Pål Henning Jonson (born 30 May 1972) is a Swedish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

of the

Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( , , M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative* * * * * List of political parties in Sweden, political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free ma ...

. He has served as Minister for Defence in the cabinet of Ulf Kristersson since 2022.

Biography

Jonson was born on 30 May 1972, in Älgå on the northwestern shore of Lake Glafsfjord (Göta-Älv basin). His parents, Bo Jonson and Marya Jonson, were farmers. In 1991, Jonson graduated from the sports gymnasium in Luxel. In 1998 he graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, where he studied international politics and received a bachelor's degree. He graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in European politics from the

College of Europe The College of Europe (; ; ) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with three campuses in Bruges, Belgium; Warsaw, Poland; and Tirana, Albania. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 as a result of the 1948 Congress of ...

in 1999. In 2005, he completed his Ph.D. in

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mi ...

from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. He worked as an analyst at the

Swedish Defence Research Agency The Swedish Defence Research Agency (, FOI; literal translation: ''Total Defence Research Institute'') is a government agency in Sweden for total defence research and development. FOI has its headquarters in Kista (Stockholm). Other FOI offic ...

from 2000 to 2005 and was head of the Moderate Party's office in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two 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 ...

from 2005 to 2006. He served as political advisor within the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 2006 to 2007 and as political advisor on foreign affairs for the Moderate Party in the

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

rom 2007 to 2012. He was a visiting researcher at the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Defense College (NDC) in 2009. Jonson was Communications Director of the Swedish Security & Defence Industry Association ( Sv: Säkerhets- och försvarsföretagen) and Secretary-General of the Swedish Atlantic Council from 2013 to 2016. Jonson was elected to the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

Arvika Municipality Arvika Municipality () is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Arvika. The present municipality was created in 1971 when the former City of Arvika was amalgamated with five rural municipa ...

for the

in 2006 and was chairman of the Moderate Party in

Värmland County Värmland County () is a county or '' län'' in west central Sweden. It borders the Swedish counties of Dalarna, Örebro and Västra Götaland, as well as the Norwegian counties of Østfold, Akershus and Innlandet to the west. The title of Duke ...

from 2010 to 2012. Following the death of Pia Hallström in 2016, Jonson succeeded her as member of the

for the Värmland County constituency.

Honours

EST Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana - 1st Class BAR

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (, also the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of the Estonian state. (The Latin name ''Terra Mariana'' ...

, 1st Class (2 May 2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonson, Pal 1972 births Living people People from Arvika Municipality Alumni of King's College London Members of the Riksdag 2014–2018 Members of the Riksdag 2018–2022 Members of the Riksdag 2022–2026 Members of the Riksdag from the Moderate Party Ministers for defence of Sweden