Tobias Billström

Tobias Billström M
File:Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom in 2023 (cropped).jpg Billström in 2023
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 October 2022
Prime Minister	Ulf Kristersson
Preceded by	Ann Linde
Leader of the Moderate Party in the Riksdag
In office 3 October 2017 – October 2022
Deputy	Hans Wallmark
Leader	Ulf Kristersson
Preceded by	Jessica Polfjärd
Succeeded by	Mattias Karlsson
First Deputy Speaker of the Riksdag
In office 29 September 2014 – 11 October 2017
Monarch	Carl XVI Gustaf
Preceded by	Susanne Eberstein
Succeeded by	Ewa Thalén Finné
Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy
In office 6 October 2006 – 29 September 2014
Prime Minister	Fredrik Reinfeldt
Preceded by	Barbro Holmberg
Succeeded by	Morgan Johansson
Minister for Employment
In office 7 July 2010 – 5 October 2010
Prime Minister	Fredrik Reinfeldt
Preceded by	Sven Otto Littorin
Succeeded by	Hillevi Engström
Member of the Riksdag
In office 30 September 2002 – 4 September 2024
Constituency	Malmö Municipality (2002–2022) Stockholm County (2022–2024)
Personal details
Born	Tobias Lennart Billström (1973-12-27) 27 December 1973 Malmö, Sweden
Political party	Moderate Party
Spouse(s)	Sofia Åkerman (m. 2009)
Children	1
Alma mater	Lund University (BA) (MA) University of Cambridge (MPhil)

Tobias Lennart Billström (born 27 December 1973) is a Swedish politician of the Moderate Party. He has most recently served as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Ulf Kristersson and has been Member of the Riksdag since the 2002 general election, representing Malmö Municipality (2002–2022) and Stockholm County (since 2022).

He previously served as Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy from 2006 to 2014 and briefly as Minister for Employment in 2010 in the cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt. He served as First Deputy Speaker of the Riksdag from 2014 to 2017.

On 4 September 2024, Billström announced his resignation from his post as Foreign Minister and member of parliament, saying that he will leave politics as a whole.

Education

Billström has a Master of Philosophy in Historical Studies from the University of Cambridge and a fil. mag. in history from the University of Lund. While at Cambridge, he was a member of Selwyn College. His essays in history concerned subject areas of British colonial history, especially officers stationed in India and Jamaica. Billström became politically active through the Moderate Youth League. During his studies, he was active in the Confederation of Swedish Conservative and Liberal Students as chairman of Malmö Association FMS Gryphus, and sat on the board of the student union Lunds humanistkår. Billström began his studies in Lund in the Philosophy Department, where he read 20 points scientific basics for Victoria Höög.

Member of the Riksdag

Billström became a Member of the Riksdag at the 2002 Swedish general election; he subsequently became a deputy in the Education Committee, Employment Committee and in the Cultural Committee. In 2003, he became a member of the Education Committee where he received a special responsibility for issues related to higher education and research. In April 2005, Billström became a member of the Social Security Committee and Moderate Party spokesperson on issues related to migration and integration. During the period from 2003 to 2007, Billström was Chairman of the Moderate Party in Malmö. Billström became a member of the board of the Swedish Migration Board in November 2005, a position he left when he was appointed Minister in 2006.

Billström participated as a Member of the Riksdag in the discussion of migration policy. He opposed the temporary asylum law that was implemented by the social democratic Persson cabinet, arguing that the law was not fair and that it was based on collective judgment.

Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy

Billström became Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy on 6 October 2006. Billström was stationed in the Ministry of Justice, unlike his immediate predecessors, who had been stationed in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Labour immigration

Once it took office in October 2006, the Reinfeldt Cabinet set a new aim for Swedish migration policy, which was to increase the opportunities for labour immigration. Billström emphasised the importance of creating a balance in the policy area where asylum issues often dominate. He also pointed out that labour immigration today is a way to help developing countries beyond the traditional aid.

Re-establishment support

The government implemented, on 1 August 2007, a re-establishment support to facilitate the repatriation of those who have had their asylum applications rejected.

Middle East

Billström stated that countries in Europe and the world should help refugees from Iraq who fled during the Iraq War. He emphasised the need for a very strong common asylum and migration policy, and that this could give more Iraqis in need of protection to access this.

