Reinfeldt unveils reshuffled cabinet

Prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt presented his new government during the opening session of the Riksdag on Tuesday, announcing a team with seven new names as well as a new ministry.

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The new ministers include Ulf Kristersson, Stefan Attefall, Peter Norman, Anna-Karin Hatt, Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd, Hillevi Engström and Erik Ullenhag.

Reinfeldt also announced the creation of a new ministry focused on rural affairs, Landsbygdsdepartementet, which will be led by current Centre Party agriculture minister Eskil Erlandsson. Engström, of the Moderate Party, is also set to receive a ministerial post in the new department.

Among the ministers leaving the government are current Moderate social insurance minister Christina Husmark Pehrsson; financial markets minister Mats Odell of the Christian Democrats; infrastructure minister Åsa Torstensson of the Centre Party, and Liberal Party higher education minister Tobias Krantz.

Ullenhag, who has previously served as party secretary for the Liberals (Folkpartiet), will serve as integration minister and deputy employment minister.

The move marks a splitting of the integration and equality portfolio held by fellow Liberal Nyamko Sabuni, who now finds herself moved to the education ministry with a new title of equality minister and deputy education minister where she will deal with issues related to adult education, Swedish for Immigrants language classes, and vocational training.

Attenfall, a Christian Democrat, will assume a new ministerial post of civil affairs and housing minister.

Moderate Party member Norman, former head of the 7th AP public pension fund, will take over the financial markets minister post from Odell.

And Hatt, a former state secretary with the Centre Party, will serve as the minister for IT and regional affairs within the enterprise ministry, which will remain headed by Centre Party leader Maud Olofsson.

Moderate Elmsäter-Svärd will take over the infrastructure minister post from Torstensson, while fellow Moderate Ulf Kristersson, currently a deputy mayor in Stockholm, will head up the social affairs ministry.

Göran Hägglund, leader of the Christian Democrats, will maintain a ministerial post within the social affairs ministry which he led under the first Alliance government. Maria Larsson will also maintain a ministerial post dealing with children’s and pensioner affairs.

Liberal Party leader Jan Björklund will take over as deputy prime minister while maintaining his post as the head of the education ministry.