Sweden Has Elected Its First Ever Female Prime Minister But She Resigned Hours Later

Sweden has elected its first ever female Prime Minister, however the appointment was very short lived.

Magdalena Andersson made history when she became the Nordic country's first female leader after a formal vote on Wednesday (November 24).

The former Finance Minister in the Social Democrats Party took over from outgoing Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, who had been in power for seven years.

Ms Andersson told Sweden how incredible it was to be the first female leader.

"I know what this means for girls in our country. I also grew up as a girl in Sweden and Sweden is a land of gender inequality. Absolutely, I am moved by this," she said.

The 54-year-old formed a coalition with the Green Party and was formally approved as Prime Minister after parliament voted in a slim majority to her.

Under Swedish laws, a person can be elected to govern the country as long as there aren't 175 politicians who oppose them. Ms Andersson received 117 votes for her appointment and 174 against.

But a short time later, her budget failed to pass through parliament.

The Swedish parliament instead decided to vote for a budget drawn up by the Opposition and that financial plan included the country's far-right, the Sweden Democrats.

The ABC notes the right-wing populist party is 'rooted in a neo-Nazi movement'.

Prime Minister Andersson said she could 'govern the country with the opposition's budget' however there was a shock twist when the Greens quit.

A spokesperson for the party said: "The government has voted for a budget that has been negotiated by a right-wing extremist party."

As a result, Prime Minister Andersson said she didn't want to lead the country if she wasn't going to have the support of her coalition partner.

"I have told the Speaker that I wish to resign as Prime Minister," she said. "For me, it is about respect, but I also do not want to lead a government where there may be grounds to question its legitimacy."

Before Magdalena Andersson became Prime Minister, Sweden was the only Nordic country who hadn't elected a female leader.

Finland made history on this front in 2003 and Denmark followed in 2011, but it was nothing compared to Norway, who elected its first female leader all the way back in 1981.

Featured Image Credit: Pontus Lundahl/Alamy

Topics: News

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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