Rick Falkvinge, didn’t plan on becoming a politician, but his dedication to civil liberties and internet sovereignty led to him founding the Swedish Pirate Party in 2006.
Why you should listen
Rick Falkvinge went from entrepreneur to politician on January 1st, 2006, when he launched the Pirate Party website, forming a political party that called for sensible copyright laws and protection of civil liberties online. Just three years later, the Pirate Party won two seats in European Parliament. In 2011, Falkvinge stepped down as leader of the Swedish Pirate Party to devote more time to speaking about copyright law, internet sovereignty and information policy. Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the top 100 global thinkers of 2011, and he has been nominated as one of TIME’s 100 most influential people of 2012.