The work was given a start with the article that Billström wrote with Cecilia Malmström in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. The message has since been represented to the Council of the European Union and at several international conferences where Billström represented Sweden, including in Geneva and in Sharm el-Sheikh.

From 30 March until 4 April 2007, Billström, as the first European Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy, made a trip to Syria and Jordan to create a picture of the situation of the Iraqi refugees residing there. At the time he was interviewed in Damascus by Sveriges Radio.

In classified documents revealed by Wikileaks, Billström, together with Carl Bildt during the two men's visit to the American Ambassador Ryan Crocker in Baghdad in 2007, reported the Iraqi refugee situation in Sweden, specifically mentioning honour killings and the Swedish opinion of restricting immigration.

Controversial statements

In an interview about illegal immigrants hidden in Sweden on 18 March 2013, Billström said that "Sometimes we have the impression that the person who is hidden lives with a nice blonde Swedish lady in her fifties or sixties who wants to help. But that's not true. The vast majority [of hidden illegal immigrants] live with their compatriots who are not blond and blue-eyed."

The statement was severely criticised by both opposition parties as well as the other governing parties in the Alliance coalition government. The leader of the Moderate Youth League, youth league of the Moderate Party, Erik Bengtzboe also criticised the statement, and called for Billström to apologise and to think about what he had said.

Some even called for Billström's resignation from the position of Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy. The right-wing Sweden Democrats party leader Jimmie Åkesson welcomed Billström's statement and said "that he was on the right track".

In the early afternoon on the same day, Billström officially apologised for his statement and said that his words came out in the wrong way, and that what he said was not what he really meant. Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Prime Minister of Sweden, welcomed Billström's apology.

In response to the attacks on Gaza by Israel following the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023, Billström said that Israel's response had been proportionate. This received heavy criticism, from ActionAid and Amnesty. An official complaint was filed by Sweden's left party.

First Deputy Speaker

Billström was elected First Deputy Speaker on 29 September 2014. He resigned from the position in October 2017, to become Moderate Party leader in the Riksdag.

Minister for Foreign Affairs (2022-present)

File:Secretary Blinken Meets With Swedish Foreign Minister Billström and Finnish Foreign Minister Haavisto (52550368497).jpg

Billström with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in Washington, D.C., 8 December 2022

On 18 October 2022, he was announced as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Kristersson Cabinet. On his first day Billström stated that he would not use the term "feminist foreign policy" as his predecessor.

On 31 October 2023, Billström expressed support for Israel during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, saying that Israel's response was "proportionate, in relation to its right to defend itself."

On 4 September 2024, Billström announced his resignation as foreign minister and as a member of the Riksdag.

List of international trips made by Tobias Billström

Since becoming Minister for Foreign Affairs, Billström has made a number of international trips.

