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Who’s who in Sweden’s new government?

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has presented the ministers who will be part of Sweden's government for the next four years.

Published: 21 January 2019 16:59 CET

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and his deputy Isabella Lövin surrounded by the new (and some old) ministers. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer / TT

This article is available to Members of The Local. Read more Membership Exclusives here.

In total, five of the 22 ministers come from the Green Party, which is one fewer than in the last government following a bad election in which it went from having 25 members of parliament to 16.

Six of the ministers are new (as is one government department), while several others have changed roles and a few have stayed on in the same positions as before. Here are some of the names and faces you'll be hearing more about over the next four years.

MEMBERS' GUIDE: What does Sweden's government deal mean for internationals in Sweden?

Isabella Lövin (Green Party), Minister for the Environment and Deputy Prime Minister

Photo: Erik Simander/TT

Lövin is spokesperson for her party and served as Minister for International Development Cooperation in Löfven's previous government and as Deputy Prime Minister for the past two years, a role she continues in. Before going into politics, she was a successful journalist who was nominated for some of Sweden's most prestigious awards for her book on over-fishing, Tyst hav (Silent Ocean).

Hans Dahlgren (Social Democrats), Minister for EU Affairs

Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

Dahlgren has an impressive CV as a diplomat and politician, first working in the foreign ministry and then becoming press secretary and adviser to one of Sweden's most famous and longest-serving prime ministers, Olof Palme, in 1976 when Palme was leader of the opposition. Before that, he was a TV reporter covering domestic politics. Dahlgren went on to hold various posts working in Sweden, New York and Geneva, but this is his first time as minister.

At 70, he's the oldest minister in Löfven's cabinet, and he said two of his priorities as minister would be dealing with the uncertainty following the UK's exit from the EU, and working towards a common EU migration policy.

Morgan Johansson (Social Democrats), Minister for Justice

Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

Johansson is staying in the role he had in the previous Löfven cabinet as Justice Minister. Between 2014 and 2017, he was also Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy, and before 2014 he held roles as chairman of the parliamentary committee on justice, and Minister for Public Health.

Before entering politics, Johansson was a journalist.

Mikael Damberg (Social Democrats), Interior Minister

Photo: Kristian Pohl/Regeringskansliet

Previously Minister for Enterprise and Innovation, Damberg takes up the role as Justice Minister. First elected to parliament in 2002, the Stockholmer's parents were also both active in politics and he joined the Social Democrats' Youth League in the late 1980s. He became its chairperson in 1999, telling media at the time that he was a big fan of Swedish rap music and wanted politicians to take note of the messages in the genre.

Since then, the 47-year-old has held various roles within the Social Democrats, acting as their parliamentary group leader between 2012 and 2014. He's also a long-time campaigner against honour-related violence.

Margot Wallström (Social Democrats), Foreign Minister

Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT

Of all Löfven's previous cabinet, Wallström probably has the highest profile internationally and it was expected that she would keep her post. She's best known for pioneering Sweden's feminist foreign policy, which has inspired several other countries to follow suit, and for her frank approach.

She's previously held key roles in the UN and the EU Commission, as well as being Deputy Prime Minister and, between 1988 to 1991, Minister for Consumer Affairs, before returning to government after 16 years in 2014. Before she was first elected to parliament aged 25, Wallström, who did not attend university but now has several honorary doctorates, worked as a bank clerk. To hear her talk about feminist foreign policy and more, listen to our podcast interview.

Peter Eriksson (Green Party), Minister for Development Assistance

Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

Hailing from Småland and having begun his political career after moving to Norrbotten, Eriksson became an MP in 1994 and later became municipal councillor in Kalix in 1998 where he led a seven-party coalition. In the next election in 2002, the Greens had their best municipal election result ever in Kalix, scooping over 40 percent of the vote.

Eriksson was one of the Green Party's two spokespeople between 2002 and 2011. He was an MEP from 2014 to 2016 before Löfven named him Minister for Housing and Digitalization in 2016. Now, he takes on a new role in the Foreign Ministry.

Ann Linde (Social Democrats), Minister for International Trade

Photo: Ninni Andersson/Government Offices

Previously Minister for EU Affairs and before that, State Secretary for the Interior Minister, Linde is another member of the cabinet changing jobs for the next term of office. She has previously held several different political roles and lives in Stockholm.

Peter Hultqvist (Social Democrats), Minister for Defence

Photo: Hossein Salmanzadeh/TT

Hultqvist has been Minister for Defence since 2014 and stays in the role. He survived a no confidence vote against him in 2017 following a security leak at Sweden's Transport Agency.

Before entering politics, Hultqvist worked for Social Democrat magazines. He's been a member of parliament for the past 12 years.

Lena Hallengren (Social Democrats), Minister for Children, the Elderly and Gender Equality

Photo: Kristian Pohl/Regeringskansliet

This is Hallengren's first ministerial post, but she's had various key roles in parliament, including being Deputy Minister for Education between 2002 and 2006, and the Social Democrats' spokesperson on socio-political issues during the most recent four-year term, which included elderly care.

First elected as an MP in 2006, she has also been part of several parliamentary committees and has chaired two of these.

