Swedish foreign minister with term marked by NATO accession resigns

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström unexpectedly announced his resignation on Wednesday evening, halfway through a term marked by his country's accession to NATO, amid speculation of a rift between him and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Billström will resign when the Swedish parliament opens on Tuesday, ending his political career, he wrote in a post on X.

“What I will do in the future is still open. But I'm only 50, and I'm looking forward to contributing and working hard in other contexts where my commitment will be recognised.”, he said amid what he said were mixed feelings of “sadness and pride”.

He added that it was not an easy decision to make, but it was long in the making.

Billström also said he was proud of his years in the Krisstersson (Moderates) government, citing Sweden's accession to NATO as a success.

“When you're thinking about something like this, the prime minister ends up being the only person you can discuss it with. So we had meetings before I announced my resignation,” Billström also said on Wednesday.

Following the announcement, Kristersson declared in a written comment that Billström had done a deed in Swedish politics like a few others.

“Tobias has served the country with flying colours. He wrote that the last two years as a foreign minister have perhaps been the most gruelling”.

Billström became a Swedish MP in 2002 and was appointed migration minister in Fredrik Reinfeldt's government in 2006. He has also been leader of the Moderate Party's parliamentary group for five years.

Rumours

A falling out with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson could be behind Billström's decision to leave the government, according to sources quoted by the Swedish newspaper Expressen.

According to the sources, Kristersson may have interfered too much in the foreign minister's affairs, including the NATO process and the release of EU official Johan Floderus from detention in Iran.

According to Expressen, Billström also turned down Kristersson's offer to become Sweden's new EU commissioner - a job that went to EU minister Jessika Roswall instead.

However, Billström's press secretary, Anna Erhardt, denied the information.

Who’s next?

Kristersson now has until Tuesday to find a new foreign minister, when he will read out the government's statement and the names of the new ministers.

Citing the war in Ukraine and Sweden's recent accession to NATO, the upcoming US elections and the situation in the Middle East, Billström made it clear in his post on X that his successor won't have an easy job.

“There is, therefore, no shortage of tasks for my successor, whom I wish the best of luck,” he wrote.

Moderate Party Secretary Karin Enström, Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, Development Aid and Foreign Trade Minister Johan Forssell, MEP Tomas Tobé and former Prime Minister Carl Bildt are among the names currently circulating to replace Billström, a source close to the matter told Euractiv.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)