Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson is a Swedish politician and economist who has served as Prime Minister of Sweden since October 2022 and as leader of the Moderate Party since 2017.
Born on 29 December 1963 in Lund, Skåne County, he is the eldest of three children of Lars Kristersson, who worked in economics, and Karin Kristersson, a teacher.
He completed secondary school in Eskilstuna, performed military service as a platoon commander, and earned a degree in economics from Uppsala University in 1988.
He is married to Birgitta Ed, a former public-relations consultant who later became a priest in the Church of Sweden, and they have three adopted daughters from China.
Siblings
Ulf is the eldest of three children; he has two younger siblings.
He was born in Lund, Sweden, as the eldest of three children to his parents, Lars Kristersson and Karin Kristersson.
Career
Kristersson became involved in Moderate Party youth politics while still at school and was elected chairman of the Moderate Youth League in 1988, serving until 1992.
He entered the Riksdag in 1991 and served until 2000, later returning in 2014.
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After a period in the private sector and local politics—including as finance commissioner in Strängnäs and social affairs commissioner in Stockholm—he was appointed Minister for Social Security in Fredrik Reinfeldt’s government from 2010 to 2014.
Following the Moderates’ time in opposition he became the party’s economic-policy spokesperson and deputy chair of the finance committee.
In 2017 he succeeded Anna Kinberg Batra as Moderate Party leader.
After the 2022 election he formed a minority government of the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals, supported by the Sweden Democrats under the Tidö Agreement, and was elected prime minister on 17 October 2022.
His government completed Sweden’s accession to NATO, increased defence spending, strengthened support for Ukraine and pursued a more restrictive migration policy.
After the centre-right bloc lost the September 2026 election he continued in a caretaker capacity pending the formation of a new government.
Accolades
Kristersson has received the Golden Jubilee Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf and the Golden Wedding Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.
Among foreign honours he holds the rank of Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honour and the Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland.
His most significant political achievements include guiding Sweden into full NATO membership and leading the first Swedish government in modern times that formally cooperated with the Sweden Democrats.
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