Stefan Löfven
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Kjell Stefan Löfven (; officially ''Löfvén''; born 21 July 1957) is a Swedish politician who serves as the President of European Socialists since October 2022. He previously served as
Prime Minister of Sweden The prime minister ( sv, statsminister ; literally translating to "Minister of State") is the head of government of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subj ...
from October 2014 to November 2021 and
leader of the Social Democratic Party The Leader of the Social Democratic Party (''Vorsitzender der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands'') is the most senior political figure within the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Since December 2019, the office has been held jointly by ...
from 2012 to 2021. After leaving school and completing
military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...
in the
Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...
, Löfven trained as a
welder In a broad sense, a welder is anyone, amateur or professional, who uses welding equipment, perhaps especially one who uses such equipment fairly often. In a narrower sense, a welder is a tradesperson who specializes in fusing materials together ...
and began employment as a metalworker. At the same time, he became an active
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
ist. He was eventually elected as an
ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
within the
Swedish Metalworkers' Union The Swedish Metalworkers' Union ( sv, Svenska Metallindustriarbetareförbundet often shortened in text and speech to simply ''Metall'') was a trade union in Sweden. History The union was founded in Stockholm on 21 May 1888, and had 555 members b ...
(SMU) and in January 2006, Löfven was elected the first Chairman of
IF Metall Industrifacket Metall (IF Metall) is a trade union in Sweden. It was formed in a 2006 merger between the Swedish Industrial Union (Industrifacket) and the Swedish Metalworkers' Union (Metall). Its roots in Metall trace back to 1888. IF Metall ...
, a new 'super' trade union formed after smaller unions, including the SMU, voted to merge. After the resignation of
Håkan Juholt Håkan Juholt (born 16 September 1962) is a Swedes, Swedish politician who was Swedish Social Democratic Party, Leader of the Social Democrats from 2011 to 2012. He was List of members of the Swedish Riksdag, 2006-2010, member of the Parliament ...
, in January 2012, Löfven was unanimously selected by the executive board of the Social Democratic Party to become the party's new leader. This made Löfven the
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
, despite the fact that he did not have a seat in 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 ...
at the time. Löfven led the Social Democrats into the 2014 election. Despite initial opinion poll leads, the party only gained a single seat; due to the poor performance of the governing
Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...
losing 23 seats, Löfven was able to form a minority coalition government with the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
. He was appointed prime minister of Sweden on 3 October 2014. He went on to secure a second term in the aftermath of the inconclusive 2018 election, which saw both main parties suffer losses; after a months-long impasse that set a new record for government formation, Löfven was able to secure abstentions from MPs belonging to the Centre Party, the Left Party and the Liberals, and was re-elected as prime minister by the Riksdag in January 2019. On 21 June 2021, after the Left Party withdrew their support of the government, Löfven lost a confidence motion in the Riksdag, triggering a brief crisis, which was resolved on 5 July when Löfven announced that talks to reform the government had been successful, and two days later the Riksdag once again confirmed Löfven as prime minister in a vote. Dubbed a "political escape artist" and the "Harry Houdini of European politics", Löfven was able to successfully remain as Prime Minister at the helm of historically weak coalition governments in the turbulent Swedish political landscape from 2014. On 22 August 2021, Löfven announced that he would retire as leader of the Social Democrats at the November party congress, and would then resign as prime minister upon the election of his successor. In September 2021, it was confirmed that Finance Minister
Magdalena Andersson Eva Magdalena Andersson (born 23 January 1967) is a Swedish politician and economist who has served as Leader of the Opposition since October 2022 and Leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party since 2021. She has served as a Member of the R ...
would be the only candidate at the congress to replace Löfven. Andersson was elected party leader on 4 November. Löfven officially resigned as prime minister on 10 November 2021, though he continued to lead a
caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...
until his successor took office on 30 November 2021.


