Sweden gets first prime minister – Lina Axelsson Kihlblom
Sweden wrote history, when the country’s first female Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson recently appointed 51-year-old Lina Axelsson Kihlblom as the country’s new Minister of Education. Kihblom is the first transgender minister in not only Sweden but all of Scandinavia.
“This is a huge and exciting task and I am ready to take it on,” Kihblom told a news conference last week.
Before entering politics, Kihlblom was known for having achieved great success through his work as principal.
Particularly remarkable was her three-year employment at Ronnaskolan, a Swedish primary school known for struggling with disadvantaged students. During his time here, Kihlblom raised the school’s so-called high school eligibility from 55 percent to 75 percent.
Comes out as trans
Kihlblom’s departure began with a doctor’s visit when she was 19. She was required by law to undergo mandatory sterilization when she underwent gender reassignment surgery in 1995.
“I went through an operation where the state made sure that none of my unique genes would ever be reproduced. I remember there were tears but I did not know if it was tears of pain or because I was so enormously humiliated,” she had told Swedish Expressen.
In 2007 and 2008, she adopted her two children with ex-husband Roger Kihlblom.
The former principal and lawyer published a book in 2015 entitled “Will You Love Me Now?” describes her childhood as a girl trapped in a boy’s body. The following year, the book won the “Book of the Year” award at the Swedish Gay Gala.
New government of several “first”
A transgender minister is not the only one the new regime added to the history books.
After former Prime Minister Stefan Löfven lost a vote of confidence in the Riksdag in June, Swedish legislator appointed Magdalena Andersson a new leader for the country – a move that makes her Sweden’s first female prime minister.
“Sweden is a fantastic country. There is a lot to be proud of with Sweden. But it is also clear to me that we are facing several serious issues. Now I am ready to lead a government that takes the necessary measures to solve Sweden’s issues “, the Prime Minister wrote in an Instagram post.
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