Magdalena Andersson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Magdalena Andersson
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Andersson in 2021
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| Prime Minister of Sweden | |
| In office 30 November 2021 – 18 October 2022 |
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| Monarch | Carl XVI Gustaf |
| Deputy | Morgan Johansson |
| Preceded by | Stefan Löfven |
| Succeeded by | Ulf Kristersson |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| Assumed office 18 October 2022 |
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| Monarch | Carl XVI Gustaf |
| Prime Minister | Ulf Kristersson |
| Preceded by | Ulf Kristersson |
| Leader of the Social Democratic Party | |
| Assumed office 4 November 2021 |
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| Secretary General | Tobias Baudin |
| Preceded by | Stefan Löfven |
| Minister for Finance | |
| In office 3 October 2014 – 30 November 2021 |
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| Prime Minister | Stefan Löfven |
| Preceded by | Anders Borg |
| Succeeded by | Mikael Damberg |
| Chair of the International Monetary and Financial Committee | |
| In office 17 December 2020 – 3 January 2022 |
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| Managing Director | Kristalina Georgieva |
| Preceded by | Lesetja Kganyago |
| Succeeded by | Nadia Calviño |
| Member of the Riksdag | |
| Assumed office 29 September 2014 |
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| Constituency | Stockholm County |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Eva Magdalena Andersson
23 January 1967 Uppsala, Sweden |
| Political party | Social Democrats |
| Spouse |
Richard Friberg
(m. 1997) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Stockholm School of Economics |
| Cabinet | Andersson’s cabinet |
Eva Magdalena Andersson (born 23 January 1967) is a Swedish politician and economist. She has been the Leader of the Opposition in Sweden since October 2022. She is also the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party since 2021.
Magdalena Andersson has been a member of the Swedish Parliament, called the Riksdag, for Stockholm County since 2014. Before her current roles, she served as the Prime Minister of Sweden from November 2021 to October 2022. She was the first woman to ever hold this important position in Sweden. She also worked as the Minister for Finance from 2014 to 2021.
Andersson joined the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League when she was 16 years old in 1983. She studied economics and earned a master's degree from the Stockholm School of Economics in 1992.
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Early Life and Education
Magdalena Andersson is the only child of Göran Andersson, who taught statistics at Uppsala University, and Birgitta Andersson, a teacher. When she was younger, Magdalena was a very good swimmer.
She went to Malmaskolan for primary school and then studied social sciences at Katedralskolan in Uppsala for high school. She finished high school in 1987 with excellent grades.
After high school, Andersson moved to Stockholm to study economics at the Stockholm School of Economics. She earned her master's degree in economics in 1992. She also started a doctorate program and studied abroad in Vienna and at Harvard University in the United States.
In 1983, during her first year of high school, Andersson joined the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League (SSU). In 1987, she became the president of the SSU section in Uppsala.
Political Career
Early Roles in Government
After finishing her studies, Magdalena Andersson worked as a political advisor for the Prime Minister, Göran Persson, from 1996 to 1998. She then became the Director of Planning until 2004.
Later, she worked in the Ministry of Finance as a Secretary of State from 2004 to 2006. She also advised the opposition leader, Mona Sahlin, from 2007 to 2009. After that, she was the Chief Director of the Swedish Tax Agency until 2012. She left this job to become a candidate for the Swedish Social Democratic Party in the 2014 election.
Minister for Finance
In 2014, the Social Democrats won the general election, and Magdalena Andersson was elected as a member of the Riksdag (Parliament). The new Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, chose her to be the Minister for Finance. She was in charge of Sweden's money and economy. She continued in this role after the 2018 election.
In 2020, Magdalena Andersson was chosen to lead a committee for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This is a big international organization that helps countries with their economies. She was the first woman to hold this position.
In August 2021, Prime Minister Löfven announced he would step down. Many people thought Andersson would be the next leader of the Social Democrats. On 29 September 2021, the party officially nominated her.
Leader of the Social Democratic Party
Magdalena Andersson was elected as the Leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party on 4 November 2021. She became the second woman to lead the party.
On 10 November 2021, Prime Minister Löfven officially resigned. The speaker of the Riksdag asked Andersson to form a new government. On 23 November, she reached an agreement with the Left Party and the Centre Party to support her. This meant she had enough votes to become the next Prime Minister.
In September 2024, it was reported that a company linked to the Social Democrats had used unfair sales methods, especially targeting older people. Andersson said she was very disappointed and angry about this. She promised that action would be taken against those responsible.
Later in 2024, Andersson introduced new plans for the Social Democratic Party. These plans included stricter rules for immigration, new ways to fight crime, and ideas to make welfare services stronger. She said the party would be renewed for the 2026 general election.