Early life and education

Löfven was born 21 July 1957 in
Aspudden Aspudden (''Aspen cape'') is a district of the Hägersten-Liljeholmen borough in Söderort Söderort (literally "the southern place", sometimes translated to ''South Stockholm'') is the southern suburban part of the Stockholm Municipality, Swe ...
,
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, and his father died before he was born. He was placed in an orphanage before being looked after by a
foster family Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family me ...
from Sunnersta,
Sollefteå Sollefteå () is a locality and the seat of Sollefteå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 8,562 inhabitants in 2010. The earliest written account on Sollefteå is found in a script dating back to 1270. During this time the name o ...
, where he grew up. According to the agreement with this family, his birth mother would regain custody of him when she was able to; however, this did not happen. His foster father Ture Melander (1926–2003) was a lumberjack and later a factory worker, while his foster mother, Iris Melander (née Söderlund, 1929–2020), worked as an in-home
caregiver A caregiver or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commo ...
. He studied at Sollefteå High School before starting a 48-week welding course at Arbetsmarknadsutbildningen (AMU, Unemployment Career Training) in
Kramfors Kramfors () is a locality and the seat of Kramfors Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It had a population of 5,990 inhabitants in 2010. The town grew on the western bank of the Ångerman river in the 19th century as harvested logs wer ...
, and it is unclear whether he completed the course. Löfven later studied social work at
Umeå University Umeå University ( sv, Umeå universitet; Ume Sami: ) is a public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present borders. As of 2015 ...
, but dropped out after a year and a half.


Trade unionist

After completing his compulsory military service (as a private Munitions Systems specialist conscript) in the
Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...
at the
Jämtland Wing Jämtland Wing ( sv, Jämtlands flygflottilj), also F 4 Frösön, or simply F 4, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located at Åre Östersund Airport outside Östersund on Frösön in the middle of Sweden. History The airbase ...
(F 4) airbase 1976–77, Löfven began his career in 1978 as a
welder In a broad sense, a welder is anyone, amateur or professional, who uses welding equipment, perhaps especially one who uses such equipment fairly often. In a narrower sense, a welder is a tradesperson who specializes in fusing materials together ...
at
Hägglunds BAE Systems AB is a Swedish defence company and a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land & Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems. The company is a holding company for Land Systems Hägglunds AB and BAE Systems Bofo ...
in
Örnsköldsvik Örnsköldsvik (, ) is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 32,953 inhabitants in 2017. Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the Hig ...
. Two years later, he was chosen as the group's union representative, and went on to hold a succession of union posts. In 1995, he started as an employed
ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
in the
Swedish Metalworkers' Union The Swedish Metalworkers' Union ( sv, Svenska Metallindustriarbetareförbundet often shortened in text and speech to simply ''Metall'') was a trade union in Sweden. History The union was founded in Stockholm on 21 May 1888, and had 555 members b ...
, working in the areas of contract negotiations and international affairs. In 2001, he was elected vice-chairman of the Metalworkers' Union; in November 2005 was elected as the first chairman of the newly formed
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
IF Metall Industrifacket Metall (IF Metall) is a trade union in Sweden. It was formed in a 2006 merger between the Swedish Industrial Union (Industrifacket) and the Swedish Metalworkers' Union (Metall). Its roots in Metall trace back to 1888. IF Metall ...
.


Political career

Löfven has been a member 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 ...
since the age of 13 and was active in SSU, the youth league, in his teens. Löfven was elected to the executive board 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 ...
in 2006, shortly after becoming chairman of trade union
IF Metall Industrifacket Metall (IF Metall) is a trade union in Sweden. It was formed in a 2006 merger between the Swedish Industrial Union (Industrifacket) and the Swedish Metalworkers' Union (Metall). Its roots in Metall trace back to 1888. IF Metall ...
.


