Björn von der Esch

Carl Gösta Björn Joachim von der Esch (11 January 1930 – 10 March 2010[1]) was a Swedish Christian democratic politician, member of the Riksdag 1998–2006.

Before joining the Christian Democrats, he had previously represented Moderate Party in the Riksdag 1991–1994, replacing Per Westerberg during his time as a minister.

At the time of the Swedish 1994 referendum on membership in the European Union, Esch clashed with the Moderate Party as he campaigned on the "no" side.

When he subsequently formed a list of EU critics that ran in the 1995 European Parliament election in Sweden, he was expelled from the party.

This list was unsuccessful in the election, and von der Esch returned to parliamentary politics in 1998 as a Christian Democrat.