Swedish foreign minister unexpectedly resigns
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During Tobias Billstrom's time as Sweden's foreign minister, the country ended over 200 years of military non-alignment by applying for NATO membership.
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Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom arrives for the first day of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest, Romania, on November 29, 2022. (AP)
Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom has announced his resignation as foreign minister and retirement from politics, offering no explanation.
In 2002, Billstrom was first elected to the Swedish parliament and was appointed foreign minister in 2022.
On Wednesday, Billstorm posted on X that he informed Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of his departure "with a mixture of sadness and pride."
“I will now completely leave politics,” Billstrom wrote. “This means that I am also leaving my seat in the Riksdag. What I will do next is still open,” he added, noting he was “only 50 years old” and could make his mark “in other contexts.”
Det är med en blandning av vemod och stolthet som jag idag har meddelat statsministern att jag i samband med riksdagens öppnande på tisdag lämnar posten som utrikesminister.
— Tobias Billström (@TobiasBillstrom) September 4, 2024
Det har inte varit ett enkelt beslut men något som jag har tänkt på och processat under en tid. Jag har…
One of Billstrom's major achievements over the past two years included Sweden's abandonment of its 200-year neutrality to join NATO "after a long and sometimes challenging process." He added that Stockholm is now part of “the core of the countries that support Ukraine” and oppose “Russian expansionism."
Swedish media reports suggest that Billstrom's resignation was unexpected. Expressen and Aftonbladet attribute his departure to a "rift" with the prime minister. The newspapers point to Kristersson's appointment of a foreign policy advisor and disagreements over Sweden's stance on the Gaza war, with the prime minister favoring a more pro-"Israel" approach, as possible reasons for the split.
Billstrom’s spokesperson, Anna Erhardt, responded to the reports by stating that "Tobias Billstrom has had a very close and good collaboration with the prime minister." Similarly, Kristersson’s press secretary, Siri Steijer, dismissed the claims, asserting that the reports were untrue and that "there is no conflict" behind Billstrom’s resignation.
