Just a few hours after Thyberg was named as the government's new national security adviser, he turned down the position – after the Dagens Nyheter (DN) asked questions about a picture they had found of Thyberg, which they described as being of a "sensitive" nature.
"These are old pictures from an account I previously had on the dating site Grindr. I should have informed [the government] about this but I didn't. I have therefore said I do not intend to take up the position as national security adviser," Thyberg told DN in a comment.
His announcement came shortly after the government said it had blocked him from starting his new job.
"After the government's decision today to appoint Tobias Thyberg, completely new personal information emerged about him which was unknown to the government office," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's senior aide, Johan Stuart, told the TT newswire in a statement.
"Considering the new information, the security department is to hold a new conversation with Tobias Thyberg," he added.
Thyberg was ambassador to Afghanistan between 2017 and 2019, followed by ambassador to Ukraine until 2023, and most recently head of the Foreign Ministry's unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Sweden has only had two national security advisers so far, but both have left in unusual circumstances.
Henrik Landerholm, a close friend of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and hand-picked for the role, stepped down as security adviser in January 2025 after a prosecutor opened an investigation into him leaving highly classified documents behind at a conference centre in 2023.
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