Andreas Norlén

Per Olof Andreas Norlén ([anˈdrêːas nʊˈɭeːn]; born 6 May 1973) is a Swedish politician who has served as Speaker of the Riksdag since 2018. A member of the Moderate Party (M), he has represented Östergötland County in the Riksdag since 2006. Norlén was previously chairman of the Committee on the Constitution from 2014 to 2018.

Career

Following the first sitting of the Riksdag since the 2018 Swedish general election on 24 September, Norlén was elected the Speaker of the Riksdag. After the centre-left Löfven I Cabinet lost a vote of no confidence, Norlén began the task of nominating candidates for Stefan Löfven's successor as Prime Minister, according to the Swedish Instrument of Government. The lengthy work of finding a prime minister that could be tolerated by the Riksdag was concluded on 18 January 2019 when Löfven was appointed for a second term. Norlén was reelected as speaker of the Riksdag on 26 September 2022.

After the 2022 general elections Norlén presided over the government formations once again. This time he tasked Ulf Kristersson with forming a government. The government formation that followed is one of the longest in Swedish history second only to the 2018-2019 formation, which also took place under Norléns speakership. On October 17 the Speaker proposed that Kristersson be appointed Prime Minister and he was approved by the Riksdag.

Controversies

Andreas Norlén has had several controversies, most notably involving excessive public spending for personal benefit, e.g. taxpayers paying for his wife's travels, family members joining on foreign government trips and flying by private plane when commercial options were available.