Per Oscar Evert Sjöstedt (born 6 February 1981) is a Swedish politician and member of 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 ...

for 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 ...

party. He has also served as the SD's finance and economics spokesman since 2014.

Biography

Sjöstedt studied at

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in economics. He worked as a civil servant in the finance department for the

and then for

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...

(SVT) and the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company. He also served as chairman of the

Sweden Democrat Youth Sweden Democrat Youth ( sv, Sverigedemokratisk Ungdom ; SDU) was the youth league of the Swedish political party Sweden Democrats until 12 September 2015. Background The youth league was founded in 1993 as an independent youth league to its p ...

's (SDU) chapter in Stockholm. Sjöstedt was elected to the Riksdag during the

2014 Swedish general election General elections were held in Sweden on 14 September 2014 to elect all 349 seats in the Riksdag, alongside elections for the 21 county councils, and 290 municipal assemblies. The centre-right Alliance for Sweden coalition (comprising the Mod ...

and served as the financial and economic spokesman for the Sweden Democrats, taking on the role from Sven-Olof Sällström. He initially announced he would not to seek another term in office before the

2018 Swedish general election General elections were held in Sweden on 9 September 2018 to elect the 349 members of the Riksdag. Regional and municipal elections were also held on the same day. The incumbent minority government, consisting of the Social Democrats and the Gre ...

, however he subsequently returned to parliament and resumed his role as the SD's financial spokesman.

Controversies

Sjöstedt became embroiled in controversy in 2016 when it was revealed he had attended a party organized by the Swedish neo-Nazi magazine ''

Info-14 ''Info-14'' was a neo-Nazi website, started as a newspaper and published in paper form from April 1995 until May 2000, when it was turned into a website. The paper was started as a binding factor within the National Alliance with Robert Vesterl ...

'' during his time at high school while he was a member of the SDU. At the same time, a former school peer alleged Sjöstedt chanted pro-Nazi slogans at school and released footage of what he said was Sjöstedt laughing at antisemitic jokes made by a co-worker. Sjöstedt responded by claiming that he had attended the party at the invitation of a friend but left after discovering who had organized the event, denied he had supported any fascist movements and described the accusations of chanting slogans as "absurd." The Sweden Democrats' leadership investigated the allegation and responded by stating that while Sjöstedt should have been more careful, they were satisfied that he was an opponent of Nazism. In 2020, Sjöstedt criticized the Swedish Social Democrats and the Swedish Migration Court over a decision to grant residency to a mentally disabled Afghan national. Sjöstedt was reported to have proclaimed "What do you say about that - instead of pursuing a migration policy where we attract people with low intellect - we pursue a policy where we attract people with high intellect?" during a debate on the matter in the Riksdag. Sjöstedt's comment was condemned by disability charities and the Social Democrats. Both Sjöstedt and the Sweden Democrats responded by stating the comments had been aimed at the Migration Court and not people with disabilities. Sjöstedt furthermore claimed that he was attacking a decision by the court to prioritize immigrants who cannot economically contribute to Sweden over skilled immigrants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sjostedt, Oscar Living people 1981 births Members of the Riksdag from the Sweden Democrats Stockholm University alumni Members of the Riksdag 2014–2018 Members of the Riksdag 2018–2022 Members of the Riksdag 2022–2026