Bäckström grew up in Visby and Helsingborg and graduated with a degree in economics from Stockholm University.
Urban Bäckström started his career at the Ministry of Finance during the Thorbjörn Fälldin government.
While state secretary at the Ministry of Finance he was involved among other things in the management of Sweden's financial crisis of the early 1990s.
[1] As one of his duties as governor, he served on the board of directors of the Bank for International Settlements.
In 2005[3] he became CEO of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, which represents larger companies and employers.