna-krisberedskap-at-regeringen1/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122143730/https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/eliassons-nya-jobb-samordna-krisberedskap-at-regeringen1/ |archive-date=2021-01-22 |access-date=2021-01-22|website=www.expressen.se|language=sv}}
Trivia
Dan Eliasson is also known for his history in the punk scene with his band Bad Boo Band. The band's biggest hit was 1979 7-inch single called "Knulla i Bangkok" (Fuck In Bangkok).{{Cite web|title='Dan Eliasson om låten Knulla i Bangkok|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=94&artikel=5493480|date=22 November 2014|publisher=Sveriges Radio|language=sv|access-date=19 September 2017}}
References
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{{s-bef|before=Janna Valik}}
{{s-ttl|title=Director-General of the Swedish Migration Agency|years=2007–2011}}
{{s-aft|after=Christina Werner}}
{{s-bef|before=Adriana Lender}}
{{s-ttl|title=Director-General of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency|years=2011–2014}}
{{s-aft|after=Ann Persson Grivas}}
{{s-bef|before=Bengt Svenson}}
{{s-ttl|title=National Police Commissioner|years=2015–2018}}
{{s-aft|after=Anders Thornberg}}
{{s-bef|before=Helena Lindberg}}
{{s-ttl|title=Director-General of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency|years=2018–2021}}
{{s-aft|after=Camilla Asp|as=Acting}}
{{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliasson, Dan}}
Category:Uppsala University alumni