Mattias Karlsson (politician)
| Mattias Karlsson SD | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of the Sweden Democrats in the 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 | Scania County |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Hans Kennert Mattias Karlsson 17 August 1977 Rottne, Sweden |
| Political party | Sweden Democrats |
| Domestic partner |
Gabriella Hedarv (separated) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Lund University |
Hans Kennert Mattias Hedarv Karlsson (born 17 August 1977) is a Swedish Sweden Democrats politician who has served as Leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag since September 2014. He has been a Member of the Riksdag (SD) for Scania County since October 2010. He previously served as Leader of the Sweden Democrats from 2014 to 2015.[2]
Early life
Nordic Studies professor Benjamin R. 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, Richard Jomshof 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 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 as a Member of the Riksdag (SD). 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 Riksdag. On 29 September 2014, he was appointed leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag.[2]
In February 2017, he penned a letter to the Wall Street Journal along with fellow Sweden Democrat politician Jimmie Akesson agreeing with President Donald Trump's assertions that Sweden is undergoing a Muslim immigrant-led crime crisis stating: "Mr. Trump did not exaggerate Sweden’s current problems. If anything, he understated them."[7][8] ·
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
- ↑ Fox News: "Sweden Democrats: Trump was right" February 23, 2017 | "Riots and social unrest have become a part of everyday life,” Akesson and Karlsson wrote. “Police officers, firefighters and ambulance personnel are regularly attacked. Serious riots in 2013, involving many suburbs with large immigrant populations, lasted for almost a week. Gang violence is booming. Despite very strict firearms laws, gun violence is five times as common in Sweden, in total, as in the capital cities of our three Nordic neighbors combined."
- ↑ Wall Street Journal: "Trump Is Right: Sweden’s Embrace of Refugees Isn’t Working - The country has accepted 275,000 asylum-seekers, many without passports—leading to riots and crime." by Jimmie Åkesson and Mattias Karlsson February 22, 2017
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Björn Söder |
Leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Swedish Riksdag 2014– |
Incumbent |