Ulf Kristersson

Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson (born 29 December 1963) is a Swedish Moderate Party politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Moderate Party since October 2017. He has been a Member of the Riksdag (MP) for Södermanland County since 2014 and previously from 1994 to 2000 for Stockholm County. He previously served as Minister for Social Security from 2010 to 2014 and Chairman of the Moderate Youth League from 1988 to 1992.[1]

Ulf Kristersson

M
Ulf Kristersson in March 2018
Leader of the Opposition
Assumed office
1 October 2017
MonarchCarl XVI Gustaf
Prime MinisterStefan Löfven
Preceded byAnna Kinberg Batra
Leader of the Moderate Party
Assumed office
1 October 2017
DeputyPeter Danielsson (2017–2019)
Elisabeth Svantesson (2019–)
Party SecretaryGunnar Strömmer
Preceded byAnna Kinberg Batra
Minister for Social Security
In office
5 October 2010 – 3 October 2014
Prime MinisterFredrik Reinfeldt
Preceded byCristina Husmark Pehrsson
Succeeded byAnnika Strandhäll
Chairman of the Moderate Youth League
In office
26 November 1988 – 24 October 1992
Preceded byBeatrice Ask
Succeeded byFredrik Reinfeldt
Member of the Riksdag
Assumed office
4 October 2014
ConstituencySödermanland County
In office
3 October 1994 – 30 April 2000
ConstituencyStockholm Municipality
Personal details
Born
Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson

(1963-12-29) 29 December 1963
Lund, Sweden
Political partyModerate Party
Other political
affiliations		Alliance
Spouse(s)Birgitta Ed (m. 1991)
Children3
Alma materUppsala University
WebsiteOfficial website

On 11 December 2014, he was appointed Shadow Finance Minister of the Moderate Party and economic policy spokesperson. On 1 September 2017, Kristersson announced he was running for the party leadership of the Moderate Party after Anna Kinberg Batra stepped down.[2]

Early life and career

Ulf Kristersson was born in Lund, Skåne, to Lars Kristersson (1938–2015) and Karin Kristersson.[3] The family moved to Torshälla outside Eskilstuna five years later.[4] In his youth Ulf Kristersson was a troupe gymnast.[5] Kristersson finished secondary school at S:t Eskils gymnasium in Eskilstuna and completed a degree in economics at Uppsala University.[6]

In connection with the general election of 1985, he was employed as a campaigner at MUF in Sörmland.[7] On 26 November 1988, he rose to become new Chairman of MUF succeeding Beatrice Ask.[8] In 1991, the centre-right Bildt Cabinet took power and soon Kristersson become a vocal critic of the government's crisis agreement with the Social Democrats. In 1992, he was challenged as chairman by Fredrik Reinfeldt, who is the former leader of the Moderate Party.[9] The congress was preceded by considerable ideological divisions between Libertarians and Conservatives. All this erupted at the congress in Lycksele, which came to be known as the Battle of Lycksele.[10] Kristersson, the Libertarian alternative, lost narrowly. It is said that his loss caused his withdrawal from front-line politics and he was subsequently known as part of "Lost Generation" of the Moderate Party.[11]

Member of Parliament (1991–2000)

In 1991, Kristersson became a Member of the Riksdag (MP).[12] He served in the Social Security Committee. He developed a friendship with the former party leader, Gösta Bohman, who in some respects also supported his criticism of the Bildt Cabinet.[13] From 1995 to 1998, Kristersson was chief of marketing at Timbro.

Career outside politics

Kristersson left politics in April 2000, feeling that the new party leader Bo Lundgren declined his services.[14] Kristersson worked for two years in the private sector, mainly as communications director and VP for the internet consultancy Adcore[15], a dotcom crash casualty.

Return to politics

Mayor of Strängnäs Municipality (2002–2006)

He returned to active politics in 2002 as Commissioner (Mayor) for Finance in Eskilstuna.[4]

Municipal Commissioner of Stockholm Municipality (2006–2010)

In 2006, he was appointed Vice Mayor (Socialborgarråd) in Stockholm responsible for the social welfare and labour division.[3] Kristersson was also asked by Fredrik Reinfeldt to lead the committee responsible for developing a new family policy for the party.[11] He immediately caused controversy by suggesting that fathers must take a month of paternity leave for the family to receive all benefits.[4] This was clearly in conflict with traditional Moderate Party policy, which has centred on individual choice.[4]

Minister of Social Security (2010–2014)

On 5 October 2010, Fredrik Reinfeldt appointed Kristersson to become Minister of Social Security, a position he held for four years.[16]

Return to Parliament (2014– )

In 2014, the Reinfeldt cabinet resigned and Kristersson became a Member of the Riksdag (MP) again.[17]

Shadow Minister for Finance

Following the election of Anna Kinberg Batra as Moderate leader and Opposition leader, she appointed him as Shadow Finance Minister in December 2014.[18]

Leader of the Moderate Party (2017– )