Annika Strandhäll (Social Democrats), Minister for Social Security

Photo: Erik Simander/TT

Strandhäll held this role between 2014 and 2017 and returns to it after a year as acting Minister for Public Health, Healthcare and Sports while that minister was on sick leave.

Like Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, the Gothenburger has a background as a trade unionist and was totally new to politics when she joined the government in 2014.

Magdalena Andersson (Social Democrats), Minister for Finance

Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

Staying in the role she held in the last government, Andersson has previously held several high-ranking posts both in the Finance Ministry as well as being senior director at the Swedish Tax Agency.

A trained economist, she has studied at Stockholm School of Economics, in Vienna, and at Harvard University in the US. In her younger years, she was a competitive swimmer.

Per Bolund (Green Party), Minister for Housing and Deputy Finance Minister

Photo: Erik Simander/TT

In the previous government, Bolund was Deputy Finance Minister, and he stays on in that role while also becoming Minister for Housing, a role he previously took on in an acting capacity (37 days in total). Bolund was first elected to parliament in 2006; after losing his seat in 2010 he was able to return one year later after one of his party colleagues decided to leave.

Ardalan Shekarabi (Social Democrats), Minister for Public Administration

Photo: Hanna Franzén/TT

Shekarabi held this role in the last government. After first training in law and working briefly as a notary, he joined the Social Democrats' youth league and became its chair, joint with Mikael Damberg. He was also chairperson of the Crisis Commission in charge of investigating the Social Democrats' failure in the 2010 election.

Anna Ekström (Social Democrats), Minister for Education

Photo: Lisa Johansson/ TT

With a background in law and trade unions, Ekström is the former general director of the National Agency for Education, and was Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education between 2016 and 2018. That appointment marked her return to politics after a 15-year break.

Matilda Ernkrans (Social Democrats), Minister for Higher Education and Research

Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

A new face in the cabinet, Ernkrans, 45, has been an MP since 2002 and was chair of the parliamentary committee on education. Before that, she has had roles as chair or member of several other parliamentary committees. Born in Örebro, she worked at the Swedish Public Employment Service before entering politics.

Ibrahim Baylan, Minister for Enterprise

Photo: Lisa Johansson/TT

Baylan, 46, has been active in politics since his youth, when he had leadership roles in the Social Democratic Youth League and Union of Students in Umeå.

When he became Minister for Education in 2004, he was the first non-European immigrant to be part of a Swedish government (Baylan is Assyrian-Swedish and moved to Sweden as a child). He now takes on the role of Minister for Enterprise.

Jennie Nilsson (Social Democrats), Minister for Rural Affairs

Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

Nilsson first entered politics as a part-time substitute when the spokesperson in her municipal council fell sick, and was first elected as an MP in 2006. Since then, she has been chair or member of several parliamentary committees.

Amanda Lind (Green Party), Minister for Culture and Democracy

Photo: Björn Larsson Rosvall/TT

Trained psychologist Lind, 38, has been a party secretary for the Greens since 2016 but this is her first time in government, replacing her party colleague Alice Bah Kuhnke. Lind has previously been spokesperson for her party in Härnösand and Västernorrland and a municipal councillor in Härnösand.

Ylva Johansson (Social Democrats), Minister for Labour

Photo: Kristian Pohl/Regeringskansliet

Johansson is a veteran minister: previous posts include Minister for Schools (1994-1998), Minister for Healthcare and Elderly Care (2004-2006) and Minister for the Labour Market and Integration (2014-2018, taking on the second part of the title from 2016). She's also worked as a maths and science teacher and as a Senior Adviser at Telia.

In politics, she started out as a member of the youth wing of the Left Party (at the time called Left Party – the Communists) and was first elected as an MP for that party in 1988, before joining the Social Democrats in 2006.

Åsa Lindhagen (Green Party), Minister for Equality

Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

Another of the new faces in this government, Lindhagen was Stockholm's Commissioner of Social Services between 2014 and 2018. Between 2012 and 2014, she was group leader for the Greens in Stockholm city council, and was previously on the board of Save the Children.

Tomas Eneroth (Social Democrats), Minister for Infrastructure

Photo: Ninni Andersson/Regeringskansliet

Eneroth became Minister for Infrastructure in 2017, and now he'll be leading the newly created Department for Infrastructure. He's been an MP since 1994, and has chaired several parliamentary committees before becoming parliamentary group leader for the Social Democrats in 2014, but the role as Minister for Infrastructure was his first ministerial position.

Anders Ygeman (Social Democrats), Minister for Energy and Digitalization

Photo: Henrik Montgomery / TT

Ygeman is no stranger to a high-profile post in government; he was Interior Minister in the last government until he was forced to resign over a security leak at Sweden's Transport Agency in 2017. Since then, he has been the Social Democrats' group leader in parliament. He's now back in the newly created Department for Infrastructure, with responsibility for energy and digitalization.

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INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border.

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals.

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”.

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.”

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and British in Spain felt uncertain just a year or two ago.

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jane Golding

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights.

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before.

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained.

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said.

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law.

With an estimated 5.5 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

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