List of international trips

Country	Location(s)	Dates	Source
2022
Finland	Helsinki	21 October 2022
Estonia	Tallinn	1 November 2022
Finland	Helsinki	2 November 2022
Germany	Berlin	10 November 2022
Belgium	Brussels	14 November 2022
Jordan	Amman	15–17 November 2022
France	Paris	21 November 2022
Lithuania	Vilnius	22 November 2022
Ukraine	Kyiv	28 November 2022
Romania	Bucharest	29–30 November 2022
Poland	Łódź	1–2 December 2022
United States	Washington D.C.	6–8 December 2022
Belgium	Brussels	12 December 2022
Turkey	Ankara	21–22 December 2022
2023
Belgium	Brussels	23 January 2023
Latvia	Riga	27 January 2023
Norway	Tromsø	31 January 2023
Finland	Helsinki	7 February 2023
Germany	Munich	17–19 February 2023
Belgium	Brussels	19 February 2023
India	New Delhi	2–4 March 2023
Italy	Rome	3 April 2023
Serbia	Belgrade	19–20 April 2023
Montenegro	Podgorica
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sarajevo
Kosovo	Pristina
Moldova	Chișinău	26–27 April 2023
Estonia	Tallinn	2–4 May 2023
Iceland	Reykjavík	16–17 May 2023
Belgium	Brussels	22 May 2023
Norway	Oslo	31 May–1 June 2023
Germany	Wismar	1 June–2 June 2023
Belgium	Brussels	8 June 2023
Poland	Warsaw	12 June 2023
Iceland	Ísafjörður	12–13 June 2023
France	Paris	16 June 2023
Luxembourg	Luxembourg	26 June 2023
United States	Washington D.C.	4–5 July 2023
Belgium	Brussels	6 July 2023
Lithuania	Vilnius	10–12 July 2023
Latvia	Riga	6–7 September 2023
United States	New York City	18–26 September 2023
Netherlands	The Hague	28 September 2023
Oman	Muscat	9–10 October 2023
Saudi Arabia	Riyadh
Luxembourg	Luxembourg	23 October 2023
Norway	Oslo	1 November 2023
Germany	Berlin	2 November 2023
Lithuania	Vilnius	6 November 2023
Finland	Helsinki	8 November 2023
Belgium	Brussels	13 November 2023
Finland	Helsinki	27-28 November 2023
Belgium	Brussels	28-29 November 2023
North Macedonia	Skopje	29-30 November 2023
France	Paris	12 December 2023
Belgium	Brussels	11 December 2023
Norway	Oslo	14-15 December 2023
2024
Lithuania	Vilnius	11-12 January 2024
Belgium	Brussels	22 January 2024
Belgium	Brussels	1-2 February 2024
Germany	München	16-18 February 2024
India	Bangalore	20 February 2024
	New Delhi	21–23 February 2024
United States	Washington D.C.	6–7 March 2024
Belgium	Brussels	11 March 2024
Germany	Berlin	21 March 2024
Finland	Esbo	26 March 2024
Belgium	Brussels	3–4 April 2024
United Kingdom	London	15–16 April 2024
Luxembourg	Luxembourg	22 April 2024
Denmark	Copenhagen	2–3 May 2024
United States (Texas)	Texas	13–15 May 2024
Czech Republic	Prague	30–31 May 2024
Finland	Borgå	13–14 June 2024
Luxembourg	Luxembourg	24 June 2024
Poland	Warsaw	25 June 2024
USA	Washington D.C.	9–11 July 2024
Ghana	Accra	12–14 August 2024
Nigeria	Abuja
	Lagos	15 August 2024

Other activities

• Migration Policy Institute (MPI), Member of the Transatlantic Council on Migration
• Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, Member of the Executive Board

Personal life

He is the first openly bisexual person to serve as minister in a Swedish cabinet. He is married to Sofia Åkerman with whom he has one daughter.

TV license controversy

Main article: Minister affair at the announcement of the Reinfeldt cabinet

On 11 October 2006, less than a week after he took office, it was revealed that Billström deliberately had neglected to pay his television licence for ten years, despite owning a television. Billström stated that his neglect was based on his political standpoint against public service, but that he had come to appreciate public service and that he believed that citizens and especially legislators should follow the law. Billström also expressed his ambition to repay his debt with interest. However, on 12 October 2006, Radiotjänst i Kiruna AB, a private agency tasked with collecting the license fees, filed criminal charges against Billström together with two other ministers in the Reinfeldt Cabinet: Cecilia Stegö Chilò and Maria Borelius, with the latter two resigning on 14 and 16 October 2006. Billström stated that he intended to remain in office and had no intention of resigning.

Honours

National

• 50px Sweden: Recipient of the Golden Jubilee Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf (15 September 2023)

Foreign

• 50px Denmark: Order of the Dannebrog, Grand Cross (6 May 2024)
• 50px Finland: Order of the Lion of Finland, Grand Cross (23 April 2024)
• France: National Order of the Legion of Honour, Grand-officier (30 January 2024)
• 50x50px Estonia: Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class (2 May 2023)
• 50px Jordan: Order of Independence (Jordan), Grand Cordon (15 November 2022)
• 50x50px Portugal: Order of Prince Henry, Grand Cross (5 May 2008)
• 50x50px Bulgaria: Order of the Balkan Mountains, 1st Class (9 October 2007)

External links

• Official website
• Tobias Billström at the Government Offices website
• Tobias Billström at the Riksdag website
• Billström's blog (inactive)

Government offices
Preceded by Barbro Holmberg	Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy 2006–2014	Succeeded by Morgan Johansson
Preceded by Sven Otto Littorin	Minister for Employment 2010	Succeeded by Hillevi Engström
Preceded by Ann Linde	Minister for Foreign Affairs 2022–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Susanne Eberstein	First Deputy Speaker of the Riksdag 2014–2017	Succeeded by Ewa Thalén Finné
Party political offices
Preceded by Jessica Polfjärd	Group Leader of the Moderate Party in the Swedish Riksdag 2017–2022	Succeeded by Mattias Karlsson