Prime Minister of Sweden (2021–2022)
Becoming Prime Minister
On 24 November 2021, Magdalena Andersson was elected as the Prime Minister of Sweden by the Riksdag. She did not get a majority of "yes" votes, but because most members did not vote "no," she was elected.
However, just a few hours after her election, her government's budget plan was rejected by the Riksdag. Instead, the opposition's budget was approved. Because the opposition's budget was supported by the Sweden Democrats, the Green Party decided to leave the government. This made Andersson resign before she even officially took office. She then said she would be interested in leading a government with only her party.
On 29 November, Andersson was elected Prime Minister again, this time by a very small number of votes. She officially took office on 30 November 2021. This made her Sweden's first female Prime Minister. In her first speech as party leader, Andersson said that people who move to Sweden must learn Swedish, work, and finish high school to receive welfare support. She also said that men from migrant families should allow their female relatives to work.
Time in Office
On 7 December 2021, Andersson and Swedish health officials announced new rules to help stop the COVID-19 pandemic. These rules included working from home if possible, keeping distance in public places, and wearing masks on public transport. Andersson stressed the importance of getting vaccinated.
In January 2022, Andersson tested positive for COVID-19 after a debate. She continued to work from home.
In June 2022, the Sweden Democrats tried to remove the Minister for Justice, Morgan Johansson, from his position. Andersson stated that if Johansson was removed, she and her entire government would resign. She explained that in Sweden, the government makes decisions together, so removing one minister for political reasons would mean removing the whole government.
Before the general election in September 2022, Andersson's leadership moved the Social Democrats more towards the left. The party published a report that criticized the growing differences in wealth that came from decisions made by past governments.
In the election on 11 September 2022, the Social Democrats remained the largest party in the Riksdag and gained more votes. However, the group of parties on the left side of politics lost to the group of parties on the right. On 14 September, Andersson accepted the election results and announced she would resign as Prime Minister. She was replaced by Ulf Kristersson on 18 October 2022. Andersson said that the results were not a loss for social democracy. She also said she would be ready to return as Prime Minister in the future.
Foreign Policy and NATO
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After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Sweden and the Social Democrats started to rethink their long-standing policy of neutrality (not taking sides in conflicts). On 15 May, the party announced that it supported Sweden joining NATO, a military alliance. This was a big change from their previous policy. Andersson said that Sweden did not want permanent NATO bases or nuclear weapons on its land.
Joining NATO
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Turkey initially did not want Sweden to join NATO. They said Sweden was hosting groups that Turkey considered to be against them. On 21 May 2022, Andersson spoke with Turkish President Erdoğan and said that Sweden was ready to talk and that they always condemn terrorism.
On 28 June 2022, during a NATO meeting in Madrid, Turkey agreed to support Finland and Sweden joining NATO. They signed an agreement that addressed Turkey's concerns. On 30 June, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Sweden had promised to send back 73 people he called "terrorists" to Turkey. Andersson did not deny Turkey's claim.
Political Views
Migration Policy
Before the 2022 Swedish general election, the Minister for Integration, Anders Ygeman, suggested new ways to fight segregation (when different groups of people live separately). He wanted to set a limit of 50% on how many people from non-Nordic backgrounds could live in a certain area. This idea was criticized by some, but Andersson supported it.
In an interview, she talked about segregation in Sweden. She said that "we do not wish to see Chinatown, Somalitown or Little Italy in Sweden, we should be able to live mixed with the experiences we have."
After the 2022 election, Andersson said she was happy with the new government's stricter policies on migration and asylum. She said that the big change in migration policy happened after the 2015 refugee crisis, under the previous Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven.
Crime and Justice
Soon after becoming Prime Minister in 2021, Andersson said that she believed more criminals who are not Swedish citizens should be sent out of the country.
In 2022, after events that led to riots in Sweden, Andersson held a press conference. She said that these riots happened because "segregation has been allowed to go so far that we have parallel societies (in Sweden)." She connected the riots to Sweden's large immigration.
In the summer of 2022, Andersson gave a speech about the increase in crime in Sweden. She said that segregation is the reason for high crime rates. She also mentioned that her government had made more than seventy penalties tougher and made over thirty actions illegal.
Personal Life
Magdalena Andersson has been married to Richard Friberg since 1997. He is a professor of economics. They have two children. They enjoy being outdoors and often go hiking, kayaking, and mountaineering.
Andersson is an atheist, meaning she does not believe in God. However, she believes that churches are important for fighting segregation and gang crime in society.
See also
In Spanish: Magdalena Andersson para niños
