Carl Anders ''Peter'' Hultqvist (born 31 December 1958) is a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
of the
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
who served as the
Minister for Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
in the
Swedish Government
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority.
The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the R ...
from 2014 to 2022.
Background
Born in 1958, Hultqvist is of
Finnish descent through his mother, who as a
child was evacuated from Finland to Sweden during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. During his youth, he spent the summers in
Kuusamo
Kuusamo ( sme, Guossán; smn, Kuáccám) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
T ...
, his mother's village on the Finnish-Russian border, which had been burned by
Soviet partisans
Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ...
during the
Continuation War
The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...
. Hultqvist's maternal grandfather, a farmer and a soldier in the
Finnish Army
The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...
, was killed in action during the war.
Hultqvist joined the
Swedish Social Democratic Youth League
The Swedish Social Democratic Youth League ( sv, Sveriges Socialdemokratiska Ungdomsförbund ; SSU) is a branch of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation in Sweden. The president has been Lisa Nåbo, since ...
in 1973, at age 15. Explaining his reasons for joining, he told ''
Dagens Nyheter
''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record.
History and profile
''Da ...
s Mikael Holmström that, "To me,
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
was a totally dead option. It never existed in my mind. I have been completely vaccinated against all that. As for the right wing, I've never felt anything for it. This talk of
free market forces and a belief in
things sorting themselves out – I've never believed in that."
[
After graduating from high school in 1977, Hultqvist was conscripted to serve at the Dala Regiment in Falun. However, after only 57 days he was released, having reportedly registered as a ]conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
. When asked about his release from military service by ''Svenska Dagbladet
''Svenska Dagbladet'' (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden.
History and profile
The first issue of ''Svenska Dagbladet'' appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the ...
s defence correspondent Jonas Gummesson in 2016, Hultqvist refused to comment.[
From 1977, Hultqvist embarked on a career as a journalist, in parallel with his political work. He was employed at two Social Democratic local dailies in ]Norrland
Norrland (, "Northland", originally ''Norrlanden'' or "the Northlands") is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administr ...
, ''Dala-Demokraten
''Dala-Demokraten'' is a Swedish social democratic newspaper published in Falun, Dalarna
Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales.
Dalarna adjoins Härje ...
'' and ''Norrländska Socialdemokraten
''Norrländska Socialdemokraten'' (''NSD'') (Swedish: ''The Norrland Social Democrat'') is a daily regional newspaper published in Norrbotten County, Sweden.
History and profile
As of the division of the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Part ...
'', as well as at the Social Democratic party's political weekly '' Aktuellt i Politiken''. He remains a columnist in ''Dala-Demokraten'' where he sat on the board from 1994 to 2014.
As an elected official, Hultqvist served from 1989 to 2006 as chairman of the Municipal Executive Committee of Borlänge
Borlänge is a locality in Dalarna County, Sweden with 44,898 inhabitants as of 2020. It is the seat of the Borlänge Municipality with a total population of 51,604 inhabitants as of 2017.
History
Originally Borlänge was the name of a tin ...
. Between 2005 and 2009, he was a member of the leadership of the Social Democratic Party. In 2006, he was elected to the Riksdag
The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
. From 2011 to 2014, served as Chairman of the Committee on Defence in the Riksdag. In this role, Hultqvist began to attract attention for his attention to military affairs and for his hard line against Russia. He also reportedly received some pushback from fellow Social Democrats: "In the party, they think I'm a crank for talking so much about Russia", Hultqvist told ''Dagens Nyheters defence correspondent Mikael Holmström in 2011.
Minister of Defence (2014–2022)
Hultqvist was appointed minister for defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
by Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Stefan Löfven
Kjell Stefan Löfven (; officially ''Löfvén''; born 21 July 1957) is a Swedish politician who serves as the Party of European Socialists, President of European Socialists since October 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Sweden fro ...
on 3 October 2014.
As defence minister, Hultqvist pushed for Sweden's rearmament, oversaw the reintroduction of conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
, and led the Swedish military toward closer cooperation with NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and the United States. He brought Sweden into unprecedentedly close military relationship with Finland, negotiating several cooperation agreements and meeting regularly Finnish politicians: "I meet Peter more often than my own mother", Finnish defence minister Jussi Niinistö
Jussi Niinistö (born 27 October 1970 in Helsinki) is a Finnish politician and a former Minister of Defence. Since 2011, he has been a member of Finnish Parliament, representing the Finns Party 2011–2017 and Blue Reform since 2017. By occupatio ...
joked in 2017.[ In 2018, ]Finnish President
The president of the Republic of Finland ( fi, Suomen tasavallan presidentti; sv, Republiken Finlands president) is the head of state of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the Finnish Government and the p ...
Sauli Niinistö
Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (; born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office.
A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Part ...
(no relation) awarded Hultqvist the Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland
The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...
in recognition of his work to strengthen Swedish-Finnish defence cooperation.
Hultqvist's misgivings about Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
's government in Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
were underscored in several interviews by references to his family background and the time he spent in Kuusamo.
"It gives you a different type of sensibility about how to perceive Russian actions", Hultqvist told Dagens Nyheter in 2018. "I don't suffer from any sort of Russophobia or that kind of fear of Russia. But realism and being free of wishful thinking – that's something completely different!"[
Having taken office after the Russian annexation of Crimea, Hultqvist's stance on defence issues and on Russia quickly won him considerable acclaim in Swedish defence circles, including within the liberal-conservative opposition, which generally favours Swedish NATO membership, in contrast to Hultqvist's own party.]
"Peter Hultqvist has been described as being on the party's left", wrote political commentator Karin Eriksson in Dagens Nyheter
''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record.
History and profile
''Da ...
in 2017. "But in his view of the nation and of defence issues, one might as well describe him as a right-winger or conservative (...) No other minister has received as much praise from pundits on the right."
A strong supporter of the Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
struggle for independence and a two-state solution
The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiation ...
, Hultqvist was, in 2015, awarded the Order of Merit by Palestinian President
The president of the State of Palestine is the head of state of Palestine. Yasser Arafat became the first titular president of the State of Palestine in 1989, one year after proclamation of independence. The title was originally titular, in par ...
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...
. Hultqvist co-created the Swedish-Palestinian Parliamentary Association in 2006 and served as its president until becoming defence minister in 2014. On receiving the decoration, he commented that he was proud to be part of a government that had, in 2014, made Sweden the first Western European
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
nation to officially recognise Palestinian statehood
The history of the State of Palestine describes the creation and evolution of the State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
During the Mandatory period, numerous plans of partition of Palestine were proposed but without the agreem ...
.
2017 vote of no confidence and further criticism
On 26 July 2017, a majority in the Riksdag announced they would put forward a vote of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
against him and two other ministers, in response to a scandal relating to a leak of classified information. However, in a press conference on 27 July, Löfven stated that Hultqvist would remain on his post.
The challenge to Hultqvist soon proved controversial within the opposition. Several prominent pro-opposition newspapers and a conservative former defence minister, Mikael Odenberg
Mikael Ingemarsson Odenberg (born 14 December 1953) is a Swedish politician of the Moderate Party. He was a Member of Parliament from 1991 to 2006 and Minister for Defence in the Swedish government from 2006 to 2007. From 1 March 2008 to 28 Febru ...
, publicly offered support to Hultqvist, who, they argued, was at most tangentially involved in the scandal and had performed well as minister of defence.
After a months-long political stand-off, the Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
and Center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
parties rescinded their support for Hultqvist's removal. When the vote was held on 17 September 2017 it went in Hultqvist's favor, allowing him to remain as minister of defence.
Opposition criticism of Hultqvist picked up again in 2018, during a drawn-out debate over Sweden's defence budget, in which the liberal and conservative parties favoured higher spending than the government.[
]
NATO accession
During his time in office, Hultqvist has engineered a range of joint training exercises with NATO, such as the cold weather exercise Northern Wind, which was held in Sweden in March 2019.
In January 2022, he didn’t rule out a possible attack against Sweden from Russia, and emphasized that “it’s important for us to not be naive” and to “not be taken by surprise”. He also addressed the issue of Gotland
Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...
, saying: “Whoever controls Gotland has a decisive influence on both the activity in the air and in the marine environment. This is something that changes the entire strategic course of events”. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
and Sweden applied to become a member of NATO, Hullqvist met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is a retired United States Army four-star general who, since his appointment on January 22, 2021, has served as the 28th United States secretary of defense. He is the first African American to serv ...
at the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
, to coordinate the Swedish accession with the US. Turkey is seeking the resignation of Hultqvist as Sweden's defense minister due to a 2011 meeting with the PKK
The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...
(which has been designated as a terrorist organization in Sweden since 1984) in exchange for greenlighting the country's accession to NATO.
Influence
His stance on defence policy has become known as the 'Hultqvist Doctrine'. The concept means increased defence spending and close relationships with United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, and NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
- without becoming a full member of NATO.
Awards and decorations
Swedish
* Swedish Voluntary Engineers Medal of Merit in gold (''Insatsingenjörernas Riksförbunds (IIR) förtjänstmedalj'') (11 May 2022)
* Hjalmar Branting Honorary Medal
Foreign
*
Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland
The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...
(3 April 2018)
*
Grand Cross of the Order for Merit
The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...
[kungahuset.se]
Peter wearing his orders
/ref>
*
Grand Officer of the Order of Aeronautical Merit
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
(13 October 2020)
* Order of Merit and Distinction in gold
References
External links
Peter Hultqvist (S)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hultqvist, Peter
21st-century Swedish politicians
1958 births
Living people
Members of the Riksdag from the Social Democrats
Swedish Ministers for Defence
Swedish people of Finnish descent
Swedish magazine editors
Members of the Riksdag 2006–2010
Members of the Riksdag 2010–2014
Members of the Riksdag 2014–2018
Members of the Riksdag 2018–2022
Members of the Riksdag 2022–2026