Leader of the Social Democrats

In January 2012, following the resignation of
Håkan Juholt Håkan Juholt (born 16 September 1962) is a Swedes, Swedish politician who was Swedish Social Democratic Party, Leader of the Social Democrats from 2011 to 2012. He was List of members of the Swedish Riksdag, 2006-2010, member of the Parliament ...
, it was reported that Löfven was being considered as his successor. On 26 January 2012 the
executive board A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
nominated Löfven to become the party's new leader. On 27 January 2012, Löfven was elected leader in a party-room ballot. Löfven was confirmed as
party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...
at the party's bi-annual congress on 4 April 2013. Löfven led his party through the
2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...
where 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 ...
retained their position as the largest party from Sweden in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
. However, the election results at 24.19% was a slightly inferior result than the result in the
2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making th ...
; the party's seats in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
was reduced from six to five and the party's results was the lowest in an election at the national level since
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
was introduced in 1921. On July 12, 2014, Löfven wrote a controversial
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post in which he argued that
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
has the right to defend itself against
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 ...
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
, which he accused of attacking Israel during the
2014 Gaza war The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that h ...
. The post received thousands of comments, many of them from critical social democratic voters, and was later removed. Afterwards, Löfven has claimed that Israel must take responsibility for its disproportionate use of force, but maintained that the country has the right to defend itself.


Prime Minister of Sweden (2014–2021)

Löfven led his party through the 2014 general election, which resulted in a
hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...
. Their election result of 31.0%, up from 30.7%, was slightly better than the result in the 2010 general election, but the result was also the party's second worst result in a general election 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 ...
since
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
was introduced in 1921. He announced that he would form a minority
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
consisting of his own party and the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
. On 2 October 2014, the Riksdag approved Löfven to become
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 ...
, and he took office on the following day, alongside his
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
. The Social Democrats and the Green Party voted in favour of Löfven becoming Prime Minister, while close ally the Left Party abstained. The opposition
Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
-parties also abstained while the far-right
Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( sv , Sverigedemokraterna ; SD ) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Sweden. As of 2022, it is the largest member of Sweden's right-wing governing bloc to which it provides confidence and supply, a ...
voted against. Löfven expressed a desire for bipartisan agreement between the Government and the opposition Alliance parties, and together they marked three areas where enhanced cooperation would be initiated. These three areas were the
pension system A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
, future
energy development Energy development is the field of activities focused on obtaining sources of energy from natural resources. These activities include production of renewable, nuclear, and fossil fuel derived sources of energy, and for the recovery and reuse ...
, and security and defence policy.


Domestic policy


2014 budget crisis

The Government's first budget was introduced 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 ...
on 23 October 2014. The Left Party, which had been given influence over the budget, supported it; however, the non-socialist coalition, the
Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
, introduced a competing budget to the Riksdag on 10 November, as they had promised prior to the 2014 election, and the
Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( sv , Sverigedemokraterna ; SD ) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Sweden. As of 2022, it is the largest member of Sweden's right-wing governing bloc to which it provides confidence and supply, a ...
also introduced their own budget on the same day. According to Riksdag practice, the parties support their own budget and if their budget falls they abstain from voting in the second round. However, on 2 December, the far-right Sweden Democrats announced that, after their own budget fell in the first voting round, they would support the Alliance parties' budget in the second voting round, thus giving that budget a
majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-WebsterModerate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...
, Centre Party, Liberal People's Party and the
Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...
) to find a solution and to avoid a fresh election. On 27 December, the Government and the Alliance parties held a joint press conference where they announced that the six parties had reached an agreement designed to ensure that the Government's budgets would be voted through in the second round of voting. The agreement was dubbed "" (''December Agreement''), was called historical by Löfven and was agreed to remain in force until the 2022 election, regardless of the results of the 2018 election. Subsequently, Löfven announced that he no longer intended to call a
snap election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Generally, a snap election in a parliamentary system (the dissolution of parliament) is called to capitalize on an unusual electoral opportunity or to ...
. The centre-right Alliance withdrew from the agreements in 2015, but allowed the minority government to continue governing.


