Lars Thomas Idergard (born 1 March 1969 in Arvidsjaur) was 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 ...

businessman and political commentator connected with 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 ...

. Now he is a Jesuit and a Catholic Priest. He gained prominence as chairman of the

Moderate Youth League The Moderate Youth League ( sv, Moderata ungdomsförbundet ; MUF), officially known in English as the Swedish Young Conservatives, is the youth wing of the Swedish Moderate Party. Of the political youth organizations that received financial supp ...

between 1995 and 1998. He was seen as a future leader of the party but after his resignation he withdrew from party politics. He was thus considered as part of the "Lost Generation" of the Moderate Party together with Ulf Kristersson. In 2003, he was one of the leaders of

Sweden in Europe Stiftelsen Sverige i Europa ("Sweden in Europe") was the main campaign organisation on the yes side in the 2003 referendum on the euro. Sweden in Europe involved all political groups supporting the euro, including Social Democrats, in the campaign ...

, campaigning for Swedish membership of the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. He was often seen on Swedish TV as a commentator and wrote a column in ''

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 ...

'' In 2009, he became a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and in 2014, a

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

in the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. In 2017, he was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in the Catholic Church. He was ordained

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in the Catholic Church on September 30, 2017, by the Catholic bishop of Sweden, Anders Cardinal Arborelius OCD, in the Jesuit St. Eugenia Church in Stockholm, where he also has his work (http://www.dagen.se/nyheter/tidigare-moderaten-thomas-idergard-prastvigd-1.1033757 samt https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/bytte-politiken-mot-kyrkan-blir-nu-prast/).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Idergard, Thomas 1969 births Living people Moderate Party politicians 21st-century Jesuits Swedish Jesuits Converts to Roman Catholicism People from Arvidsjaur Municipality 21st-century Swedish businesspeople