Who is Magdalena Andersson? Sweden’s first female PM resigns hours after being elected

Magdalena Andersson made history becoming Sweden’s first ever female Prime Minister, but in a bizarre turn of events, she resigned from her position just hours after being appointed.

The Swedish politician was confirmed as Prime Minister of the country after taking over from former Prime minister Stefan Lofven, who left the role earlier this year.

The appointment of Andersson was marked as a historical moment for Sweden - but what exactly went wrong in the hours between her confirmation and her resignation?

Who is Magdalena Andersson?

Magdalena Andersson, 54, is the current leader of Sweden’s Social Democratic Party.

Previously, she had fulfilled the role of Sweden’s Minister of Finance following the 2014 general election.

Stefan Lofven, the now-former leader of the Social Democratic Party and Prime Minister of Sweden, announced his resignation, with Andersson chosen to take his place as party leader and Swedish Prime Minister.

She was confirmed by the Riksdag - the Swedish Parliament - as the country’s new leader on the morning of 24 November 2021.

Andersson received 117 votes for her, while 174 votes rejected her as Prime Minister. In Sweden, a Prime Minister can be sworn in as long as a parliamentary majority of 175 does not vote against them.

It marked the first time that a woman had held the seat in Sweden, and marked the last Nordic country to confirm a female leader in parliament

However, just a few hours later, Andersson resigned from the post.

Why did Magdalena Andersson resign as Prime Minister of Sweden?

The bizarre decision from Andersson to relinquish her post as Prime Minister of Sweden came seven hours after her installation.

She had just suffered a budget defeat in parliament and as a result of this, lost her party’s coalition partner.

The Swedish Parliament is currently held by a two-party minority government between the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party.

The Green Party left the coalition after the budget bill was rejected by parliament. The party had claimed that the budget had not included enough of their policies.

Marta Stenevi, leader of The Green Party said: “We have sought to be in government to deliver green policies, it is not our job to administer a budget negotiated by the Sweden Democrats.”

It had been expected before the vote that other parties such as The Left Party and The Centre Party would oppose the budget.

In line with traditional Swedish conventions, the sitting Prime Minister is expected to resign when a coalition party quits the government.

Therefore, Andersson notified the speaker of her resignation.

What happens next?

Andersson has already notified the speaker, Andreas Norlen, of her intention to lead the Social Democratic party in a one-party government, and her intention to take the seat of Prime Minister as part of her role.

It is unclear what the next step forward for Norlen will be, although experts have suggested that he may demand another vote on Andersson’s candidacy as before, with Andersson leading a one-party government and not a coalition.

However, there is no date for when this vote may happen yet.

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