2015 European migrant crisis

In 2015, when a rising number of
refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
and migrants began to make the journey to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
to seek
asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...
, Europe was hit by a migrant crisis and Sweden received over 150,000 refugees in 2015. During the autumn of 2015, the reception of refugees increased significantly to over 80,000 in two months and with
terror group A number of national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and fo ...
Islamic state An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
rampage in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and the following attacks in Paris in November 2015, the Löfven cabinet significantly reverted Sweden's migration policy. On 23 October 2015, a bipartisan migration agreement was signed between the cabinet parties and the oppositional
Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...
, the Centre Party, the Liberals and the
Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...
which included, among many other changes, temporary residency permits, total financial support requirements for family reunification and by law forcing
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
to help with sheltering refugees in order to better distribute the burden across the country. On 12 November 2015, the cabinet introduced temporary border controls with immediate effect. The cabinet also proposed identity checks for every individual passing the Danish–Swedish border and closing of the Öresund Bridge, giving up the latter on 8 December 2015 after severe criticism. On 17 December 2015, 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 ...
passed legislation to introduce identity checks with the votes 175 in favor, 39 against and 135 abstained. On 4 January 2016, identity checks were introduced, which meant that people who could not show a valid identity card, license or passport were not allowed to cross the border into Sweden, breaking with the
Nordic Passport Union The Nordic Passport Union allows citizens of the Nordic countriesIceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finlandto travel and reside in another Nordic country without any travel documentation (e.g. a passport or national identity card) or a reside ...
for the first time since 1954. Only twelve hours later the
Danish Prime Minister The prime minister of Denmark ( da, Danmarks statsminister, fo, Forsætisráðharri, kl, Ministeriuneq) is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islan ...
Lars Løkke Rasmussen Lars Løkke Rasmussen (; born 15 May 1964) is a Danish politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022. He previously served as the 25th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. He was the lead ...
announced that Denmark would implement temporary border controls along the German–Danish border with immediate effect as a consequence of Sweden's identity checks.


2017 national security crisis

In July 2017, it became known to the public that Maria Ågren, a former Director-General of the
Swedish Transport Agency The Swedish Transport Agency ( sv, Transportstyrelsen) is a Swedish government agency which is responsible for the regulation of rail, air, sea and road transport and its enforcement. It was formed on 1 January 2009, through a merger of several ...
, had been investigated after having cleared confidential information threatening the security of the country. The act was made in connection with a procurement of IT services with a non-governmental company in 2015. Among the cleared data were wanted vehicles, armored vehicles, the entire Swedish vehicles register, Swedish company secrets, the Swedish police criminal record- and suspicion registers, the Swedish state's internal security system and information about agents within the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service. Several days after it first became public, Löfven held a press conference on 24 July 2017 where he said that "there's been an accident at the Transport Agency". Responsible
cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
Anna Johansson said she had been aware of the situation since January 2017 and blamed her former state secretary Erik Bromander for not having informed her earlier. Cabinet ministers
Anders Ygeman ''Anders'' Ingvar Ygeman (; born 17 June 1970) is a Swedish politician of the Social Democrats. He has served as Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy, Minister for Integration and Minister for Sports since November 2021. He previously ser ...
and
Peter Hultqvist Carl Anders ''Peter'' Hultqvist (born 31 December 1958) is a Swedish politician of the Social Democrats who served as the Minister for Defence in the Swedish Government from 2014 to 2022. Background Born in 1958, Hultqvist is of Finnish desc ...
were reported to have been aware of the situation since the beginning of 2016, but chose not to inform the
head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
. All parties within the Swedish opposition have opened up for a
vote of 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
cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
s Anna Johansson,
Anders Ygeman ''Anders'' Ingvar Ygeman (; born 17 June 1970) is a Swedish politician of the Social Democrats. He has served as Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy, Minister for Integration and Minister for Sports since November 2021. He previously ser ...
and
Peter Hultqvist Carl Anders ''Peter'' Hultqvist (born 31 December 1958) is a Swedish politician of the Social Democrats who served as the Minister for Defence in the Swedish Government from 2014 to 2022. Background Born in 1958, Hultqvist is of Finnish desc ...
in order to remove them from office, with some parties calling for vote of confidence against Löfven as Prime Minister. Such a vote would, if supported by several parties, result in a removal of the Löfven cabinet. In a press conference on 27 July Löfven announced a government reshuffling with Ygeman and Johansson resigning. He also stated that he would not resign himself over the incident.


