Mattias Karlsson (politician)
| Mattias Karlsson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Swedish Riksdag | |
|
Assumed office 29 September 2014 | |
| Leader | Jimmie Åkesson |
| Preceded by | Björn Söder |
| Leader of the Sweden Democrats (acting[1]) | |
|
In office 17 October 2014 – 27 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Jimmie Åkesson |
| Succeeded by | Jimmie Åkesson |
| Member of the Riksdag | |
|
Assumed office 4 October 2010 | |
| Constituency | Skåne County North and East |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
17 August 1977 Rottne, Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden |
| Political party | Sweden Democrats |
| Alma mater | Lund University |
| Religion | Church of Sweden |
Hans Kennert Mattias Hedarv Karlsson (born 17 August 1977) is a Swedish politician of the Sweden Democrats. He is the group leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Swedish Riksdag since 2014.[2]
He has been a Member of the Swedish Riksdag for Skåne County North and East since 2010, and served as deputy leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Swedish Riksdag from 2012 to 2014.
Early life
Nordic Studies professor Benjamin Teitelbaum has written the most extensive biography of Karlsson to date. Karlsson was born in Rottne, Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden.
At age 16 he moved to the nearby city of Växjö to begin secondary school at Katedral gymnasium. He reported having gained his political convictions during his years in Växjö as a result of conflicts with immigrant "kickers" gangs and resentment towards the lack of Swedish pride and solidarity in society, and he describes having been inspired by Swedish Viking rock band Ultima Thule. Karlsson claims to have never associated with the sizable neo-Nazi skinhead scene that mobilized during his youth, and claims to have been called a "meatball patriot" by racist skinheads for his moderate and more accepting ideology.[3]
Karlsson joined the Sweden Democrats in 1999. Following secondary studies, he moved to Madrid, Spain where he studied during one year before moving to Lund, Skåne County in 1999 where he studied history and political science at Lund University. During his studies at the university he met Jimmie Åkesson, incumbent Leader of the Sweden Democrats, and Björn Söder.[4]
He describes his early childhood in Rottne as inspiring his later political action:
“I know that there is a Swedish culture. I know how it feels to grow up in a homogeneous society, where everyone has the same identity. And when people say, ‘it’s never been like that, Sweden has always been multicultural, that’s all just imaginary,’ I know they’re lying."[5]
Political career
His first important impact within the Sweden Democrats came in 2002 when he alongside Jimmie Åkesson and the former leader Mikael Jansson reshaped the party's political programme. According to magazine Expo, he also wrote the Sweden Democrats' election manifesto for to the 2006 general election. Since 2008, Karlsson is recognized as the leading ideologue of the Sweden Democrats, after its former chief ideologue Johan Rinderheim was forced to leave the party.[6]
Before the Sweden Democrats' entered the Swedish Riksdag in 2010, Karlsson worked as a political secretary for the Sweden Democrats council group in Malmö Municipality. He was the party's press secretary at the national level from 2004 to 2010. After the 2010 general election, Karlsson was elected to the Swedish Riksdag. In 2012, Karlsson was appointed deputy leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Swedish Riksdag.
Following the 2014 general election, Karlsson was re-elected to the Swedish Riksdag. On 29 September 2014, he was appointed leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Swedish Riksdag.[2]
References
- Teitelbaum, Benjamin (2013). “Come Hear Our Merry Song:” Shifts in the Sound of Contemporary Swedish Radical Nationalism. Ph.D. Dissertation, Brown University.
- ↑ Jimmie Åkesson was on sick leave due to burnout. Mattias Karlsson was acting party leader.
- 1 2 Mattias Karlsson ny SD-gruppledare Sveriges Radio, 29 September 2014
- ↑ Teitelbaum, Benjamin (2013). “Come Hear Our Merry Song:” Shifts in the Sound of Contemporary Swedish Radical Nationalism. Ph.D. Dissertation, Brown University.pg 71-72
- ↑ Ideologen – Expo Demokratisk Tidskrift
- ↑ Teitelbaum, Benjamin (2013). “Come Hear Our Merry Song:” Shifts in the Sound of Contemporary Swedish Radical Nationalism. Ph.D. Dissertation, Brown University.pg 62
- ↑ Vinglig färd mot makt Tidskriften Fokus, 29 augusti 2008, nr 35
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Björn Söder |
Leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Swedish Riksdag 2014– |
Incumbent |