Ulf Kristersson

Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson (born 29 December 1963) is a Swedish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Sweden since October 2022, and since 17 September 2026 in a caretaker capacity, following the defeat of his governing bloc in the September 2026 general election. He has been the leader of the Moderate Party since 2017. He has been a member of the Riksdag since 2014, having previously served from 1991 to 2000, and was Minister for Social Security from 2010 to 2014. Kristersson became party leader after Anna Kinberg Batra resigned in 2017. Following the 2022 Swedish general election, he formed a minority government consisting of the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, supported by the Sweden Democrats through the Tidö Agreement. The four parties held 176 of the Riksdag's 349 seats, and Kristersson was elected prime minister on 17 October 2022. As prime minister, Kristersson completed Sweden's accession to NATO, increased defence spending, expanded support for Ukraine and pursued a more restrictive migration policy. In 2024, the number of asylum-related residence permits fell to its lowest level since 1985. His government also expanded preventive police powers; shootings in Sweden fell from 390 in 2022 to 147 in 2025. Kristersson has been praised for Sweden's NATO integration, increased defence expenditure and support for Ukraine, while critics have focused on his reliance on the Sweden Democrats, tighter migration policies and a climate policy assessed as insufficient to meet several targets.