Who became Sweden’s first woman prime minister in 2021?

Magdalena Andersson became Sweden’s first woman prime minister in 2021.

The Riksdag approved Andersson as prime minister on 24 November 2021. She initially resigned later that day after a proposed budget failed and a coalition partner left the government. She was elected again on 29 November and formally took office on 30 November.

Andersson was a Social Democrat and had previously served as Sweden’s minister for finance. Her appointment came more than a century after Swedish women gained the right to vote in national elections, making the event a notable milestone in the country’s political history.

She served as prime minister until October 2022, when a new government led by Ulf Kristersson took office. Andersson remained leader of the Social Democratic Party. The chronology matters: she was elected prime minister twice in November 2021 because of the short-lived government crisis surrounding the budget vote.