Tobias Billstrom, who oversaw Sweden’s accession to NATO, has introduced his resignation as international minister and retirement from politics, providing no cause for the transfer.
Billstrom, 50, was first elected to the Swedish parliament in 2002 and was appointed international minister in 2022.
In a publish on X on Wednesday, Billstrom mentioned he knowledgeable Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of his departure “with a mix of disappointment and pleasure.”
“I’ll now utterly go away politics,” Billstrom wrote. “Which means I’m additionally leaving my seat within the Riksdag. What I’ll do subsequent continues to be open,” he added, noting he was “solely 50 years outdated” and will make his mark “in different contexts.”
As his largest achievement over the previous two years, Billstrom listed Sweden’s abandonment of its 200-year neutrality to affix NATO “after an extended and generally difficult course of.”
Stockholm is now a part of “the core of the international locations that assist Ukraine” and oppose “Russian expansionism,” he added.
Billstrom thanked Kristersson for trusting him to be international minister and lead the parliamentary faction of the Average Social gathering earlier than that.
In response to Swedish media, Billstrom’s departure comes out of the blue. The dailies Expressen and Aftonbladet each claimed that it was attributable to a “rift” between him and the prime minister. As doable causes, the newspapers named Kristersson’s appointment of a international coverage adviser, but in addition battle over Sweden’s place on the Gaza battle, with the prime minister advocating “a extra Israel-friendly line.”
“Tobias Billstrom has had a really shut and good collaboration with the prime minister,” his spokeswoman Anna Erhardt mentioned in response to those reviews. Kristersson’s press secretary Siri Steijer additionally mentioned the reviews have been false and “there isn’t any battle” behind Billstrom’s departure.
Billstrom was first deputy Speaker of the Riksdag from 2014 to 2017. Previous to taking on the International Ministry, he held two different cupboard jobs, first as minister for Migration and Asylum Coverage (2006-2014) and Employment (2010).
