PM Appoints Migration Minister Malmer Stenergard As New Foreign Min

Maria Malmer Stenergard, who has served as Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy since 2022, has been appointed as Sweden's new foreign minister by PM Ulf Kristersson. Malmer Stenergard replaces Tobias Billstrom, who shocked observers last week by announcing his resignation and retirement from politics at the age of 50. There has been speculation that a falling-out between Billstrom and Kristersson presaged the foreign minister's withdrawal, but this has been denied by the former minister.

• Malmer Stenergard hails from the same centre-right Moderate party as Kristersson and Billstrom. Her moving to the foreign ministry, as well as Minister for European Affairs Jessika Roswall's nomination to serve as Sweden's European Commissioner has led to a small reshuffle. Jessica Rosencrantz, chair of the Riksdag's European Affairs committee takes over as Minister for European Affairs, while Minister for Development Cooperation Johan Forssell takes over as Migration Minister.
• The reshuffle will not change the balance of power within gov't, with all the changes affecting Moderate party ministers, rather than those from the junior partners, the classical liberal Liberals or the social conservative Christian Democrats.
• The right-wing populist Sweden Democrats continue to wield influence over the broad direction of gov't policy, notably on immigration and crime, under the Tidö Agreement that set out the path for the Sweden Democrats to back a minority Moderate-led coalition after the 2022 general election.