From 1986 to 1988 she was a municipal politician as a member of the municipal board and first vice chairman of the social committee with special responsibility for child, individual and family care.

For a short period after Margot Wallström's resignation in 1998, she was acting Health minister.

Klingvall was a board member of the Social Democratic Women in Sweden from 1975 and sat on the union's executive committee 1984–1995.

[2] She was a member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party board from 1990 and sat on the executive committee from 1996 to 2001.

[4][2] In 2010, Klingvall together with Gabriele Winai Ström published a book about female Swedish diplomats entitled Från Myrdal till Lindh: svenska diplomatprofiler.