Anna Kinberg Batra resigned as leader of the Moderate Party on 25 August 2017.[19] On 1 September 2017, Kristersson publicly decided to run for leadership.[20] He became Party Leader on 1 October 2017.[21] The party saw a sharp increase in support in the polls, compared to the record low numbers under his predecessor Batra.[22][19] He has a harsher stance against immigration than his predecessors.[23][21]

2018–2019 Government formation

In September 2018, incumbent PM Stefan Löfven was ousted.[20] Kristersson expressed hope of becoming the next PM.[24][20]

On 2 October 2018, he was designated by Speaker Andreas Norlén to form a new government.[25] He initially sought to form a government coalition involving the Alliance parties (Moderate Party, Centre Party, Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party) with support from the Social Democrats; on 9 October 2018 he announced that the Social Democrats had rejected all further talks on agreements and that he would now seek other ways to form a new government.[26] On 14 October 2018 he announced that he was not able to form a new government under current circumstances.[27]

On 5 November 2018, Speaker Andreas Norlén proposed Ulf Kristersson as Prime Minister following breakdowns in all other government negotiations.[28] On 14 November 2018, the Riksdag rejected Kristersson's bid to become Prime Minister by a vote of 195 to 154. It was the first time ever that a speaker's proposal for Prime Minister lost such a vote and the first time in 40 years that centre-right parties (Centre Party and Liberals) vetoed a centre-right candidate for Prime Minister.[29][30]

gollark: Yeees.
gollark: Why is there an OREDICTIONIFICATOR on the bridge?
gollark: Naturally.
gollark: An... arc furnace, I think?
gollark: Why do you have a crystallizer and cutting machine? Are there not more important machines?

References
  1. "Kristersson blir M:s nya Borg". 11 December 2014.
  2. Kristersson kandiderar till M-ledare Published 1 September 2017
  3. Ahlander, Johan (29 August 2018). "Sweden needs 'humble government' after election: frontrunner". Reuters. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  4. "Kristersson vill bli Moderatledare". 1 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  5. Published 1 September 2017
  6. "Ulf Kristersson fjärde raka civilekonomen som styr Moderaterna". www.civilekonomen.se. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  7. [TT: Nyvald ordförande kritiserar borgerlig trepartisamverkan ] Published 26 November 1988
  8. Nyheter, SVT (3 September 2017). "Så stred Kristersson och Reinfeldt om makten i Muf". Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  9. "Who is Sweden's Moderate opposition leader Ulf Kristersson?". 3 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  10. "Terms of Service Violation". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  11. "Så ska Löfven och Kristersson agera – efter valet". Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  12. Nyheter, SVT (20 September 2017). "Ulf Kristersson (M): Det måste du ha läst i en kommunistblaska". Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  13. Published 18 September 1992
  14. Published 30 September 2017
  15. Söderström, Jan (12 October 2018). "Kristerssons jättekrasch". Aktuellt i Politiken (in Swedish). Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  16. "Ulf Kristersson blir ny minister i Reinfeldts regering - Val 2010 - Expressen". Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  17. Riksdagsförvaltningen. "Ulf Kristersson (M) - Riksdagen". www.riksdagen.se. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  18. "Han blir Moderaternas skuggfinansminister". Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  19. "Ex-gymnast opposition leader must be nimble to win in Sweden". 9 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  20. "Swedish parliament votes out PM". BBC News. BBC News. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  21. Anderson, Christina (20 September 2018). "To End Stalemate, Will Sweden Include Far-Right Party in Government?". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  22. "Novus: Moderaterna ökar". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  23. "Swedish opposition wants thougher stance". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  24. Editorial, Reuters (9 September 2018). "Swedish center-right leader calls on PM Lofven to step down". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  25. SVT: Ulf Kristersson (M) får uppdraget att försöka bilda regering, 2018-10-02 (in Swedish)
  26. fPlus: "Kristersson: Löfven avvisar Alliansregering - jag går vidare med sonderingar, 2018-10-10, (in Swedish)
  27. Aftonbladet: "Ulf Kristersson ger upp försöken att bilda regering", 2018-10-14, läst 2018-10-14 (in Swedish)
  28. Ulf Kristersson proposed as new Prime Minister by the Speaker, 2018-11-05] (in Swedish)
  29. "Swedish parliament rejects center-right prime minister, deadlock continues". POLITICO. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  30. "Sweden Braces for Week of Political Turmoil as Nationalists Gain". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 14 November 2018.

Media related to Ulf Kristersson at Wikimedia Commons

Party political offices
Preceded by
Beatrice Ask		 Chairperson of the Moderate Youth League
1988–1992		 Succeeded by
Fredrik Reinfeldt
Preceded by
Anders Borg		 Spokesperson for the Moderate Party's economical policy
2014–2017		 Succeeded by
Elisabeth Svantesson
Preceded by
Anna Kinberg Batra		 Leader of the Moderate Party
2017–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Cristina Husmark Pehrsson		 Minister for Social Security
2010–2014		 Succeeded by
Annika Strandhäll
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