Nyamko Ana Sabuni, a naturalised  Swede of DR Congo origin has been  appointed the Swedish Integration  and Sexual Equality Minister, the  Congolese news agency, ACP,  reports.

A member of the Swedish Liberal  Party, Sabuni will seat on the new  21-member cabinet of Prime Minister  Fredrik Reinfeldt, as the first person  of African descent to be appointed  into the Swedish government.

Born in the Congo on March 3 1969,  Sabuni emigrated to Sweden at the  age of 12 and became a member of  the Riskdag (Parliament) in 2002.

In 2004, she became a member of  her party's Steering Committee.

The new minister reportedly went  into active politics following the  killing in Klippan of Grard Gbeyo - a  Swedish African - by a racist bigot.

Sabuni has distinguished herself as  a minority rights activist fighting the  cause of Africans in Sweden, and  against female genital mutilation.

Political analyst say her first challenge  will be steering national integration in  an environment facing growing  xenophobia, not only in Sweden but  across Europe, with right-wing parties  making significant inroads into  national politics.

Another woman of Congolese origin,  Mrs Gisle Mandaila is Secretary of  State for Humanitarian Affairs in  Belgium, a former colonial power in  the Congo.