Swedish News

Royal baby boom. Swedish company dominates music streaming industry. New Swedish ambassador. Leader of centre-right Moderates resigns. Swimming phenom reigns. Sweden's strong economy. Sweden in bidding war for EU agency. 

  • The Prince Family prepares for the birth of a second child. Photo Kungahuset.se

  • Royal baby boom
    It's a boy! The day after Princess Madeleine and Chris O’Neill announced they are expecting their third child next spring, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia became proud parents a second time. The healthy new prince was born on Thursday, Aug. 31; he was named Prince Gabriel Carl Walther at the traditional Te Deum service of thanksgiving on Sept. 4. The newborn’s big brother, Prince Alexander, was born April 19, 2016.

  • The outgoing Ambassador Björn Lyrvall, left, celebrates with his successor, Karin Olofsdotter, at the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, DC on Aug. 25, 2017. Photo Twitter/Embassy of Sweden US

  • Swedish company dominates music streaming industry
    Spotify announced at the end of July that it has 60 million paying subscribers. That means the Swedish company is up 10 million subscribers since March, when it last announced it had 50 million. Since 2016, Spotify’s user base has grown exponentially faster than that of its nearest competitor, Apple Music, which has around 27 million subscribers as of June 2017. The new data puts Spotify in a strong position for a direct listing, which the Wall Street Journal reported could take place this year, allowing early stockholders to directly sell their shares on an exchange.

  • Anna Kinberg Batra resigned on Aug. 25 from her post as leader of Sweden's centre-right Moderate party.

  • New Swedish ambassador
    As Swedish Ambassador Björn Lyrvall’s appointment ended earlier this summer, the government appointed Karin Olofsdotter as the new Swedish Ambassador to the United States on Thursday, August 24. Ms. Olofsdotter was previously head of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ Department for Promotion of Sweden, Trade and CSR, and an ambassador in Budapest. She has served the Swedish delegation to NATO, was Chief of Staff to Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, and was Deputy Chief of Mission at the Swedish Embassy in Washington, DC, and the Embassy in Moscow. Ms. Olofsdotter studied at UCLA Anderson School of Management and speaks Russian, French and English. She begins her new post September 1, 2017.

  • Multiple record holder and Swedish champion swimmer Sarah Sjöström.

  • Leader of centre-right Moderates resigns
    In the face of heavy criticism, Anna Kinberg Batra, 47, said she needed to step aside so Sweden's main opposition party could focus on issues and win back support from the voters for the September 2018 election. Kinberg Batra resigned August 25, after about three years in the job. She had announced earlier this year that she would enter into talks with the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, in an attempt to put pressure on the Swedish government, but the move backfired and began a firestorm of scrutiny on her leadership and the platform of the Moderate party.

  • Spotify founder Daniel Ek, called the most important in the world of music, according to Forbes magazine's 30 under 30 listing in 2012.

  • Swimming phenom reigns
    Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjöström, 23, finished the World Championships in Budapest with three gold medals and two world records in July. She clocked 23.69 and won the gold, just .02 seconds off her own world record set in the qualifying rounds the night before. Sjöström left the World Championships as the first woman in World Cup history to take home the butterfly doubles, 50 and 100 meters, in two championships in a row. Her silver was in the 100m freestyle, which she lost by just .04. She now claims three of the seven fastest swims in history. "It would be nice to see how fast I can swim in this distance when I get even stronger," she said thinking about the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

  • Sweden's strong economy
    In an announcement on July 31, Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson (S) cited a Reuters report that showed Sweden's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.7 percent in the second quarter compared with the previous quarter. It was 4 percent higher than the corresponding period in 2016, according to Statistiska centralbyrån (SCB). "It surpasses many expectations. It shows the strength of the Swedish economy,” says Andersson. Contributing causes are household consumption and housing investment, two of the most important factors, Andersson says. "This means we have a good starting point to address many of the challenges we face."

  • Sweden in bidding war for EU agency
    Sweden has submitted an official offer to host the EU’s European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is looking for a new location after the Brexit vote will push it from the current headquarters in London. The Nordic nation is offering to host the EMA in the Stockholm-Uppsala region, where quality health care is a cornerstone of the Swedish welfare state, its leading scientific environment and pharmaceutical industry thrive, and it's home of one of the world’s foremost medical universities and many other lifestyle benefits. Sweden is in competition with other countries vying to host the agency, including Ireland, Italy, Denmark and Poland. A final decision is expected in November.