26-year-old appointed as Sweden’s climate minister
Sweden’s new government has appointed a 26-year-old climate minister, the youngest person to lead a ministry in teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg’s home nation.
The nomination was among the cabinet members presented by newly elected Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who leads a right-wing coalition supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats.
Romina Pourmokhtari was until now head of the Liberal Party’s youth wing and has not been known to have climate as her political profile.
The young minister has previously been an outspoken critic of Kristersson’s investment in aligning his party more closely with the Sweden Democrats.
Born into a family of Iranian origin in the suburbs of Stockholm, the young woman inherits the climate and environment portfolio and broke the previous record of 27 years as the youngest minister.
Sweden is also home to teenage climate activist Thunberg, who started a massive global movement involving millions of young people that has sparked a wave of debate about the dangers of climate change.
Sweden’s coalition government was announced on Friday after Kristersson penned a deal with his partners and the nationalist and anti-immigration Sweden Democrats pledging to support the government in exchange for policy commitments, particularly on immigration and crime.
In unveiling the cabinet, Kristersson also announced the creation of a new ministerial post for “civil defense” as the country faces tensions with Russia.
The Sweden Democrats were the big winners in the election and emerged as the second largest party, only after the Social Democrats, who have dominated Swedish politics since the 1930s.
The Sweden Democrats’ significant influence over the four-party agreement has raised tensions within the Liberals, whose support is also crucial for Kristersson’s survival.
At the same time, Kristersson promised to set the country on a new course regarding immigration, criminal law and energy policy.
The new cabinet consists of 24 ministers – 13 men and 11 women. Thirteen are moderates, six Christian Democrats and five liberals.
The moderates’ parliamentary leader Tobias Billström was appointed foreign minister, while the head of the parliament’s defense committee, Pal Jonson, another moderate, was appointed defense minister.
The leader of the Christian Democrats, Ebba Busch, became minister of energy and Elisabeth Svantesson, the spokesperson for the Moderates in economic policy, was appointed minister of finance.
In a speech to parliament, Kristersson promised an overhaul of the penal code and increased powers for the police to fight criminal gangs that have become more powerful and violent in recent years.
“No other country in all of Europe has the same violent trend as Sweden: 53 shooting deaths so far this year, often outright executions,” he said. “The government is now launching the biggest offensive in Swedish history against organized crime.”
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS