Marit Paulsen

She grew up in Oslo, which was occupied by Germany during much of her earliest childhood. Two of her elder siblings were active in the youth wing of Nasjonal Samling. She moved to Sweden in the 1960s, and worked at the steel mill in Smedjebacken for seven years. She went through a two-year Folk high school education in 1970–72. In 1998 she joined the Liberal People's Party, and served as 2nd Vice President of the party 1999–2007. In the 2009 European Parliament elections, she was elected to the European Parliament as top candidate of the list. She gained more personal votes than any other Swedish candidate. Paulsen has written more than 20 books, including novels and non-fiction about environmental protection and other societal issues. Her debut novel, Du människa? (published in 1972), describes the life of a female shift worker. Her book Liten Ida (1979) is a semi-autobiographical novel set in Norway during the German occupation; it was made into a movie in 1980.

• Name — Marit Paulsen • Office — Member of the European Parliament • Term Start — 20 July 1999 • Term End — 19 July 2004 • Office2 — Member of the European Parliament • Term Start2 — 14 July 2009 • Term End2 — 29 September 2015 • Born — 24 November 1939 • Birthplace — Oslo, Norway • Died — 25 July 2022 • Party — * Liberals • Swedish Social Democratic Party • Occupation — Journalist, author, politician

Paulsen was married to her second husband, Sture Andersson, since 1973, and had 10 children including biological children, step children and adopted children. She lived at a farm in Yttermalung, Dalarna. Paulsen died on 25 July 2022, at the age of 82. In a 2026 book Avbegåvad (Detalented) her grandson, author and sociologist Roland Paulsen, portrays her as an abusive matriarch.