Jonas Sjöstedt | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 16 July 2024[1] | |
| Constituency | Sweden |
| In office 9 October 1995 – 26 September 2006 | |
| Constituency | Sweden |
| Leader of the Left Party | |
| In office 6 January 2012 – 31 October 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Lars Ohly |
| Succeeded by | Nooshi Dadgostar |
| Member of theRiksdag | |
| In office 4 October 2010 – 3 November 2020 | |
| Succeeded by | Gudrun Nordborg |
| Constituency | Västerbotten County |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1964-12-25)25 December 1964 (age 60) Gothenburg, Sweden |
| Political party | Left |
| Other political affiliations | Socialist Party USA |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Profession | Metalworker |
Tor Jonas Sjöstedt (born 25 December 1964) is a Swedish politician who has been aMember of the European Parliament for theLeft Party since 2024. He served as the leader of the Left Party from 2012 to 2020, was a member of the Swedish parliament, theRiksdag, from 2010 to 2020, and was a member of the European Parliament from 1995 to 2006.
Tor Jonas Sjöstedt was born on 25 December 1964 inGothenburg.[2] His father worked as an engineer athydroelectric power stations as well as a teacher, while his mother was apsychotherapist. He has one older sister and one younger brother. Due to his father's occupation, his family moved often; fromSundsvall toVästerås, before settling inVänersborg.[3]
Due to hisdyslexia, Sjöstedt could not read until he was nine years old and found schooling difficult.[3] He dropped out twice before moving toLuleå to complete a two-year social studies course at Hermelinsskolan. During this time, he participated in theSveriges Elevkårer [sv], which was then known as the Student Organisation, becoming its vice chairman.[4]
Sjöstedt worked odd jobs after graduating before moving toUmeå after the birth of his daughter, where he worked at the localVolvo plant's assembly line.[5]
He became politically active at an early age and was an opponent of theVietnam War. He recalled feeling a sense of euphoria upon learning of thefall of Saigon at the age of 10.[5]
He joined the Left Party's youth association in Vänersborg at the age of 13,[5] and was the co-editor of the association's newspaper, Röd Press, in the 1980s.[4]
Sjöstedt was opposed to Swedish membership inEuropean Union, but when the "No" side lost the1994 referendum, he participated in the1995 European Parliament election in Sweden for the Left Party as part of theEuropean United Left-Nordic Green Left group and was elected. He was re-elected in the1999 and2004 European parliament elections and served on thecommittee on the environment, public health, and consumer policy from 1999 until his resignation from the European parliament in 2006.[6][7] He supported the "No" side in the2003 Swedish euro referendum.[5]
He stepped back from politics in Sweden after he found himself on the losing side of an ideological battle within the Left Party in the aftermath ofGudrun Schyman's resignation, having been unsuccessful in moving the party away from its "old revolutionary traditions". He moved to New York City in 2006 and became a member of theSocialist Party USA.[5]
Upon his return to Sweden, he was elected as a member of the Riksdag representingVästerbotten County.[8] In the election, he was the number one candidate on the Left Party's electoral list in the constituency, which generally returns at least one representative. He received one third of allpreference votes from Left Party voters, the most of any Left Party candidate in the constituency.[9]
Increasingly popular among Left Party members, Sjöstedt announced his intention to stand for the leadership of the Left Party in July 2011. During the campaign, he advocated for a co-leadership system, arguing that a woman needed to be the head of a feminist party. He was nominated by the party's election committee on 10 December 2011[10] He was challenged byUlla Andersson,Hans Linde andRossana Dinamarca.[8]
He was elected on 6 January 2012 at a party congress, receiving 179 votes to Rossana Dinamarca's 39. In a press conference after his election, he promised Dinamarca a leading role within the party before the2014 general election. He advocated co-operation with theSwedish Social Democratic Party and theGreen Party, but decried the 2010red-green alliance for necessitating too much compromise on the part of the Left.[11]
In August 2018, he criticised the tightening of Swedish immigration laws and rejected what he called a "competition in Europe to have the harshest policies", advocating the reintroduction of permanent residence permits and family reunification rights.[12]
In January 2020, Sjöstedt announced his intention to resign as the Left Party's leader at their congress in May, citing a desire to spend more time with his family who were currently living in Vietnam.[13] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the congress was postponed, and Sjöstedt remained as party leader until the congress could be held on 31 October 2020, whenNooshi Dadgostar was elected as his successor.[14]
He criticised the Swedish government for its concessions toTurkey to secureNATO membership, accusing it of betraying theKurdish peoplein Sweden andTurkey.[15]
Sjöstedt was chosen as the lead candidate for the Left Party's list for the2024 European Parliament election in Sweden and received the most personal votes in a European parliamentary election in Sweden, surpassingMarit Paulsen's record of 221,489 personal votes in 2009.[16] He is one of the party's two MEPs for the 2024–2029 term. He is a member of the Parliament's Committee on Climate and Environment, the Committee on Budgetary Control and a deputy member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.[17] Sjöstedt is also a columnist inVästerbottens Folkblad.[18]
Sjöstedt marriedAnn Måwe [sv], a Swedish diplomat, in 2004. They have twin daughters.[2]
He moved to New York City in 2006, accompanying his wife, who was part of the Swedish delegation to the United Nations. During his time there, he was an active member of theSocialist Party USA.[19] He moved to Hanoi in 2020, where his wife works as the Swedish ambassador to Vietnam.[13] He writes for Swedish leftist publications, radio, and print columns, as well as works of history and fiction.
Media related toJonas Sjöstedt at Wikimedia Commons
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chairman of theLeft Party 2012–2020 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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