Foreign policy

In his Policy Statement, introduced 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 ...
on 3 October 2014, Löfven said that his Government would recognise the
State of Palestine Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), Legal status of the State of Palestine, officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state (polity), state located in Western Asia. Officiall ...
. On 30 October 2014, the Government, through
Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
Margot Wallström Margot Elisabeth Wallström (; born 28 September 1954) is a Swedish politician of the Swedish Social Democratic Party who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2019 and Minister for Nordic Cooper ...
, announced that the Government had decided to officially recognize the State of Palestine and explained the recognition by saying that it is the only solution to get to 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 ...
between
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and the State of Palestine. Sweden is the first country within the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
to do so after gaining membership (with other members, such as
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, withholding recognition previously issued under
Communist 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 ...
rule). Israel called the move unconsidered and Israel recalled its ambassador, Isaac Bachman, following the recognition. Bachman returned to Sweden on 29 November 2014. In December 2015, Löfven caused outrage in Israel by claiming that stabbing attacks are not considered terrorism by international standards; he later revised his comment, explaining that it is now known that the stabbing attacks are sanctioned by some terror organisations. Löfven has said that the ongoing negotiations of the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was a proposed trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, with the aim of promoting trade and multilateral economic growth. According to Karel de Gucht, European ...
(TTIP) between the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and the
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 ...
are very important and that it is in Sweden's interest that the managed trade agreement is implemented. However, he has said that the managed trade agreement shall not aggravate social conditions or
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
, which should be a high priority while negotiating. Löfven visited
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
in February 2017 and held talks with
Ali Khamenei Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...
to improve economic relations. Löfven has supported closer security cooperation with
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. On January 7, 2021, the day after attack on the United States Capitol, Löfven called the attack an "assault on democracy" and hoped for a peaceful restoration of order, noting that President
Trump Trump most commonly refers to: * Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) * Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank Trump may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Donald J. T ...
and members of
congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
have "a great responsibility" for the ongoing events.


2018 general election

Stefan Löfven vowed to make the 2018 election a referendum about the welfare state. Despite poor opinion polling, the Social Democrats fared better than initially expected, winning 28.26 percent of the popular vote. The red-green bloc ended up having a slight advantage in a hung parliament of 144 seats to 143 for the centre-right coalition Alliansen. Löfven announced after the election results that he intended to remain as Prime Minister and called for the "burial of bloc politics" in Sweden. However, on 25 September 2018, 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 ...
approved a
motion 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 Löfven with a 204–142 vote. Löfven remained in office as head of a
caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...
. While it initially looked as though the Alliance would be able to form a government, the Alliance's leaders subsequently failed to secure enough votes or abstentions to replace him. After a record-long period of government formation, Löfven was eventually re-elected as Prime Minister on 18 January 2019, after an agreement was struck between the Social Democrats, Greens, Liberals, and Centre Party; the Left Party, which was not party to the agreement, decided to also abstain from voting against Löfven. The Left Party did however express reservation about the parts of the agreement concerning weakening employment rights against unfair dismissal and the removal of rent controls on new-build apartments, which had been the conditions of the Center and Liberal Parties, and threatened to withdraw their support if these were implemented. Nonetheless, the minority coalition government of the Social Democrats and Green Party was reformed. The second Löfven Government was sworn in on 21 January.


