| Birth Name: | Rolf Gustav Stefan Wirtén |
| Birth Date: | 1931 5, df=y |
| Party: | Liberals |
Rolf Gustav Stefan Wirtén (4 May 1931 – 19 February 2023) was a Swedish politician who held various ministerial posts, including the minister of economics and minister for the budget in the 1970s and 1980s.
Wirtén was born on 4 May 1931.[1] He started his career as a teacher in Jönköping in the 1950s.[1] He was a member of the Liberals[2] and was elected to the first chamber of the Parliament in 1966, serving there until 1970.[1] He was a member of Parliament from 1971 to 1985.[1]
On 7 March 1978 Wirtén was named the minister for gender equality and the minister of immigration.[1] [3] His tenure ended on 18 October 1978.[3] He was the minister for employment between 1978 and 1980 in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Thorbjörn Fälldin.[1] [4] In 1980 Wirtén was appointed minister for the budget, and next year he was made the minister of economics in the second cabinet led by Thorbjörn Fälldin.[5] He held both posts until 1982.[1] During his term Sweden experienced devaluation in 1981. He reported that while serving as minister the Swedish economic policy had been designed on the Keynesian principles.[6]
Wirtén was the governor of Östergötland between 1987 and 1996.[7] In 1997 he was the head of a commission which investigated the allegations about the diamonds of Jewish people stolen by the Nazis and smuggled into Sweden.[8]
Wirtén died on 19 February 2023, at the age of 91.[9] [10] [11]
He established a foundation named the Wirtén Cultural Foundation.[12] It awards a cultural prize, Wirtén kulturpris, which has been given since 2000 on his birthday, 4 May. The ceremony has taken place at the Linköping Castle.[13]