Woman gets ex-official's dinner invite

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 25 (UPI) -- A Swedish woman with the same name as a former government minister attended a formal government dinner when she was invited by mistake, officials said.

Margareta Winberg, 67, of Sundbyberg, received an invitation to the dinner hosted by Environment Minister Lena Ek but the invitation had been meant for Margareta Winberg, 64, who formerly served as agricultural minister, deputy prime minister and ambassador to Brazil, The Local reported Wednesday.

"I received an invitation; it had my name and my address on it. I didn't really think too much about it," said Winberg, a retired occupational therapy assistant.

A spokesman for Ek said the minister was amused when Winberg arrived and the mistake was noticed.

"When Lena realized the mistake she did everything she could so that the lady wouldn't feel uncomfortable," spokesman Erik Bratthall said.

Winberg said she was treated like any other guest at the function.

"I was allowed to take part anyway. The food was nice and there were a lot of people talking and talking," Winberg said.

The Margareta Winberg who used to work for the government said she was not upset about the incident.

"I hope my namesake had a lovely dinner. She has never attended a government dinner, and I have," she told the newspaper.