2021 government crisis

In June 2021, the Left Party declared that they did not have confidence in Löfven and his government and withdrew their support, following the publication of the report of the government's commission on removing rent controls on new-build apartments, as the Left Party had threatened in 2019. Subsequently, the
Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( sv , Sverigedemokraterna ; SD ) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Sweden. As of 2022, it is the largest member of Sweden's right-wing governing bloc to which it provides confidence and supply, a ...
put forward a motion of no confidence against Löfven and his cabinet. The motion was supported by other opposition parties, notably the
Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...
and the
Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...
, though they are in favor of removing controls. Löfven called it irresponsible by the Left Party to throw the country into a “political crisis in the current situation”. The confidence vote was held on Monday, 21 June. The Riksdag voted in favour of the vote of no confidence, with 181 votes in favour, 109 against, and 51 abstaining. It was the first time in Swedish history that a vote of no-confidence resulted in the fall of a government. The decision did not mean that the Löfven cabinet was dismissed immediately, as the Prime Minister has one week to either call a
snap election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Generally, a snap election in a parliamentary system (the dissolution of parliament) is called to capitalize on an unusual electoral opportunity or to ...
or resign and ask the
Speaker of the Riksdag The speaker of the Riksdag ( sv, Riksdagens talman) is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the national unicameral legislature in Sweden. The Riksdag underwent profound changes in 1867, when the medieval Riksdag of the Estates was abolis ...
to proceed with new formation talks. On 28 June, Löfven announced his resignation as Prime Minister, which meant that Speaker of the Riksdag,
Andreas Norlén Per Olof Andreas Norlén (; born 6 May 1973) is a Swedish politician and member of the Moderate Party who has served as Speaker of the Riksdag since September 2018. He has been a Member of the Riksdag (MP) for Östergötland County (Riksdag consti ...
, needed to select someone to form a government. On 29 June, Norlén handed the task to the leader of the opposition,
Ulf Kristersson Ulf Hjalmar Ed Kristersson (born 29 December 1963) is a Swedish politician who has been serving as Prime Minister of Sweden since October 2022. He has been the leader of the Moderate Party (M) since October 2017 and a member of the Riksdag (MP) ...
, who two days later announced that he was not able to find enough seats to become Prime Minister. On 1 July 2021, Löfven was given a second chance to form a government with the deadline being 5 July. On that day, Norlén and Löfven held a press conference in the
First Chamber Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
of the Riksdag, which was the
upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...
of the
bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
Riksdag before it was made
unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
in 1970. Norlén announced that he approved of Löfven's government formation and that he will put forth a motion in the Riksdag to hold a vote to reappoint Löfven as Prime Minister the very same day. On 7 July, the Riksdag voted on Löfven's Prime Ministership. The vote ended with 116 votes in favor, 173 against, and 60 abstaining. Since the votes against did not attain the 175 vote threshold required to fail a motion of confidence in the Riksdag, Löfven was reinstated as Prime Minister.


Resignation

In his summer speech on 22 August 2021 in Runö in
Åkersberga Åkersberga is a locality and the seat of Österåker Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 28,033 inhabitants in 2010. History In 1901 a railway station named ''Berga'' was opened on this rural spot some 30 km from Stockholm. Some ...
, Löfven announced that he would not be seeking re-election as party chairman at the Social Democratic Party Congress in November 2021, and that he would resign as prime minister upon the election of his successor. After several weeks of speculation, it was announced that Finance Minister
Magdalena Andersson Eva Magdalena Andersson (born 23 January 1967) is a Swedish politician and economist who has served as Leader of the Opposition since October 2022 and Leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party since 2021. She has served as a Member of the R ...
would be the only nominee to replace Löfven as leader; she would go on to be Sweden's first female prime minister and will lead the party into the 2022 general election. On 10 November, Löfven tendered his resignation to Norlén, but he continued to lead a
caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...
. Andersson was elected as the new Prime Minister of Sweden by the Riksdag on 24 November 2021 and was set to take office on 26 November. Because of Andersson's resignation a few hours later, Löfven continued as prime minister of the
caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...
until Andersson took office on 30 November 2021.


Life after politics

In 2022, Löfven was appointed by
United Nations Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...
António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socia ...
as co-chair of the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, alongside
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was born in Mon ...
.


Personal life

Löfven enjoys sports and supports the
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
club Modo from
Örnsköldsvik Örnsköldsvik (, ) is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 32,953 inhabitants in 2017. Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the Hig ...
and the
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
clubs
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
and
GIF Sundsvall Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (), Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollförbund and plays its h ...
. He is married to politician and trade unionist Ulla Löfven and has 2 stepchildren. Löfven himself has no biological children.


Honours and awards

* H. M. The King's Medalj, 12th size in gold on chain. (6 June 2022). *
Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise ( uk, Орден князя Ярослава Мудрого) is an award of Ukraine. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, ...
, Second Class, by the
President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
(2021) * Aaron Isaac Award, by the Jewish Congregation in Stockholm (2021)


References


External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Löfven, Stefan 1957 births Leaders of the Swedish Social Democratic Party Living people People from Ångermanland Prime Ministers of Sweden Swedish adoptees Members of the Riksdag from the Social Democrats Swedish trade unionists Umeå University alumni Welders 21st-century Swedish politicians Swedish Air Force personnel Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 2nd class