A new foreign minister has been appointed in Sweden following a surprise resignation last week. Maria Malmer Stenegard, 43, has been named as the new foreign minister, taking over from Tobias Billström who resigned on September 4. Malmer Stenegard previously served as the migration minister.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also made additional changes to his center-right government in a Cabinet reshuffle. Johan Forssell, the former development minister, will now assume the role of migration minister, while Benjamin Dousa has been appointed as the new development minister.
In another change, Jessica Rosencrantz has been appointed as the new European Union affairs minister, replacing Jessika Roswall who was nominated as Sweden’s new EU commissioner in July. All the newly appointed ministers are members of Kristersson’s conservative Moderates party.
Furthermore, two Liberal ministers have switched roles: Johan Pehrson is now the education and research minister, and Mats Persson has taken over as the minister for employment and integration.
In October 2022, Kristersson formed a center-right, minority Cabinet comprising his Moderates party, the Liberals, and the Christian Democrats. The government is supported by the Sweden Democrats, a populist party with far-right origins, although it is not part of the coalition.
The announcement of the new appointments coincided with the return of Swedish lawmakers to the Riksdagen, the country’s 349-seat parliament, following the summer recess. Billström, known for his efforts in steering Sweden towards NATO membership and his strong support for Ukraine, stated that he was resigning and has yet to decide on his future plans.
