Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Runar Karlsson

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. Cirt (talk) 00:33, 3 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Runar Karlsson[edit]

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Minor government minister of an island territory of 27,000 people (about the size of a small U.S. town), only references are to a 1 column Q&A about a project in the country and a quote in an article about another politician. Fail WP:POLITICIAN. MBisanz ^talk 22:11, 27 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Politicians-related deletion discussions. -- • Gene93k (talk) 22:48, 27 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Keep. We probably ought to throw WP:POLITICIAN out the window on this as its generic requirements are ill-suited to these strange cases. On the one hand, this guy's political activities are limited to a very small jurisdiction similar in size to a local council. On the other hand, the jurisdiction enjoys considerable autonomy; thus its legislators would have significant power. He seems to have a reasonable degree of coverage (although bear in mind I can't understand a word of it). Ultimately, I don't have any problem with having a properly sourced article about a person who is obviously quite a significant political figure in an autonomous jurisdiction. But it is a weak keep because I am troubled about taking this position to its logical extreme (Norfolk Island etc.), and may be convinced to change my vote. --Mkativerata (talk) 23:08, 27 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Keep - WP:POLITICIAN states that members and former members of a national, state or provincial legislature qualify, and Karlsson is the Minister of Communications (sometimes translated into "Minister of Transport" - the Swedish title means something slightly different from both those terms) in the government which, due to Åland's status as semi-autonomous, would rank somewhere between provincial and national. Surely the number of inhabitants is largely irrelevant - the question must be whether Åland's status is sufficiently significant for its government to be notable. My answer to that would be yes. --bonadea contributions talk 12:43, 28 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Comment Hmm. Apparently [1] he is the former Communications minister. That should be reflected in the article - doesn't change the notability question though. --bonadea contributions talk 14:30, 28 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Keep Minister of Communications 2005-, Member of the Lagting (Åland parliament) 2003-, Minister of Transportation and Energy 1999-2003 etc would usually assert notability undoubtedly for politicians on wikipedia. However, I am concerned that the web sources about this person really do not seem to be abundant but some reliable sources exist. I'd like to see this article improved in the future... Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 14:34, 28 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

But those positions are for a subunit of a larger nation. MBisanz ^talk 14:46, 28 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Keep Åland is quasi-sovereign (not semi-autonoumous), with Finland only allowed responsibility for defence and foreign relations, with a separate citizenship for its inhabitants, all this guaranteed by the international community in the form of the 1917 League of Nations treaty. Apparently he's notorious among the islanders for his roundabout proposals.¨¨ victor falk 03:51, 29 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Keep Åland appears to be a cross between a nation-state and a state/province. As either, its government ministers would be notable. --Philosopher ^{Let us reason together.} 21:58, 29 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Finland-related deletion discussions. ¨¨ victor falk 06:51, 31 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Keep Åland Islands are a sui generis case. The province has a nearly complete autonomy in all fields except defence, state security and judicial system. In fiscal matters, it enjoys only a limited autonomy. Despite its size, it has about as wide jurisdiction as states of many federal republics. Thus, its minister-level politicians are notable according to WP:POLITICIAN. --MPorciusCato (talk) 12:24, 31 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
strong keep snowball keep. per above. Ikip 02:26, 2 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.